Pakistani Chickpea Curry
Blog: cookingwithnelo.com
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 cup (200 g) uncooked dried chickpeas - unsoaked, rinsed & drained
- 1 tablespoon (10 g) uncooked masoor dal - aka split red lentils, rinsed and drained (Note A)
- ⅓ cup cooking oil - any neutral oil you prefer
- 3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro - aka coriander/dhaniya
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice - freshly squeezed
Spice Mix
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder - aka dhaniya powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin powder - aka zeera powder
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder - adjust to taste ⓘ
- 1 teaspoon chaat masala
- 1 teaspoon amchoor powder
- ½ teaspoon garam masala powder
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder - adjust to taste ⓘ
- ½ teaspoon black salt - aka kala namak (Note B)
- ¾ teaspoon regular white salt
- 3 whole black cardamoms - aka bari elaichi
Blended Mixture
- 2 medium (200 g) tomatoes - I use Roma tomatoes
- 4 cloves garlic - peeled
- 1 inch piece of ginger - peeled
- 2 small whole green chillies - pull out the stems. I use Thai chilies
- ¼ cup fried onions
- ¼ cup yogurt
Instructions
- Add rinsed and drained chickpeas and masoor dal to an Instant Pot with 3.5 cups of water. Pressure cook on High for 55 minutes. Then let the pressure release naturally. Don't discard the cooking liquid. If your dried chickpeas are very old, they may take longer to cook.
- While the chickpeas are cooking, combine all the ingredients listed under "Spice Mix" in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Add all the ingredients listed under “Blended Mixture” to a blender or food processor and blend until completely smooth. Set aside.
- Start this step once the chickpeas are done pressure cooking. Heat the oil in a wide nonstick pan or pot over medium heat. Add the blended paste and cook until it's reduced by about half. Lower the heat if it starts to splatter.
- Add the prepared spice mix and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Then add the cooked chickpeas along with all of their cooking liquid.
- Stir well, cover, and simmer over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the chickpeas are buttery soft. Add water as needed to adjust the consistency you prefer. Stir occasionally so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Add the chopped cilantro and lemon juice and gently mix. Cover and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Taste and adjust salt if needed. Serve hot with naan, roti, or basmati rice.
Notes
Note A: Masoor Dal – Although commonly also called split red lentils but is actually pinkish-orange in color. Make sure you're using the skinless and split variety, not the whole masoor dal that has brown outer skin.
Note B: Kala Namak – Despite its name, the finely ground powder is actually a pale grayish-pink color, even though it starts out as purplish-black rock chunks before being processed.