From ian@house-from-hell.demon.co.uk Fri Mar 11 09:06:30 2005 Date: Wed, 09 Mar 2005 21:57:44 +0000 From: Ian Northeast Newsgroups: uk.food+drink.indian Subject: Re: Chillis in curries like Punjabi Chatpate Choley On Wed, 09 Mar 2005 13:20:14 -0500, James Silverton wrote: > I will admit that I have already posted this in alt.food.asian but, since > there has been no response as yet, perhaps I can be allowed to repeat it > here. > > I have done a fair amount of experimentation and Googling but I have yet > to find a recipe for a chickpea curry that I like enough to keep. Perhaps > I should buy a can of the stuff and see if I like even that! I wonder if > part of the problem is that a lot of recipes call for "green chillis" and > don't specify what type. Even my local supermarket has at least four > varieties with heat levels ranging from almost as low as sweet peppers to > dangerous! Is there a particular variety that is so common in Indian > cooking that its name does not have to be specified? Not that I know of, but here's my chick pea curry recipe, invented to try to reproduce one I enjoyed very much in India. It does so quite successfully IMHO. All quantities are approximate, adjust to taste. Serves about 4. 1 tablespoon cumin seeds 1/2 tablespoon coriander seeds 1/2 tablespoon black peppercorns 2 teaspoons mustard seeds 1 tablespoon ground turmeric 6 cloves of garlic 4 large onions, red ones are good 4 green chillies. The ones which are about 3 inches long and quite fat. Towards the hot end of the scale. No idea what they're called. Chillies vary a lot here in .uk too. I generally slice the stem end off a chilli, then slice a bit off the side about 1cm x 1mm and taste it. If it's noticeably hot but doesn't cause pain, it's correct. Adjust the number of chillies accordingly. 2 red chillies,similar size. 1 can chick peas or equivalent soaked and cooked 1 can green/brown lentils ditto (the ones which come whole, not the split green peas) 3 teaspoons tamarind extract A small bunch of coriander leaves Sea salt Plenty of groundnut oil (this recipe is *not* low fat:) Dry fry the seeds in an old frying pan until they start to pop. Cool and grind, it doesn't have to be too fine. Add the turmeric and the garlic, crushed. Mix with enough water to make a runny paste. Fry this gently in groundnut oil until the oil separates out, about 20 minutes. Stir frequently to avoid sticking. Slice the onions finely and fry in more groundnut oil, starting out very hot and turning down as they cook to avoid burning, until they are quite caremelised but not black. Add the curry paste and fry for a few minutes, stirring constantly. Add more oil if it's looking too dry. It shouldn't stick. Halve and de-seed the chillies, then slice finely. Add to the pan and cook for a few more minutes. Drain the beans. Add the chick peas and cook for a few more minutes, stirring constantly. Add the lentils and stir for about 30 seconds. Then add the drained juice and make up to about 2 pints with boiling water. Bring to the boil and turn down to a gentle simmer. Add a generous pinch of sea salt and the tamarind extract. Simmer for 1-2 hours. The longer the better as long as the lentils don't collapse. Pick the coriander leaves and chop coarsely. Put them in, stir and cook for a minute or so. Optional extras are halved new potatoes added just before the chick peas and quartered plum tomatoes about half an hour before the end. I don't find canned beans any worse than dried ones I've prepared myself, but if you like a firmer texture you'll have to use dried ones and cook them to taste. I usually serve this with a vegetable biryani, typically containing okra (bindi), courgettes (zuccini) and peas, and perhaps a saag panir and naan bread. Regards, Ian