Chickpea gravy

The most annoying (yes even I get annoyed!) thing as a vegan is that people presume I eat only meat substitutes & tofu for some reason. Given that Sydney is one of the hot spots for Farmers Markets full of organic and fresh produce, why wouldn't anybody want eat them up fresh?

Pulses, beans, lentils also form a large portion of our diet as a family with growing children. Chickpeas are a hot favourite, as a sweet filling or, in savory dishes. The following recipe for chickpea gravy is a hot favorite with plain rice pulao and, a lovely fresh red onion salad especially now that, autumn is setting in.

Collecting ingredients-

1 large cup soaked chickpeas,(I tend to soak fresh, organic raw chickpeas in warm water overnight rather than, use the canned ones.)

2 tomatoes, chopped roughly.

1 brown onion, chopped roughly

2 teaspoons Cumin powder

1 teaspoon Carom seeds

1/2 inch piece of Ginger, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, roughly flattened

1 teaspoon cayenne, or more to taste

Salt to taste

Fresh Coriander leaves to garnish with.

Method

I tend to use a pressure cooker to cook this up really quickly. However a deep thick bottomed pan or a, slow cooker function as well.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil, add the cumin seeds, carom seeds, Ginger, cayenne and garlic and lightly roast them till aromatic.

Add the brown onion and cook till transparent and put the tomatoes in.

Cook till the tomatoes lose their raw smell and add, the soaked chickpeas. Stir well.

Mix in the salt and cover with double the quantity of water. If using a pressure cooker, shut the lid and, steam for 10 minutes.

If using the slow cooker, set it on high for 3 hours and then lower it and cook for a further 4 hours.

In the open pot method, cover the deep, thick bottomed pan after adding water and, cook for approximately 45 minutes, giving it a light stir so nothing sticks to the bottom.

Check the chickpeas to make sure they are cooked completely and have a soft, buttery and melt-in-your-mouth feel before adding, roughly chopped coriander as garnish.

I tend to use the time in which the chickpeas are cooking to make up the rice pulao and red onion salad. The chickpea gravy also tastes yummy with hot griddle baked flat bread/ rotis or naan.