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Royal Chickpea Masala
This recipe borrows an ancient technique of soaking chickpeas overnight in tea to enrich the flavour. This is no ordinary chickpea masala—this one is fit for royalty. This is an exceptional recipe with deep roots in historical India.
YIELDS
4
Ingredients
- 500g cooked chickpeas, rinsed in water if tinned
- 4 chai tea bags, or you can use black tea bags if you prefer
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 4 tablespoons mild curry paste
- 200g cherry tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 2 heaped tablespoons thick Greek yogurt
- 1/2 lime, cut into wedges
- Fresh chopped cilantro and naan bread/steamed rice, to serve
Directions
- Place the drained chickpeas in a bowl and pour over 400ml of cold water. Add the tea bags, cover and pop in the fridge overnight.
- The next day, strain the chickpeas, discard the tea bags and reserve the tea liquid.
- Gently heat the oil in a pan and add the onions. Fry for five minutes until softened and light golden brown.
- Add the mild curry paste and a good splash of the reserved tea liquid.
- Stir well and cook for two minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, stir well and cook for a further two minutes.
- Add the chickpeas and 100ml of the reserved tea liquid. Stir well and bring to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and stir through the yogurt. Squeeze over lime juice and serve garnished with fresh cilantro and naan bread or rice. Enjoy!
TIP: If you don’t have time to soak your chickpeas overnight, skip this step and make an extra strong cup of black tea with the tea bags and use this as your tea liquid.
