Recipe#11819

Title: Chana Masala 03

Newsgroups: rec.food.recipes 
 From: Arup.Banerji@williams.edu (Arup Banerji) 
 Subject: VEGAN: Easy Channa (Chick Pea Curry) 
 Followup-To: poster 
 Organization: Williams College 
 Date: Fri, 22 Apr 1994 04:06:40 GMT 
 Message-ID: abanerji.23.766776525@williams.edu 

Although this is not absolutely authentic, it's quick (unlike most
 Indian dishes), and easily made for a delicious approximation of
 the real thing.  Adding the optional ingredients helps the flavor,
 but a quick-and-dirty onion-garlic-curry powder-ketchup-chick peas
 version isn't too bad, either.
 1 medium onion, chopped finely
 2 cloves garlic, chopped
 1 1/2 tbsp. canola oil
 2" stick cinnamon (optional)
 6 cloves, crushed (optional)
 4 cardamom pods, crushed (optional)
 2 tsp. INDIAN curry powder (see NOTE below)
 2 or 3 tbsp. tomato ketchup
 2 14-16 oz. cans chick peas (garbanzos)
 1 bunch coriander leaves (cilantro), de-stemmed and chopped
 Fry the onions in oil at medium-high heat until golden and translucent,
 2-3 minutes.  Add garlic, fry for a minute.  Add cinnamon, cloves
 and cardamom, fry for a minute (until the kitchen begins to smell
 really good!).  Now add the curry powder to the onions, fry for a
 minute or two.  As the mixture begins to stick, add the ketchup to
 make it more pliable.  Keep on frying for about 5 minutes, stirring
 fairly constantly.  Once this "base masala" is ready (one hint is
 if the oil starts separating from the mixture), just add the
 chickpeas, including the water they are in.  Stir to mix, heat
 until it boils, then cover and lower the heat to medium-low.  Cook
 for 15 minutes, take off heat and stir in coriander leaves.  Serve
 hot, with heated pita, tortillas, Indian bread (roti, naan or puri)
 or rice.
 NOTE:  McCormick's or other American "curry powder" just isn't as
 good as the powder you can find in Indian stores.  In case you are
 finicky and an Indian store isn't easily available, a fair
 approximation can be made with 1/2 tsp. corinader, 1/2 tsp. cumin,
 1/2 tsp. turmeric, 1/4-1/2 tsp. hot chile powder.