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A Secret Recipe for Meat-Free Monday: Chole Chaat (Chickpea Curry)

Yum

Chole Chaat

A Secret Recipe for Meat-Free Monday:

Chole Chaat

(Chickpea Curry)

Chole Chaat

Apart from Fish on Friday, a series of fishy posts on Lavender and Lovage inspired by the historical tradition of eating fish on Fridays, I’m not usually a lover of being “spoon fed” into writing posts (and recipes) based on “blogging dietary days of the week” – mainly because I am a bit of a rebel that way and I’d like to think I’m a free-spirit, plus, my meals are based on finance, seasonal ingredients (often picked from my garden) and my social diary; but, when I was perusing the recipe index of Food.Baby.Life, my assigned “secret” blog this month (for The Secret Recipe Club), I was instantly drawn to a recipe for “Meatless Monday – Chole Chaat (Chickpea Curry)”.

Chole Chaat

We often have meat-free days, not just on Mondays, but whenever it fits into our daily routine……as I said before, I don’t need to have a day designated to a certain type of meal, but I suppose it does highlight the importance of eating less meat and embracing a more “plant-based” style of diet, and if Mondays have been picked, than that’s fine! (Although I must stress that in the “old days”, Monday was never a meat-free day, but more of a “left-overs” day, when leftovers from Sunday would be used for the evening meal – such as Shepherd’s Pie and Meat Rissoles) However, it just so happened, that a meat-free Monday suited us this week, as we’d overdosed on barbecued meat over the weekend!

chickpeas

My assigned blog, (Food.Baby.Life) is one I know well, as I made a wonderful recipe from there last year for Baked Jam Doughnut Muffins, which have proved to be very popular with my family and friends (as well as my readers) since I shared the recipe. Food.Baby.Life is written by the lovely Susan, who is married with three little boys; she lives in Australia and is studying Naturopathy as part-time student, and she has an enviable array of tasty recipes on her site, of which the following ones caught my eye: Red Lentil Dhal;  Peanut Sesame Noodles; Apricot Chicken; Apple Crumble Cheesecake and Garlic Chive and Mozzarella Parathas. 

Baked Jam Doughnut Muffins for The Secret Recipe Club

But with a pantry full of tinned chickpeas and tinned tomatoes, as well as desire for one of my favourite Indian curries, it was Susan’s recipe for Chole Chaat (Chickpea Curry) that made it to the Lavender and Lovage diner table. I love this “street food” style dish, with its tea, ginger, onion and garlic base, it’s wonderful when served with rice or in a small pot with warm, fluffy naan bread. I’ve also used it as base for a spicy vegetarian soup before, to much acclaim – the perfect bowl of spicy warmth for a cold day. Traditionally it is served with Mint Chutney and Sev (pieces of crunchy chickpea flour noodles) on top and is a little drier than today’s recipe – a hot salad if you will.

Chole Chaat

I’ve shared Susan’s recipe, as adapted from A Little Taste of India, Murdoch Books, 2003, below, and this is even better when reheated next day, so if you can, why not make it the day before you need it, in order for the flavours and spices to meld together. I’ve “lightened” this up a tad, to fit in with my Weight Watchers and 5:2 diet, and for those following the Weight Watchers programme, one serving with rice is only 9 Pro Points. It’s a wonderfully easy recipe to make and feeds 4 people with ease, when served with rice and/or naan bread. Enjoy! Karen 

RAWPublik Coconut Oil

NB: I used some excellent RAWPublik Organic Coconut Oil in this curry; I was sent three jars for review and I was extremely impressed with the taste and texture of this pure coconut oil. Watch out for more recipes that use this amazing ingredient on Lavender and Lovage in the future.

Chole Chaat

Chole Chaat (Chickpea Curry)

Print recipe
Chole Chaat (Chickpea Curry)
Serves 4
Prep time 10 minutes
Cook time 35 minutes
Total time 45 minutes
Dietary Vegan, Vegetarian
Meal type Lunch, Main Dish, Side Dish, Snack
Misc Pre-preparable, Serve Hot
Region Indian
From book A Little Taste of India, Murdoch Books,
Chole Chaat is a spicy Indian chickpea curry made with a base of fresh ginger, garlic and tomatoes; serve with steamed Basmati rice and assorted sambals.

Ingredients

  • 1 x 400g tin chickpeas
  • 2 teaspoons raw coconut oil (or ghee)
  • 1 onion, peeled and finely diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon ground garam masala
  • 2.5 cm (1") fresh ginger root, grated
  • 2 red or green chillies, finely chopped
  • 1 x 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
  • 1 x tablespoon Marigold Swiss Vegetable Bouillon Powder (mixed with hot water in empty tinned tomato tin)
  • chopped fresh coriander (to garnish)

Note

Chole Chaat is a spicy Indian chickpea curry made with a base of fresh ginger, garlic and tomatoes; serve with steamed Basmati rice and assorted sambals.

