Make Ahead

Chickpea & Mustard Green Masala

March 12, 2011
0
0 Ratings
  • Serves 6
Author Notes

The full description is here: www.saucyvermont.com

Excerpt here:
The word “curry” to me, is synonymous with the very concept of delicious. Delicious, spiced, FOOD; not necessarily spicy in a burn-your-tongue way, but bursting with a rainbow of robust, dance-in-your mouth tastes. Almost any vegetable and/or meat can be transformed into a complex orchestra of flavor with minimal effort and ingredients, when you have the right spices. —saucy. von Trapp

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Ingredients
  • 1 large red onion
  • 4 large cloves garlic
  • 2 sq.inch pieces fresh ginger root
  • 3 - 5 fresh Asian chilies (serrano or Thai or pepperoncino if that's all you have) w/ or w/out seeds depending on your spice tolerance
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 2 tablespoons Bengali Garam Masala (spice blend that can be found even in ho-hum supermkts these days)
  • 1 pound mustard greens (can substitute spinach if you didn't grow a mile of mustards, or if you prefer a milder flavor) finely chopped
  • 5 cups cooked chickpeas
  • 1 pound tomatoes (or 1 can of diced)
  • 1 cup plain yogurt (full fat preferred, of course)
  • 1/3 cup milk (whole of course)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tablespoons toasted coriander
  • 1 tablespoon toasted cumin
  • a dashes of salt, to taste
Directions
  1. Place the first four ingredients into a food-processor (or just give them a fine dice if you don’t have one)
  2. Heat butter & oil in a large heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat and add the contents of the food processor, the bay leaves and the garam masala, and stir periodically to prevent sticking.
  3. When the tantalizing aroma of wild spices fills the air of your kitchen and the onions simultaneously turn brown, add the tomatoes with their juice, as well as a dash of salt.
  4. Stir and then add the greens, a handful at a time, tossing them in the tomato blend as you go.
  5. Add the cooked chickpeas, turn the heat down to low and let them simmer for about 10 minutes.
  6. Meanwhile, place the cumin and coriander (seeds or powder) in a dry skillet and heat over medium until fragrant (and maybe a wee bit smoky but don’t burn it like I always do)
  7. Add the yogurt and milk to the chickpea mixture and stir well, then add the toasted cumin & coriander - if you use seeds, grind them in a mortar & pestle first.
  8. Serve over Basmati rice (or whatever kind of rice you have!) and top with a dash of yogurt, mango chutney and a bit of cilantro... (pappadums and buttered nan or pita bread take it to another level.)

See what other Food52ers are saying.

3 Reviews

saucy. V. July 2, 2013
@Charlotte Watts; I am sorry you feel that way but you must have made a significant mistake in following the recipe or maybe you don't care for the spices of the subcontinent... At any rate this recipe has been served to hundreds of people and received nothing but over-the-top enthusiastic reviews.
Charlotte W. July 1, 2013
it tastes like soap.
Charlotte W. July 1, 2013
this is disgusting.