Yum!  Homemade curry is a wonderful thing, fresh and fragrant.  Lately I’ve been able to convert my curry indifferent husband into a curry loving husband with dishes like this.  Such is the power of good home cooking.  Chocked full of ginger, this spicy dish will make your taste buds sing.  The recipe calls for 3 cups of cooked chickpeas which is approximately equal to 2 (15-ounce) cans, drained and rinsed or 1 cup of dried chickpeas.  You don’t need to pre-soak dried chickpeas either, they cook up fine without bothering.  Just put 1 cup of dried chickpeas into a saucepan, add lots of water and some salt.  Bring to a boil,  turn the heat down to low, cover and simmer for about 1 1/2 hours.  Easy, peasy.

1 (15.5-ounce) can diced or whole tomatoes, with juice
1 small onion, coarse chop
4-inch long piece of ginger, peeled
4 large garlic cloves
1-2 jalapeño or serrano chiles, stem removed and seeded
1 Tablespoon coriander seeds
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 cinnamon stick, 3-inches long and broken into pieces (use a meat mallet or hammer)
1 Tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
3 cups cooked chickpeas
1 teaspoon garam masala, store bought or homemade
juice of one lime
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

Cut the ginger chunk in half.  Rough chop one piece of ginger and cut the other piece into matchstick sized pieces.  Rough chop 2 of the garlic cloves and mince the other two.

To a blender, add the canned tomatoes with juice, onion, rough chopped ginger, rough chopped garlic, jalapeños, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and cinnamon stick pieces.  Purée until smooth.  If the mixture is too thick, add water 1/4 cup at a time until the blender will make a purée.

Heat the canola oil in a 10-inch straight-sided skillet over medium heat until shimmery.  Add the matchstick ginger and minced garlic.  Stir-fry until they just begin to turn light brown, 1-2 minutes.  Add the tomato purée and stir in paprika, cayenne, turmeric and 1/4 cup of the cilantro.  Partially cover the pan and let cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.  Add the chicken and chickpeas and 1 cup of water.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce heat to low and let cook uncovered for 25-30 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  Just before serving, stir in garam masala, lime juice and remaining 1/4 cup cilantro.  Serve with basmati rice or naan bread.

adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer