Sparkle Kitchen: Roasted Chickpeas
In this week’s The Willowbee Tree story, "The Angry Elephant," Piper accidentally breaks something of Clancy’s while she’s having a bit of a temper tantrum, and the Willow Tree invites her to go to the west coast of India to meet and learn from an elephant with a similar temper.
Wouldn’t it be lovely if we could all fly off for India with Piper and the Willow Tree? While I’m sure the adventure would be wonderful in itself, the real reason I’d want to go would be the food. Deeply colored curries, samosas, piles of scented rice — can’t you almost taste it?
While the atmosphere isn’t quite the same, fortunately you can easily create at least some of the smells and tastes of India at home. Chana sundal, a simple roasted chickpea dish, is often sold as street food, but don’t dismiss it. With a thick curry smell and just a little heat from a red pepper, it also makes a delicious dinner side.
The recipe below is Americanized just a little. Traditional chana sundal recipes typically ask that you cook dried chickpeas in a pressure cooker and use curry leaves. I couldn’t find either in my usually quite well-stocked market. Figuring that some of you might have the same problem, I’ve subbed in canned chickpeas and curry powder instead.
My family tends to think roast chickpeas are a little dry, so I almost always serve them with a side of thick, Greek yogurt.
Chana Sundal
Ingredients
25-ounce can chickpeas
3 tablespoons frying oil (such as coconut or vegetable)
2 teaspoons whole mustard seeds
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 chili pepper, diced
3 teaspoons dried, unsweetened coconut
Directions
Drain and rinse the chickpeas, and set them on a clean towel to dry. Then, in a large skillet, heat the oil until it starts to get shimmery. Carefully add the mustard seeds and the curry powder, stirring quickly to mix them into the oil. Then — making sure they’re nice and dry so they don’t sputter — add the chickpeas and, again, stir quickly. Lastly, add the pepper.
(Note: The order is important. If you add the diced pepper to the hot oil by itself you will, essentially, fill your house with pepper spray. And then you’ll be eating out for dinner. Don’t ask me how I know this. My family still teases me!)
Fry the chickpeas in the seasoned oil until they’re taking on color and getting crispy. Then, turn off the heat and stir in the dried coconut. Enjoy the chickpeas and the wonderful curry smell that will linger in your kitchen!
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About the Author
Meryl Carver-Allmond
The Sparkle Kitchen Series is created by Meryl Carver-Allmond.
Meryl lives in a hundred-year-old house near the prairie with her sweet husband, two preschoolers, one puppy, one gecko, and about ten chickens. While she's been writing since she could pick up a pen, in recent years she's discovered the joy of photography, too. She feels lucky to be able to combine those skills, along with a third passion — showing people that cooking for themselves can be healthy and fun — in her Sparkle Kitchen posts.
