Last night, I made a quick (see below) chickpea curry as dinner for a
friend. It's kind of a pan-Indian polyglot of a dish, but it sure is
tasty with some brown basmati.

1-2 Tbsp oil (I used grapeseed)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander seed
1 clove
1 small cardamom pod
a small piece of cinnamon
a bay leaf
pinch of turmeric (opt)
1/2 cup diced onions
a little ginger and/or garlic paste (opt)
1/2 tsp tamarind concentrate
3 Tbsp hot water
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
salt to taste
ground red chili to taste

Heat the oil.

Grind up the whole dry spices, except for the bay leaf, and add them
(with the bay leaf) to the oil.

Once they start to smell roasted and nice, add the onions, and stir
well to distribute the spiced oil. Stir periodically, till nice and
brown. You could add garlic or ginger, or a little turmeric now, too.
(I added a little ginger, sliced and mashed in a mortar and pestle.)

Meanwhile, dissolve the tamarind concentrate in the hot water. Once
the onions are brown, add the tamarind water and mix well. Add the
chili, salt and chickpeas, and let reduce till almost dry. Add some
hot water again, and let it reduce till it's coated the chickpeas
somewhat.


(Making this took about 20-30 minutes, including prep. Cooking the
half cup of brown rice took longer than that.)


Enjoy!
N.