Going Veggie - Chickpea Curry aka Chana Masala

I've been making this curry for about 3 years now. The recipe comes adopted way of 'The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook' from Bay Books.

It's spicy (but not too hot), low-fat, and has protein from the lovely chickpeas (or garbanzo beans - whatever ya wanna call them).

Note: a half cup of chickpeas has 170 calories and 10 grams of protein - not too shabby!

Anyway, I made this last night for a good friend and there were compliments galore :-) Try for yourself - it's super easy!

You'll need:

2 onions
4 cloves garlic
1 TBSP oil
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp paprika
1 TBSP ground cumin
1 TBSP ground coriander
2 14 oz cans of chickpeas, drained
1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 tsp garam masala

•  Slice onions finely.
• Crush garlic.
• Saute with oil over medium heat til soft.
• Add chili powder, salt, turmeric, paprika, cumin, and coriander - stir for 1 minute.
• Add chickpeas and undrained tomatoes. Stir until combined.
• Simmer, covered, over low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in garam masala.
• Simmer, covered for 10 more minutes.

Serve naan, pita, (sometimes I'll use tortillas in a pinch), or brown rice.

Another note: garam masala is a blend of Indian spices and can be found in large supermarkets and specialty food stores.

On with the photos! (My favorite part :-)

Enjoy!