Ingredients:
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 can of chickpeas
½ an onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
At least 4 tablespoons of good quality yellow curry powder (see recipe notes)
1 potato, cubed (optional)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Water
Serve with:
Tamarind sauce
Cilantro
Pepper sauce
Heat the olive oil and cook the onions and garlic over medium heat until translucent. Add in cumin seeds and cook for another few minutes, stirring frequently. Drain the canned chickpeas but do not rinse them, and add in. If you are using potatoes, add them now as well. Add water until the chickpeas and potatoes are nearly covered, and add curry powder, salt, and pepper. The curry powder should be added to taste, as 4 tablespoons is a minimum recommended amount and may not be strong enough. Cook until the potatoes and chickpeas are tender, then reduce to desired thickness.
Notes:
A good quality curry powder for this recipe would be Kala Brand curry powder. For this recipe, I would use enough to dye the water a deep shade of yellow and until quite fragrant. This will seem like a lot, but the chickpeas need to absorb all of this flavour.
While cooking, add in some tamarind sauce for a deeper flavour.
You can also add in additional spices that will enhance certain parts of the curry powder, depending on your taste. Coriander seeds can be toasted with the cumin seeds, and turmeric and cumin powder can be added in with the curry powder.
Garlic powder can also be added, but will give the chana a strong garlic flavour.