I try to make one dish a month from another country or culture... this week I had a craving for chickpea curry or Chana Masala. I searched and searched for recipes and decided to base it off of a recipe I found on the Candid Cooks blog. It looked fantastic and her description made my mouth water. I made a few changes and it was phenomenal! I'm pretty excited to now have a few new spices added to my pantry and repertoire.
Chana Masala with Chicken
Ingredients:
2 tblspoon each of butter and extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp of cumin seeds
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp ground coriander (smells amazing)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp red chili powder
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast, chopped up evenly
1 can diced tomatoes (DO NOT DRAIN LIQUID)
2 cans chickpeas/garbanzo beans (DO NOT DRAIN LIQUID)
2 tsp salt
1 tblspoon honey
1 cup coconut milk
1 tblspoon greek yogurt
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Directions:
Heat butter and olive oil in a soup pot until foamy then add cumin seeds. Cover and listen for popping, after about 1 minute add onion, garlic, ginger and all the spices. Cook over medium heat until the onions are translucent.
Add the chopped up chicken, tomatoes and chickpeas. The Candid Cook made it pretty clear there would be dire consequences for not using the canned liquid so I wouldn't temp the flavor gods and just follow directions! Season with salt and honey. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer, cover and let it hang out for at least an hour.
Before serving add coconut milk, yogurt and cilantro... allow it to heat thru and ladle over some basmati rice. And it would almost be a crime not to serve some naan along with it!
