Simple Indian Chickpea Stew Recipes

INDIAN CHICKPEA STEW

Steps:

• Peel butternut squash, cut in half and scoop out the seeds.
• Chop butternut squash into ½ inch cubes and set aside.
• Dice onion and red bell pepper, set aside.
• Mince garlic and set aside.
• Heat oil in dutch oven over medium heat.
• Add onion and bell pepper into skillet, season with salt and pepper and sauté for 5 minutes.
• Add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Season with salt & pepper.
• Add Garam masala and turmeric and cook for 1 minute.
• Add tomato sauce, ginger paste, tomatoes, chickpeas, butternut squash, and 1 ½ cups water.
• Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer. Cook for 45 minutes until thick.
• Add lime juice and chopped cilantro.

BRAISED INDIAN CHICKPEA STEW

Steps:

• Roughly grind the whole spices. Add the cardamom pods, cloves, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and fennel seeds (not the cinnamon sticks) to a spice grinder or mortar or pestle. Coarsely grind (just a few pulses with an electric grinder) - you want some texture to remain. Remove the empty cardamom pod shells. Note: If you don't have either of these tools, see the blog post section "Frequently Asked Questions"
• Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.
• Heat a Dutch oven or stove-to-oven braising pan over medium heat with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Once the oil is shimmering, add the roughly ground spices *and* the cinnamon sticks. Sauté for 60 seconds or until very fragrant, tossing frequently to prevent burning.
• Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan. Next, add the onions, carrots, and cabbage. Season with ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Cook until the vegetables start to soften, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger, and cook for another 2 minutes.
• Add the tomato paste and stir frequently for 2 minutes to coat everything. If things start to dry out or seem like they might burn, add a splash or two of water and scrape up the browned bits. Add in the Indian red chili powder, turmeric, and nutmeg, and stir frequently for 1 minute.
• Deglaze the pan with the white wine, scraping up the browned bits and fond from the bottom of the pan. Cook until the wine is mostly evaporated and the smell of alcohol has dissipated, about 2 minutes.
• Pour in the vegetable broth, chickpeas, bay leaves, raisins, tomatoes, and 1 ½ teaspoons of kosher salt and black pepper to taste. Stir well to combine and bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes, stir again, and then turn off the heat.
• Put the lid on the pan, or if it doesn't have a lid, cover tightly with foil. Transfer the pan to the preheated oven and braise for 1 hour, until the chickpeas and vegetables are soft.At the halfway mark, check to see if the liquid has evaporated somewhat. If so, add additional vegetable broth or water (about 1/4 cup).
• Pour in the coconut milk and return the pan to the oven to braise for another 10 minutes. Take out of the oven and discard the bay leaves and cinnamon sticks.
• Stir in the garam masala, cilantro, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Taste for seasonings, adding more salt or pepper as needed. If it's slightly too acidic, stir in a teaspoon or two of sugar.
• Serve warm with Indian flatbread or over a bed of rice. Dollop on some vegan yogurt before serving or serve on the side.

CHICKPEA STEW

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat; saute cumin seeds for 10 seconds. Add onion and garlic; saute until onion is dark brown, 5 to 8 minutes. Add coriander; cook and stir for 20 seconds.
• Mix chickpeas, water, potato, 1 teaspoon cilantro, salt, and pepper into onion mixture; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover saucepan, and simmer until potato is tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Stir tomato into chickpea stew; increase heat to medium and simmer until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle remaining cilantro over stew.

CHANA MASALA (SAVORY INDIAN CHICK PEAS)

Steps:

• Grind onion, tomato, ginger, garlic, and chile pepper together in a food processor into a paste.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry bay leaves in hot oil until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour the paste into the skillet and cook until the oil begins to separate from the mixture and is golden brown in color, 2 to 3 minutes. Season the mixture with chili powder, coriander, powder, gram masala, turmeric, and salt; cook and stir until very hot, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Stir enough water into the mixture to get a thick gravy; bring to a boil and stir chickpeas into the gravy. Reduce heat to medium and cook until the chickpeas are heated through, 5 to 7 minutes. Garnish with cilantro.

PUNJABI CHANA

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, heat oil and add onion. Sauté until translucent and soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, ginger and chili, and sauté until soft and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and 1/4 cup water. Cover and cook until tomatoes are very soft, about 5 minutes, then remove from heat.
• Purée mixture in blender or food processor until smooth. Return to pan and place over medium heat. Add paprika, 1 teaspoon salt, coriander, the garam masala, turmeric and lemon juice. Add chickpeas and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low.
• Cover and simmer until sauce is thick and chickpeas are soft, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Stir pan about every 10 minutes, adding water as needed (up to 1 1/2 cups) to prevent burning. When ready to serve, sauce should be thick. If necessary, uncover pan and allow sauce to reduce for a few minutes, stirring frequently, until desired consistency. Stir in cilantro, adjust salt as needed and serve with cooked rice, if desired.