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Golden Chana Masala

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Servings 4
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Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
  • 1 tablespoon refined/unscented coconut oil
  • 1 cooking onion, fine dice
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon curry powder
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
  • 1 small fresh chili, seeded and minced
  • 1 strip of lemon peel, white pith and all, minced
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 ½ cups diced fresh yellow tomatoes
  • ½ cup vegetable stock
  • 2 ½ cups cooked chickpeas
  • sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • chopped cilantro, for serving
  • warm brown rice or flatbread, for serving

Instructions

  • In a dry, medium soup-style pot, toast the cumin and coriander seeds over medium heat until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Dump the toasted spices out of the pan into a spice grinder. Grind up the toasted spices to a coarse powder and set aside.
  • Return the soup pot to the heat with the tablespoon of coconut oil. Add the onions to the pot and stir. The pot should be quietly sizzling. Sauté and stir the onions for a good 6-7 minutes, or until very soft and translucent.
  • Add the turmeric, curry powder, and ground cumin and coriander mix to the pot. Stir it around to get the spices fully mingled with the oil and onions, for about 1 minute. Add the garlic, ginger, minced chili, and minced lemon peel to the pan. Stir the pot for about a minute or until the garlic is very fragrant. Add the tomato paste and stir a few more times.
  • Dump the diced tomatoes into the pot and stir, scraping up the traces of spice on the sides of the pot. Then, add the vegetable stock and chickpeas. Bring the chana masala to a boil, and then lightly simmer for about 40 minutes, or until the tomatoes have broken down significantly. You can help this process along by smushing the pieces of tomato with the back of your spoon here and there.
  • Right before serving, stir in the fresh lemon juice. Garnish the chana masala with chopped fresh cilantro. Serve hot with cooked rice, flatbread etc.

Recipe Notes

  • Adapted from Madhur Jaffrey, The BBC, and Slate.
  • Fresh yellow tomatoes give this stew that “golden” hue, but if you’re making it out of season, some canned diced tomatoes will work just fine.
Golden Chana Masala is an easy and satisfying weeknight meal with tons of flavour. Using mellow yellow tomatoes as the base with plenty of spice.