Dinner party redux

I attended a lovely dinner party on Saturday evening, and the hostess made a special effort to make a vegetarian casserole for those of us who could not eat her roast chicken. It was wonderful: barely, pinto beans and polenta-- mmm. :) I had volunteered to bring a vegetarian dish, too, and settled on Indian. I HIGHLY recommend this watermelon curry recipe. I know it sounds like a strange flavor combination, but it was a huge hit at the party. I'm putting it into the regular rotation. But the star was the chana masala; the leftovers went home with a friend, and she said they were even better the next day. I wasn't quite happy with the flavors the first time around, but I think I found the answer in tonight's version. The cinnamon is in no way traditional to this dish, but I find it takes the edge off the tomato acidity and adds a wonderful warmth to the sauce.

Chana Masala (adapted from Orangette)

olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin seeds
3/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp garam masala
3 green cardamom pods, crushed lightly with the blade of a large knife (open slightly, but do not crush so much that the seeds escape)
1/4 cup water
1 28-ounce can peeled, crushed tomatoes
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, plus a bit more to taste
2 15-ounce cans organic chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tsp cinnamon
juice of one half lime

Coat the bottom of a large skillet with olive oil; heat over medium heat. Add onion and sautee-- stirring frequently-- until browning and caramelized. This generally takes about 25 to 30 minutes on my stove top; most importantly, please do not rush the process. The slower the color builds, the better. Once onions have deepened (even begun to char in some places?), add garlic and cook until the flavors bloom-- usually a minute or so, stirring constantly.

Reduce heat to low and add spices: cumin seeds, coriander, ginger, garam masala and cardamom pods. Stir well, and cook until fragrant (30 to 90 seconds, depending on your heat). Deglaze pan by adding 1/4 cup of water, and scraping all the browned flavorful bits from the bottom of the pan. Let cook until water has dissolved and the spice onion slurry is all that remains.

Add tomatoes, breaking them up into pieces with your hands. Salt and stir well. Raise heat back to medium; bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add cinnamon and lime juice; simmer until sauce begins to thicken a bit. Reduce heat to low, add chickpeas and stir well.

Add 2 tablespoons water to the dish, and allow to simmer for another 5 minutes. Add 2 more tablespoons water, and simmer 5 minutes. This repeated process keeps the chickpeas plump and deepens the flavors of the sauce. Check for seasoning, and serve over rice/quinoa/any other grain-- or be adventurous and serve alongside roasted potatoes with garlic as I did this evening. It was still phenomenal, if not traditional. Squeeze additional limes over at table, if desired.