Name: Pindi Chana
Yield: Serves 2
Ingredients: 300 g (10½ oz.) canned chickpeas; 2 tea bags; 1 tsp. amla pieces; 2 black cardamoms; 2–3 green cardamom pods; 2–3 cloves; 1" piece of cinnamon stick; 1 bay leaf; 1 tsp. salt; 1 Tbsp. dried pomegranate seeds; 1 Tbsp. cumin seeds; 2 Tbsp. coriander seeds; ½ tsp. ajwain (carom seeds); 2 Tbsp. ground coriander; ½ tsp. garam masala; 1 tsp. amchur (dried mango powder); ¼ tsp. black salt; A pinch of asafetida; 1 tsp. crushed dried fenugreek leaves; ½ tsp. red chile powder; 2 tsp. Kashmiri chile powder; 4 green chiles, slit down one side and seeds removed; 2 Tbsp. ginger, julienned; 50 ml (1¾ oz.) canola oil; 1 Tbsp. finely chopped cilantro leaves; 1–2 lemon wedges; Salt

A platter of chick peas cooked with chili peppers ginger and spices.

Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Judy Haubert

Pindi chana is named after the town where it originated—Rawalpindi in Pakistan—in the days before the India-Pakistan partition. It’s easy to cook and, unusually, does not contain any onion or garlic.

This recipe appears in Keya Wingfield's Diwali menu and was excerpted from ‘Tarkari’ by Rohit Ghai. Buy the full book on Amazon.

What you’ll need

Amla
$15 At Amazon
Dried Pomegranate
$14 At Amazon
Ajwan Seed
$7 At Spicewalla
Amchur
$8 At Amazon

Recipe notes

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