Author Notes
Purnima, a co-worker from India, taught me this recipe, which is a regular weeknight dinner dish for us and easy to take to gatherings. It's especially good with the potatoes, which you can boil while you're chopping the onions and seasonings, but you can leave them out if you're in a hurry. It looks like a lot of ingredients, but if you keep them around as staples you will use them all the time and they won't languish on the shelf or go bad in the refrigerator. Garam masala is a mixture of cardamom, cloves, pepper, cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mace. You can buy it or make your own mixture, and it adds a sweetness to the curry. —luvcookbooks
Ingredients
-
6
fist sized new potatoes, boiled and quartered
-
3 tablespoons
canola oil
-
3 teaspoons
cumin seeds
-
1 teaspoon
brown mustard seeds
-
2
onions, chopped
-
3
garlic cloves, chopped
-
1
inch section fresh ginger, chopped
-
1/4
serrano chile, seeded and chopped
-
1 teaspoon
salt
-
1 teaspoon
black pepper
-
1 teaspoon
garam masala
-
half
28 oz can tomatoes, diced
-
1
29 oz can chickpeas, drained
-
5 tablespoons
cilantro, stems removed, chopped
-
1
lemon, juiced
Directions
-
Heat canola oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat until it shimmers and a drop of water sizzles when dropped into the pan. Add the cumin seeds and mustard seeds and cook until the mustard seeds pop and the cumin seeds are fragrant, about 30 seconds.
-
Add the chopped onion and cook, stirring occasionally, over medium-high heat until the onion is deep brown at the edges. If you are careful, the onion will not burn and the onion will pan roast to a deep flavor.
-
Add garlic, chili, ginger, salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute, watching carefully since the garlic burns more easily than the onions.
-
Add tomatoes, chickpeas, potatoes, garam masala, coriander, and lemon juice. Add about half a cup of water, so the mixture in the pan bubbles and does not stick to the bottom of the pan. Adjust seasonings to taste and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
-
Serve with steamed Basmati rice, plain full-fat Greek yogurt (you will only use a spoonful per serving, and the low -fat yogurt tastes watery), and spicy Indian lime pickle. Enjoy!
See what other Food52ers are saying.