Chana masala

Serves 4 You will need:

• 3 onions, coarsely chopped

• 3 cloves of garlic

• A 3cm x 3cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

• 1 green chilli, roughly chopped

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 2 tablespoons ghee or butter

• 1 teaspoon ground coriander

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1 teaspoon turmeric

• 1 teaspoon garam masala

• ¼ to ½ teaspoon chilli powder

• A pinch of ground pepper

• 1 teaspoon amchoor powder (see Rachel Recommends, below left)

• 4 tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped, or 1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 2 x 400g tins of chickpeas, drained

• 400ml vegetable stock or water

• Juice of 1 lemon

• 2 tablespoons coriander leaves, to serve

• Rice, to serve

1

Put the coarsely chopped onions in a blender with the garlic, the chopped fresh ginger, the roughly chopped green chilli and a pinch of salt. Blitz to a paste.

2

In a saucepan, melt the ghee or the butter, whichever you’re using, then add the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli paste and cook for about 5-6 minutes, stirring over a low-to-medium heat, until the mixture has softened and is golden.

3

Stir in the ground coriander, the ground cumin, the ground turmeric, the garam masala, the chilli powder, the pepper, and the amchoor powder, if you are using it. Cook, stirring, for three minutes until the mixture is aromatic, then add in the fresh or tinned chopped tomatoes, whichever you’re using, some salt to season, and the sugar. Bring to the boil and cook for five minutes, squashing the tomatoes with a spoon as they soften.

4

Tip in the drained chickpeas and the vegetable stock or the water, whichever you’re using, then bring to the boil and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the chickpeas have absorbed the flavours.

5

Add the lemon juice, and season again, if necessary, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Scatter with the coriander leaves, and serve with rice.