Black and Yellow Chickpeas with a Coconut Chili Sauce

My trusted volume of 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer has many post-it notes sticking out from the pages. Excuse me for once again raving about this fabulous book that includes lots of inspired ideas for spice blends, appetizers, paneer dishes, legumes, vegetables, grains and fusion style Indian curries. The introductions to his recipes are informative and highly entertaining. This cookbook is highly recommended from Lisa's Kitchen and it makes a great gift too for cooks that enjoy creative and heart-warming, but often easy to prepare, Indian dishes.

Coconut and chilies go so well with chickpeas and spices in this simple dish. While the black chickpeas — also known as brown chickpeas or kala channa — add a nice chewy texture, additional wholesome regular yellow chickpeas could be substituted instead.

Black and Yellow Chickpeas with a Coconut-Chili Sauce

Recipe by Lisa Turner Adapted from 660 Curries Cuisine: Indian Published on October 25, 2010 A simple, fragrant and attractive curry with black and yellow chickpeas, spices, coconut and chilies Print this recipe Ingredients: 1/3 cup dried yellow chickpeas 2/3 cup dried black chickpeas (or dried yellow chickpeas) 6 green cardamon pods 2 bay leaves 2 cinnamon sticks 4 tablespoons ghee or oil 2/3 cup dried grated unsweetened coconut 1 tablespoon coriander seeds 4 to 6 fresh green chilies, seeded and finely chopped 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds generous handful of dried curry leaves 1 1/2 teaspoons of sea salt, or to taste Instructions: Rinse and soak the chickpeas in enough water to cover for at least 10 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse, then transfer to a large saucepan and add 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil, add the cardamon pods, bay leaves and cinnamon sticks, then cover and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer until the chickpeas are tender — about 1 1/2 hours. While the chickpeas are cooking, heat 2 tablespoons of the ghee or oil over medium heat in a frying pan. When hot, add the coriander seeds, coconut and chilies to the pan. Stir and fry until the coconut begins to brown. Transfer to a blender, pour in 2/3 cup of water, and blend into a paste. Set aside. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of ghee or oil in the same frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the mustard seeds and fry until they turn grey and begin to splutter and pop. Add the curry leaves to the pan, stir a couple of times, and remove from the heat. When the chickpeas are finished cooking, stir in the coconut-chili paste, mustard and curry leaves, and sea salt. Simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Discard the cinnamon sticks, bay leaves and cardamon pods before serving. Makes 4 servings

More chickpea recipes from Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen:
Chickpeas, Kidney Beans and Lentils with a Spicy Tomato Sauce
Chickpeas and Paneer in a Spicy Creamy Gravy
Chickpeas with Coconut Sauce
Spicy Chickpeas with a Tangy Tomato Glaze

On the top of the reading stack: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro