Khatte Channa

This recipe was adapted from Suvir Saran's indian home cooking... I made a couple changes, but kept the use of ketchup, even though I've heard many times to never use ketchup while cooking Indian food... I decided to try it anyway, and the recipe really turned out perfect! I also like the use of canned chickpeas, because these quick recipes can come in handy when I forget to soak dried beans or want something at the last minute. This is another book I got from the library, but will be purchasing for myself. There is a lot of great pictures, which I love, and It's full of recipes I want to try. So this is just one of many that I will be posting in the future.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 teaspoons tamarind concentrate
  
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin seed
• 8 - 12 fresh curry leaves
• one large red onion, minced
• salt, to taste
• 1 tablespoon ginger paste
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  
• 3 teaspoons mango powder (amchur)
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder
• 2 medium tomatoes, pureed
• 2 (19 ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  
• heaping teaspoon garam masala
• heaping teaspoon coriander/cumin powder
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• 1 lemon, juiced
  
• cilantro, for garnish

Method:

Dissolve tamarind concentrate in 1/2 cup warm water. Heat the oil with the cumin seeds and curry leaves in a large frying pan over medium-high heat and cook, stirring, until cumin begins to brown.

Add the minced onion and salt, and cook until the onion turns uniformly golden brown in color, 10 - 15 minutes. Add the ginger and cook, stirring, one or two minutes. Add turmeric and cook, stirring one more minute. Add the mango powder, and cayenne and cook, stirring, about 15 seconds. Add the tomato puree and the tamarind water. Bring to a simmer, turn heat down to medium-low and simmer about 15 minutes.

Add all but about 1/2 cup of the chickpeas to the pan along with the garam masala, coriander/cumin powder and ketchup. Mash the remaining chickpeas to a puree with the back of a fork and add to the pan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer gently about 10 more minutes. Stir once or twice during cooking. Stir in lemon juice.

Serve garnished with cilantro and enjoy!