I love Indian food especially in the wintertime. It is my comfort food of choice . Choosing a healthier eating lifestyle was one of my new year resolutions and since Jan 1 I have been eating more fruits, salads and chick peas. Yes, I did say CHICK PEAS!
After threading through yesterday’s high winds and freezing snow and gaining frozen toes and fingers while heading to pick my kids up from school I decided when we arrived home that I needed to spice up some chick peas and make the hubs and I a spicy Indian style curried chick pea delight to chow down on . I needed a comfort food.
I found a curried potato chick pea recipe on foodnetwork.com added a few of my own caribbean spices and got down to my culinary skills in the kitchen.
I would eat chick peas every day if I had my way. They are delicious and not too heavy on the stomach, plus they are rich in fiber. Thinking back, I remember as a kid how I hated the weird distinct taste especially when my grandma would serve them with dinner. Many times unbeknownst to her, or so I thought, I would rake them off my plate and hide them in a napkin on my lap so I wouldn’t have to eat them. In retrospect, I think grandma knew what I was doing but never said a word. So I am not too upset that my now 8 and 7-year olds are not turned on by eating the small bean preferring instead to eat it as chickpea hummus. At least they are still getting its valuable nutrients.
Making a curried chick pea meal is one of the quickest to prepare- with cooking times of 15 minutes and prep time of 20 minutes . I set forth to prepare this recipe which is one of the easiest and can be a favorite on any vegetarian, vegan or meat lovers plate.
The Chick Pea or Garbanzos Beans as my South American peeps call them is one of the healthiest beans available. For those who love their food spicy I say bring on the curry and the scotch bonnet pepper and make this baby indian style.
Quick and Easy way to make. Get it in the can.Goya is a great brand but you can choose most others as well. You can use dry chick peas but you will have to soak them for hours or overnight or boil them.
Known for its rich fiber benefits it is no wonder there is always some choice of chick pea or Chana as my Indian friends call it being offered on the menu of restaurants in India . In fact chickpeas has long been a staple of the daily diet in India.
Some of my favorite cities with Indian restaurants that make the best curried chick pea meals can be found in Covent Garden or amongst London’s Brick Lane curry houses as well as in New York City and Chicago.
RECIPE FOR CURRIED POTATOES AND CHICK PEAS courtesy of The Food Network Magazine and updated to include ingredients added by crownheightsmom.
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks
Kosher salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 15 -ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 cups fried onions (one 2.8-ounce can)
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus leaves for topping
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced (remove seeds for less heat)...–NOTE: I used Jamaican scotch bonnet peppers instead of Jalapenos and I added fresh garlic, scallions, thyme and a teaspoon of grated fresh ginger. I also ncluded 1 teaspoon of Cumin.
Directions
Put the potatoes, 2 teaspoons salt and enough cold water to cover in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are almost tender, 3 to 6 minutes. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain the potatoes.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 8 minutes. Stir in the curry powder and cayenne and cook, stirring, 30 seconds.
Add the chickpeas, 1 cup fried onions, garlic, thyme, scallions and 1/2 cup reserved cooking water; cook, mashing the potatoes with a spoon( I did not mash my potatoes), until heated through, about 3 minutes. Add more cooking water, if needed. Season with salt.
Mix the yogurt, chopped cilantro, lime juice and 2 tablespoons water in a bowl. Divide the potato-chickpea mixture among bowls. Top with the yogurt sauce, the remaining 1 cup fried onions, the sliced jalapeno and cilantro leaves.
Almost ready to eat and a dish I am sure renowned chef and Hell’s Kitchen mentor Gordon Ramsay would love.
You can choose to eat your curried chick peas alone, with flat bread, a salad or on top of rice -basmati or parboiled, or a pasta of your choice. I paired mine on top of Penne and it was delicious! The spicy kick from the scotch bonnet peppers hit the spot. I was warmed all over.
We enjoyed alongside a glass or red!
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