Directions

Step 1 Heat the coconut oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat and cook the onion until golden and softened.
Step 2 Add the dry spices and cook for 1 minute. Add the garlic, ginger, chillies and tinned tomatoes and stir to combine.
Step 3 Add the chickpeas and 1 x tomato tin of hot water along with the stock powder.
Step 4 Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 25 - 30 minutes.
Step 5 Serve with steamed Basmati rice and a sprinkling of fresh coriander.

Secret Recipe Club

Also check out Susan’s wonderful version of my Lussakatter – St Lucia Saffron and Cardamom Sweet Buns here:

Saffron and Cardamom Sweet Buns (SRC)

Saffron and Cardamom Buns

 


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Comments

  2. Susan says

    Karen yet again you’ve made one of my recipes look absolutely stunning!! I’m so glad you chose this one, it is definitely one my all-time favourite meals. Your post has reminded me just how much I always enjoy it so guess what we’ll be having for dinner this week?!

    Reply

    • Karen Burns-Booth says

      Thanks so much for all the recipe inspiration Susan, we both absolutely LOVE this classic Indian dish and we will be enjoying the leftovers with some naan bread tonight! Karen

      Reply

  4. clairemb12 says

    Your dishes always look amazing, I really really wish I liked chickpeas.. they are soo healthy and inexpensive, I’m wondering if I should just ‘try again’, in the way we ask children to do?, your post has certainly made me consider it..x

    Reply

  7. SallyBR says

    I feel exactly like you as far as Meatless Mondays or any other assigned dietary thing as far as blogging is concerned. They are fun, don’t get me wrong, but indeed, call me a rebel. 😉

    having said that, the dish you picked is one of my all time favorites, I ADORE it. It is luscious, not too heavy but still substantial

    perfect choice, if you ask me, the rebel 😉

    Reply

    • Karen Burns-Booth says

      Hello fellow Rebel Sally!

      Glad it’s not just me then!! Like you, I know they are fun, but I’m the cat that walked alone when it comes to planning my weekly recipe posts!

      This was a FAB recipe however, and it has made it into my regular meal planning already!

      Karen

      Reply

  8. Coffee and Crumpets says

    Chole are one of our family favourites, especially for breakfast with fresh, puffy pooris.
    It’s one on my standbys for meatless days and a back up curry for my daughter who is a vegetarian.
    Love the look of yours.
    I usually make mine with tamarind and potatoes and mash the beans up a little to get a creamy consistency. The tamarind version is pretty darn good, I think you’ll love it Karen!

    Reply

  11. Handmade by Lorna says

    Yummy – this is one of my most favourite curries. I buy huge bags of dried chickpeas from a local shop – cook them up in my pressure cooker and freeze them in portions. Delish. The good thing about curries is that you don’t have to be too exact with ingredients. Your curry looks delicious and has reminded me to make one for tomorrow nights tea. Thank you

    Reply

  14. Christie says

    Ya know. I was going to make a curried chickepea stuffed pepper. Now, I can just use this recipe to stuff the peppers. Looks delicious!

    Reply

  19. Tara says

    Yum, this looks delicious! So easy with a great combination of spices too. Your photos are absolutely beautiful. I will definitely have to try it.

    Reply

  21. Sue Lau says

    Looks good! Choley chaat is different on this side of the pond–usually chilled. If it is warm as a chaat it is usually served with bhatura but still has chaat masala in it. This version they just call choley when it is served with rice. But I love it any way I can get it! ~s

    Reply

  22. Sophie Yates says

    Hello there, I may be being stupid but can’t see a calorie count for this recipe?… Normally if you recommend a recipe for 5:2 ing, you very helpfully tell us the calories in it. I would like to do this one as it looks very yum! Thanks for your help. S

    Reply

    • Karen Burns-Booth says

      Hello Sophie, I am an old hand at 5:2 and have been featured in magazines for my recipes, and I DO normally post calories in my recipes! However, although I say that this recipe is suitable for the 5:2 diet, I was promoting the recipe under the Weight Watchers scheme, which I also follow for the remaining days of the week, and it has 9 Pro Points in it, which is mentioned in the post – 9 Pro Points is about 400 calories….as a rough guesstimate – if I have time, as I a writing a book at present, I will TRY to work out the calories to a more precise total, but as I know and understand the WW diet points system, 400 calories is about right and would be fine as big meal on a fast day, I hope that helps, Karen

      Reply

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