Chole (Chickpea Curry)

Ingredients:

150g dried chickpeas
1.5l water
1 Malabathrum (Indian Bay Leaves) (or substitute cassia bark)
seeds from 4 cardamom pods
6 whole cloves
5 black peppercorns
5cm length of cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
1 tbsp cumin seeds
4 tbsp ghee (or oil)
1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
1 tsp hot green chillies, minced
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp hing (asafoetida powder)
3/4 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp sweet paprika
1 tbsp ground coriander seeds
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp salt
3 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, chopped

Method:

Pick over, wash and drain the chickpeas. Place in a bowl, cover with plenty of water and set aside to soak over night.

When ready to cook, drain the chickpeas and place in a large pan with the 1.5l water and the bayleaf. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer. Continue cooking for about 60 minutes, or until the chickpeas are soft and tender (but still whole).

Take off the heat and drain the chickpeas (reserve the cooking liquid) and discard the bayleaf. Place about 50g of the cooked chickpeas in a blender with a little of the cooking liquid and process to a smooth paste. Scrape into a bowl and set aside.

Combine the cardamom seeds, cloves, black peppercorns, cinnamon and cumin seeds in a coffee grinder or mortar and render to a fine powder.

Heat the ghee (or oil) in a wok or large saucepan over moderately high heat. When hot add the ginger and green chillies and fry for 1 minutes. Take the pan off the heat then stir in the cayenne pepper, asafoetida, turmeric, paprika and ground coriander. Stir in the ground spice mixture along with the chickpeas, lemon juice and the chickpea purée.

Place back on the heat then stir in enough of the reserved chickpea liquid to make a gravy. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 7 minutes. Take off the heat and turn into a serving bowl. Garnish with the chopped coriander leaves and serve immediately.

Typically this is served with pooris, chapatis or with boiled rice.