Fifteen-Minute Chana Masala
Three tins of chickpeas and ten minutes at a proper heat, for a sauce that tastes cooked rather than merely warmed.
Why it works
Frying the ground spices in hot oil for thirty seconds before the tomatoes arrive dissolves them into the fat, which is what separates a cooked-tasting curry from a dusty one. Crushing a quarter of the chickpeas against the side of the pan releases their starch and thickens the sauce without any simmering time. The rice goes on with the first kettle of water and rests covered while the curry catches up.
Method
- Boil the kettle. Bring the rinsed rice, salt and boiling water to the boil in a small pan, cover it and cook 10 minutes at the lowest heat, then let it stand covered off the heat. Stir the yoghurt, cucumber and salt together in a bowl and put it somewhere cold.
- Heat the oil in a deep frying pan over a high heat. Add the cumin seeds, wait 20 seconds until they darken and smell nutty, then add the onion. Cook 3 minutes, stirring often, until browning at the edges.
- Add the garlic, ginger and chilli for 1 minute, then the ground coriander, cumin, turmeric and chilli powder. Fry 30 seconds — no longer, or they will catch.
- Tip in the tomatoes and cook 3 minutes over a high heat, stirring, until the sauce darkens and thickens enough to leave a trail behind the spoon.
- Add the chickpeas, 200 ml (¾ cup) water and the salt. Simmer 3 minutes, crushing about a quarter of the chickpeas against the pan side as you stir and pushing the spinach in by the handful, until the greens have collapsed and the sauce coats rather than pools.
- Off the heat, stir in the garam masala and a good squeeze of lemon. Taste for salt and sharpness, then scatter with coriander. Fork the rice loose and serve it with the curry and the cold raita.
For the toddler
Leave the green chilli out at step 3 and put it on the table for the adults instead; the half teaspoon of Kashmiri chilli is mild enough to stay. At step 5, add the chickpeas and water, lift a small ladle out for them, then salt the rest of the pan. Crush their chickpeas with a fork, and give them plain yoghurt rather than the salted raita.
How the toddler notes workChef’s notes
Black-eyed beans or butter beans work the same way; butter beans crush more readily and thicken faster.
Grate the onion instead of chopping and it softens in half the time. Three 250 g pouches of microwave rice save the rice pan.
Poppadoms, lime pickle, and a plate of red onion and cucumber in lemon juice.
Better on day two. Keeps 4 days chilled and freezes for 3 months.