Indian Chickpea Curry

Directions

Pick over the chickpeas, removing any misshapen beans or grit. Rinse under cold running water. Put the chickpeas in a large bowl, add enough cold water to cover by at least 2 inches (5 cm), and let stand at room temperature overnight. Alternatively, for a quick soak, put the chickpeas in a large pot, add enough water to cover by at least 2 inches, bring to a boil, remove from the heat, cover, and let soak for 1 hour. Drain and rinse the chickpeas.

In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, warm the canola oil. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger and sauté until the mixture just begins to turn golden, about 5 minutes. Add the cinnamon, cayenne, coriander, cumin, mustard seeds, and turmeric and sauté until the spices are fragrant and thoroughly blended with the onion mixture, about 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes, the sugar, 2 teaspoons salt, and 2 cups (16 fl oz/500 ml) water. Deglaze the pan, stirring and scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Bring to a boil.

STOVE TOP: Transfer the tomato-spice mixture to a large Dutch oven and stir in the chickpeas. Partially cover and cook over low heat until the chickpeas are very tender, about 3 hours.

SLOW COOKER: Transfer the tomato-spice mixture to a slow cooker and stir in the chickpeas. Cover and cook until the chickpeas are very tender, 4 hours on the high-heat setting or 8 hours on the low-heat setting.

About 15 minutes before the chickpeas are done, sprinkle the garam masala and lime juice evenly over the chickpeas and stir, breaking up some of the chickpeas with the back of the spoon to thicken the mixture slightly. Season to taste with salt. Remove the cinnamon stick and serve at once, garnished with the cilantro.

Excerpted from Essentials of Slow Cooking: Delicious New Recipes for Slow Cookers and Braisers.  Copyright (c) 2008 by Weldon Owen Inc. and Williams-Sonoma, Inc. Excerpted with permission of the publisher.