Chickpeas curry (kadala curry) made with coconut milk and chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans or chana) is an Indian staple dish. We usually pair it with the steamed rice cake (puttu) or the string hoppers (idiyappam), appam, battura, naan etc.. But this also goes well with pani puri (I tried it once and was really delicious) or even plain steamed white rice. If you visit Kerala, You will get the chickpeas curry paired with steamed rice cake in any local tea shops as breakfast. The pair is almost like our daily comfort food.
I used the dry chickpeas from the Indian grocery store to make the chickpeas curry. But I can assure that the canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans) also work well as I had used it once. This chickpeas curry made with all the spicy flavors of my homeland is definitely worth trying. In addition, they are vegan and gluten-free. You can avoid the coconut milk if you wish, still the chickpeas curry tastes great.
Since I am using the dried chickpeas, I pressure cooked it. If you are in a hurry and want to make a quick dish, you can use the canned chickpeas so that you can skip the pressure cooking step. The curry can also be made with black chickpeas which have a more intense taste. You can add more coconut milk if you feel the curry is too spicy. Here is the recipe
Chickpeas Curry with Coconut Milk
Chickpeas Curry with Coconut Milk
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry chickpeas garbanzo beans
- 2 cups of water
- Salt to taste
- 1.5 tbsp cooking oil
- 1.5 tsp fennel seed
- 1/2 onion thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 tbsp ginger crushed
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1.5 tsp red chilli powder
- 1/4 cup coconut milk
- 4 Curry leaves
Instructions
- Soak the chickpeas in water for 8 hours, preferably overnight.
- Wash and drain the soaked chickpeas.
- Add the chickpeas, water and salt into a pressure cooker and mix well.
- Pressure cook on medium-high heat for 10-15 minutes or until the peas are well cooked and can be mashed.
- Remove from heat and keep aside until the pressure drops.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan.
- Crackle the fennel seeds. Stir in the cloves until it pops.
- Now add the crushed ginger and garlic and stir well until slightly brown.
- Saute the sliced onion until golden brown.
- Add the curry leaves, chilli powder and turmeric powder and mix well until a spicy aroma comes (~20 seconds). Make sure not to burn the spices.
- Now add the pressure cooked chickpeas into the pan along with the stock. Cook on medium heat until half of the water is evaporated.
- Then add the coconut milk and mix well. Cook for a minute on medium-low heat.
- Remove from heat. Serve hot.
Notes
The tasty and spicy chickpeas curry is ready. As chickpeas are healthy and tasty, you will definitely get addicted.
Happy Cooking
