Category: chickpeas

keema chana curry

This was completely inspired to the ideas I’d been absorbing from Jamie’s 15 Minute Meals. Keeping a few pans on the go, everything cooked separately and brought together, powerful spices to give the flavours a kick… It’s exactly in keeping with the way some of the Jamie recipes work.

I do have one ingredient in there I’m not convinced Jamie would approve of… frozen mince and onion. But I can’t ignore the time-saving this offers me.

If’ I’d have had coriander leaf to scatter on top, it would’ve been perfect. But I was happy enough.

Keema chana curry (serves 2):

250g frozen mince and onion

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

½ teaspoon turmeric

1 red onion

1 clove garlic

1 tin tomatoes

1 teaspoon nigella seeds

1 teaspoon garam masala

1 tin chickpeas, drained

2 sweetcorn cob halves

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

Get two frying pans and a saucepan on pretty hot. Get the kettle on to boil.
Add a dash of oil to one of the pans and add the cumin seeds and turmeric. After a minute add the mince and onion and stir often.
Get your blender ready, and whizz up the onion, garlic, tomatoes, nigella and garam masala with a pinch of salt until liquid. Add to the other pan and allow to bubble. After a couple of minutes add the chickpeas.
Fill the sauce pan with boiling water and add the sweetcorn. Simmer for 10 minutes until tender, then drain. Return to the pan and add a knob of butter, a pinch of smoked sea salt and paprika. Pop the lid on and toss well.
Serve the mince on top of the tomatoey chickpeas with the sweetcorn on the side.

burger chickpeas cumin curry food peanut butter

curried chickpea burger

I’ve never really gone for vegetarian-style burgers, and yet one evening I had a curious craving for a chickpea burger. With a rummage in the cupboards I pepped them up with some curry flavour and enjoyed a substantial and tasty meal which left all thoughts of minced beef behind.

Curried chickpea burgers (makes 4):

1 can chickpeas, drained

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 tablespoon peanut butter

1 tablespoon breadcrumbs

1 roasted red onion*

1 heaped teaspoon curry paste (I used Patak’s balti paste)

Whiz all the ingredients together in a food processor and season to taste. With wet hands mold into 4 patties.

Heat a little oil in a frying pan and cook for 4 – 5 mins on both sides until well browned. Serve in a soft white bap with sweetcorn on the side.

*I had a red onion leftover from this recipe, if you don’t have one then pop one in the oven for 30 mins or fry briefly.

chickpeas chorizo food soup spinach

chorizo and chickpea soup

I read this post on the Word Magazine website. It was a Jamie recipe for a really corking-sounding soup which I was surprised I hadn’t come across before. I was even more surprised to discover it was in a book I’ve owned for years, Jamie’s Dinners!

It was as gutsy as it promised – nice, meaty chorizo with hearty chickpeas. If I did it again I’d add a little less liquid to make it a bit thicker, and perhaps add a dash of paprika to amp up the chorizo flavours. I have to say I’m not convinced by the grated egg either, did nothing for me at all. That aside it’s warming and frugal* – perfect for this time of year!

*if you ignore Jamie’s addition of pata negra – PATA NEGRA! – and use boring old sandwich ham like me. His version is here.

Chorizo and chickpea soup (serves 4 – 6):

200g chorizo sausage

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

8 fresh tomatoes, deseeded and roughly chopped

1 x 410g tin chickpeas, drained

1.3 litres chicken stock

6 chunks frozen spinach

2 slices ham, shredded

1 hard-boiled egg

Finely chop 150g of the chorizo and fry in a large casserole dish until the orangey oil leaks out, then add the onion. Cook gently for a five minutes then add the garlic.

Add the tomatoes, chickpeas and stock and bring to the boil. Add the spinach and simmer for 30 minutes until everything is tender and adjust the seasoning.

As the 30 minutes comes to the end get another frying pan very hot. Slice the remaining chorizo and fry for a couple of minutes on each side until crispy. Drain on kitchen paper while you finish the soup.

Whizz the soup up a bit with a hand blender (not too much!), and stir through the ham. Serve, garnishing with egg and sliced chorizo. Make sure there’s bread to hand!

Tags jamie oliver

cauliflower chickpeas curry

roasted cauliflower rogan josh

Post author By Gary @ BigSpud
Post date January 7, 2011
No Comments on roasted cauliflower rogan josh

I’ve been on a mad rush of curries lately. With how much I’ve enjoyed Leon’s crispy roast cauliflower in the past few months, it occurred to me that this method of cooking is identical to the tikka style of barbecuing the meat separate to the sauce. With the addition of lentils to make it a fuller meal and Patak’s taking care of the spices, this was a glorious curry.

Roasted cauliflower rogan josh:

1 head of cauliflower, hacked to florets

2 carrots, chopped into chunks

1 tablespoon sunflower oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

Sprinkle of black onion seeds

1 teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon turmeric

For the sauce:

2 onions, sliced

2 tablespoons Patak’s rogan josh curry paste

1 tin tomatoes

1 tin lentils

Preheat the oven as high as it will go. Scatter the veg in a large baking tray. Mix the spices with the oil and drizzle over the cauliflower and carrots. Sprinkle with salt and toss liberally to coat everything. Roast for 45 minutes or until the cauliflower starts to blacken.

When the veg has had about 30 minutes in the oven, prepare the sauce. In a large casserole sweat the onions in a little oil for about 10 minutes until starting to turn golden. Add the spice paste and stir for a minute to get it going.

Add the tomatoes, then chuck in the lentils (including the water they come in). Bring up to a boil and simmer quite vigourously for about five minutes. The veg should be ready at this point so bring out of the oven and throw the lot into the casserole. Stir and check for seasoning (salt? Lemon juice?), then serve with naan.