chana masala - a.k.a chickpea curry

Everyone loves curry in my house so while the snow fell softly outside today, I made a chicken tikka masala and this delicious chickpea curry for dinner.  Chana Masala is a great dish to make if you don’t have many fresh ingredients on hand or if you want to nourish your body with lots of cancer fighting foods.  The base of this curry is made with ginger, garlic, tomatoes and onion; all of which have cancer fighting properties. I added in some kale to beef up the nutrients which also adds additional fiber. This recipe was originally from Bon Appetit.

INGREDIENTS

1 onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, sliced

2 tablespoon chopped peeled ginger

2 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 cardamom pods

1 to 5 teaspoons curry powder (start with 1 and taste test as you go!)

1 28-ounce can peeled whole tomatoes with their juices, crushed (I used diced and it worked fine)

1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed

1 head of kale chopped finely (stems removed)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

½ can of coconut milk (An optional addition by me!)

Cooked basmati rice (for serving)

Chopped fresh cilantro (for serving)

Plain yoghurt (for serving)

Creating the Magic!

Cook onion, garlic, and ginger in oil with cardamom and curry powder until onion is soft, 8–10 minutes. Add tomatoes with their juices, chickpeas and chopped kale and simmer until soft, 25–30 minutes; season with salt and pepper and add more curry powder to taste.  To make the curry even creamier, add ½ a can to a full can of coconut milk for the last 10 minutes. Serve with rice, cilantro and yoghurt.

Don’t have curry powder? Here’s a great recipe from the Minimalist Baker:

 2 Tbsp ground coriander

2 Tbsp ground cumin

1 1/2  Tbsp ground turmeric

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp dry mustard

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper or ground chilies

Creating the Magic!

1.     Add all spices to a small jar and shake. Stays fresh up to 3 months.