The other day, while wondering what to cook — something that happens to all of us — I suddenly had an epiphany and thought of experimenting with some boiled chickpeas that I had at home. The result was this quick gravy that took about 15-20 minutes to put together and went beautifully with the boiled chickpeas. I will also be making this gravy again, this time trying it with different vegetables.

Dahiwale Chole aka Chickpeas in a Tomato Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 cup boiled chickpeas
• 2 medium-sized onions, roughly chopped
• 4 medium-sized tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 5-6 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled
• 2-3 fresh red chillies, destalked
• 1 cup yoghurt, whisked
• 2 tbsp roasted peanut powder
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• ½ tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp jaggery powder (optional)
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp oil or ghee
• Finely chopped coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

• Blend together the garlic, ginger and red chillies into a smooth and keep aside.
• Blend the onions into a fine paste and keep aside.
• Blend the tomatoes into a fine paste and keep aside.
• Heat the oil in a pan and when the oil heats up, add in the cumin seeds and let the seeds pop.
• Pour in the blended garlic, ginger and chillies and stir well for a couple of minutes
• Then add in the blended onions, sprinkle a bit of salt and cook well until the onion starts to become translucent.
• Then add the blended tomatoes and cook covered until the oil starts to ooze out.
• Add the dry spices – turmeric powder, red chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, salt, and peanut powder. If you are adding jaggery powder or sugar, add it now.
• Once the oil oozes out, add in the whisked yoghurt and stir continuously for a few minutes.
• Now add the boiled chickpeas and cook covered on a medium-low flame for 5-7 minutes.
• Check for seasoning and adjust what is needed.
• Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with rice or any Indian flatbread.

Notes:

• I used already boiled chickpeas, but if you don’t have them handy, you can make it with canned chickpeas or soak a cup of dry chickpeas for 6–8 hours and then cook it in a pressure cooker or in a pan until they are soft.
• To make roasted peanut powder, dry roast peanuts until the skin starts to split. Cool them completely and blend to a coarse powder.
• You can also add powdered sesame seeds instead of peanuts or both together. To make powdered sesame seeds, dry roast white sesame seeds until they start to pop. Cool then pulse to make a fine powder.
• If you plan to use other vegetables, lightly fry them in 1 tsp oil until they are 80% cooked. Then remove and keep aside and make the gravy as per the recipe above. Add them back into the gravy where I have indicated adding the boiled chickpeas.