Chana Masala and A Passage to India

My book club meeting was a lot of fun last month. Since we were reading A Passage to India by E.M. Forster (which has some remarkable parallels to what's going on in Iraq right now) we decided to have Indian food as our meal. I made a Weight Watcher's Sweet and Sour Chicken curry and a red dahl soup. Others brought tea and some chapati, naan, and roti bread from a Denver Indian restaurant. And Mary made Chana Masala, which was wonderful. As she writes:

The only obscure ingredient is Amchoor. They have it at the Savory Spice Shop on Platte St. in Denver. They call it mango powder there.

You could probably find it at any good Asian market as well.

Chana Masala
Prep and cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 T vegetable oil
• ¼ t whole cumin
• 1 med onion, chopped
• ¼ t cinnamon
• ¼ t nutmeg
• ¼ t ground cloves
• 1 t ground coriander
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ inch square piece of ginger, grated
• 1 T tomato paste
• 20 oz. can chickpeas
• ½ t salt
• 1/8-1/4 t cayenne (to taste)
• ½-¾ t ground amchoor or 1 T lemon juice
• Garnish: quartered tomatoes and slivered almonds

Directions:

1. Heat oil in 10-in heavy skillet over medium-high heat When hot, add cumin seeds. As soon as they begin to darken (a few seconds) add onion. Stir fry 7-8 minutes until onion begins to turn golden brown.
2. Turn heat to low and add cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and coriander. Then add garlic and ginger and fry. Stirring 2-3 minutes. Add tomato paste.
3. Drain chickpeas, reserving 2 T liquid. Add chickpeas and liquid to skillet. Add salt, cayenne, and amchoor (or lemon juice). Mix well, cover.
4. Let the chickpeas cook with the spices for about 10 minutes. Stir gently every now and then.

Can be prepared up to one day in advance and reheated over a low flame.

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