Here is my take on an oldie but goodie Indian dish. I have customized it to be oil-free, and strictly plant based so everyone can enjoy! Originally inspired from an article I read in “Rodale’s Organic Life”. I then had the fantastic opportunity of having an Indian friend show me the ropes to cooking in ‘their style’ (God we love America!). So this is the combination of things I picked up along the way. I hope you enjoy it and that you get to experience the spirit of the dish that we so often enjoy.
Ingredients:
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
40 g or 1.5 oz finely chopped fresh ginger
1 (or 2 or 3…) medium clove of garlic, minced
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp turmeric
4 bay leaves
1-2 chile de arbol (broken in half) OR Serrano peppers (cut in quarters), (only if you want it spicy-you may omit otherwise!)
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half OR 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 plum tomatoes, finely chopped (roma) OR 1-1.5 can low sodium diced tomatoes
2 cans (15 oz each) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
2 tsp garam masala
4 cups cooked rice
Kosher salt
Whole wheat Naan or Tortillas
Directions:
- In a crock pot (on low) add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, until hot, about 5 minutes. Stir in the coriander, cumin, turmeric, bay leaves, chile/peppers, & cinnamon; cook until toasted and fragrant, about 5 minutes more.
- Add the tomatoes and cook until almost dry, about 10 minutes. Add the chickpeas, 1/2 cup water and a ‘hollowed palm’ of salt (see pic below); cook in the crock pot on a low setting, stirring occasionally until the flavors meld and a ‘sauce’ forms, about 8 hours.
- Stir in the garam masala and season to taste with salt. Remove and discard the bay leaves, chile/peppers (Jason likes to keep them to the side to add back in later), and cinnamon sticks (if applicable).
- Serve over rice and top with cilantro. May eat by itself or with naan or tortillas (again God Bless America!) Note: I cut the onion, garlic and ginger in a manual hand processor (making like a relish) together and proceed with step 1.

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