If you’ve been following me for a while you should know my basic food philosophy – I have Celiac’s Disease so all recipes, food suggestions and food reviews mean that they are gluten free.

I was fortunate enough to grow up in a cooking ass, Afro+ Indo-Caribbean household where most foods are naturally prepared with out gluten so it’s been amazing to get back to my roots, experiment with flavors and spices I’m used to and still maintain my GF diet.

I do post “recipes” from time to time but I consider them to be very loose guidelines. Like most of the old world learners, I don’t do much to manually measure while I’m cooking outside of baking so my “amounts” are suggestions as I encourage you to grow your own confidence and tastes as you experiment with me.

Today, I’ll be posting my go to recipe for Curry Channa (Garbanzo beans). This is something that can be served as a side or as a quick stand-a-lone snack.

Ingredients:

Basics:
1 Can of Garbanzo Beans (if you’re using raw garbanzo beans, please measure and soak overnight then follow the method)
3 pcs of garlic
1/2 of an Onion
3 springs of green onion
1 tablespoon of grated fresh ginger
2 Stalks of celery
1 half of a large carrot
1 ripe tomato
Fresh Pepper (Listen, go with your taste-buds, I used quarter of a scotch bonnet pepper minced)

Spices:
2 springs of raw thyme (If using dried, season to taste)
1.5 table spoons of Chief Madras Curry Powder (estimation)
1.5 table spoons of Chief Madras Garam Masala (estimation)
1 table spoon of cumin / geera (I used cumin seeds)
Salt – to taste
Italian Blend Seasoning – to taste (any green blend or basic spice blend will do)
Red Pepper Flakes (Optional)

Other:
Oil – I used regular vegetable oil
2 cup of Vegetable Stock (This is optional – I’ll explain why)

To answer some questions – yes you can make this without the Curry Powder and the Garam Masala and it will still taste pretty good BUT it won’t be curry. Also, I’m not sure if you’ll have access to that brand, use what you have – I’m just listing what I use.

Prep:

Chop and prep the first half of your list. Make sure that pieces are consistent for the larger items like Carrots, Celery, Tomato – don’t want to have mixed matched bites. Garlic, Ginger and Fresh Pepper are minced.

 

Method:

If you’re using canned beans – open your can – throw them into a strainer and run it under some water. Make sure there’s no extra skins or “froth”.  If you’re using dried garbanzo beans, you’d have to soak them overnight or at least for 6 hours before you started this recipe.

Because I’m silly and didn’t think of it then, I definitely don’t have any pictures of me “starting” the pot and this is where I know some of you, who may not have experience with curry and garam masala might get a bit fearful, but don’t worry it only sounds hard.

Make sure your skillet or pan is completely dry before starting.

Add Oil enough oil to cover the bottom of your pan and all of herbs / veggies you’ve prepped plus a splash more than that. Remember, in the beginning stages you can still add oil if it gets a bit “dry” or starts to catch but if you over do it, your curry will be oily and that’s not a good look.

Once your oil is hot, add your geera/ cumin, the masala and curry powder to the pan. Be sure to use a wood spoon or spoon (don’t judge) to make sure you work this together. You should start to smell the spices toast in the oil after a minute or so.

Add all your prepped veggies and herbs and continue to fold in as the spices toast. This is a great time to turn down the heat if you haven’t already. Allow your veggies to cook a bit – your onions should start to get translucent and your carrots should start to cook.

Should be smelling really good in there by now. It’s time to make sure you drain the excess run off from the garabanzo beans and add them to the pot – you can definitely turn up the heat a bit for this part and continue to stir everything together so the beans are coated with the spices and vegetables.

Once you feel like everything has come together, you can now adjust your heat and add a cup of vegetable (or whatever stock you have) to the pot. If you don’t have vegetable stock, you can add a cup of water, just be sure to adjust up your seasonings for the additional moisture we’re putting in there.

Heat can now be switched to low / simmer and should finish up within 10-15 mins depending the heat levels you’re using.

I like to keep it on simmer until the channa/ garbanzo beans almost melt and there is minimal sauce – feel free to add more stock if you’d like a sauce or stop when the beans are at your desired level of softness.

This is my go-to snack when I’m not really in the mood to make a full meal. If I’m feeling fancy and there are left overs, I’ll throw some avocado slices on this for a quick remix and eat cold.

 

Enjoy.