Chana Madra | Chickpeas in a Spicy Yoghurt Sauce

Himachal Pradesh, a state in the North of India have some delicious vegetarian dishes despite being non-vegetarian over all. This is a dish that is very common, especially at festival time. Chickpeas are simmered in a beautiful sauce of yoghurt and warming spices.

Similar recipes include Roast Eggplant with Crushed Chickpeas and Herbed Yoghurt, Vadai with Yoghurt, and Kadhi.

Browse all of our Chickpea dishes and all of our Yoghurt recipes. All of our Indian recipes are here, and our Indian Essentials are here. Or explore our Mid Spring recipes.

Rustic Potato and Chickpea Soup with Greens and Tahini

In times of stress, it is important to boost your immune system with healthy nourishing food. As winter approaches with its usual bevy of illnesses, it is good practice to do the same. I love to use turmeric at these times – other great spices that keep you healthy include powdered ginger and fresh garlic.

This soup came together one morning when I felt a strong need to nourish myself. It is tasty and the greatest ever welcome to the cold weather.

A couple of notes on the recipe. I used a soup base made by cooking green mung beans with some earthy, grounding spices until the beans were quite mushy. It is a trick I use a lot – most often I use mung beans, mung dal or toor dal. So healthy too.

I have included some Indian ingredients in the recipe – for example asafoetida. They are easily available at Indian shops.

Angostura Bitters and some acid – lemon juice or vinegar, or even a little tamarind or amchur – are great additions to liven and freshen the flavours of any soup. It counteracts any muddiness that comes from longer cooking. Add lemon or vinegar at the end of cooking. The others can be added during the cooking process. Angostura Bitters can be found in supermarkets and bottle shops.

Similar recipes include Chana Madra, Celeriac Soup with Mustard, Minestrone, Spinach Soup and Chickpea and Pasta Soup.

Browse all of our Soup recipes and all of our Chickpea Soups. Or explore our Early Autumn dishes.

Spicy Baked Black Chickpeas, Eggplants and Tomatoes

Black chickpeas (Kala Chana) are very common in India but not so common outside. There are two types of chickpeas – the larger light tan Kabuli chickpea, the one that is commonly used here, and the variously coloured Desi chickpea. They are green when picked early then vary through tan or beige, to speckled, dark brown and black. 75% of world production is of the smaller desi type. The larger type, also called garbanzo bean,  was introduced into India in the 18th century.

Desi chana are smaller and darker with a rough coat; its other names include kala chana (black chickpea) or chholaa boot. It is this variety that is hulled and split to make chana dal.

Kala Chana have a dark and earthy taste, and aren’t quite as soft and creamy as their kabuli chana counterpart. But that makes them unique and especially delicious in Wintery dishes.

Today I bake them in a spicy tomato saucy and layered with roasted eggplant and tomatoes. Served with rice, a pickle and a herby yoghurt dish, it makes a wonderful meal. There are similar dishes made with the karbuli type of chickpeas from the Middle East and beyond – Falesten has a recipe for Musaqa’a which is also worth making. This recipe is quite similar.

Similar dishes include Chana Madra, Baked Eggplant with Cheese and Tomatoes, Eggplant and Zucchini Bake with Chickpeas, and Baked Garlicky Eggplant.

Browse all of our Chickpea recipes and all of our Eggplant dishes.

Couscous and Chickpea Pilaf with Pistachios

Chickpeas go with just about everything, they are so versatile. I love them with pasta and with freekeh. Tonight they are paired with couscous for a beautiful pilaf scattered with pistachios. The nuts add colour and also beautiful textural contrast. I love using pistachios but pinenuts are also superb.

The best thing about this pilaf is it is made in 5 mins if you use pre-cooked or tinned chickpeas.

Similar dishes include Chana Madra, Saffron and Cardamom Pilaf, Couscous Salad with Orange, Roast Pumpkin Couscous Salad, and Couscous with Pinenuts and Sultanas.

Browse all of our Pilafs, Couscous dishes and Chickpea recipes. Or explore our Late Summer dishes.

Greek Chickpeas Slow Baked in Stock and Olive Oil with Herbs and Tomatoes

These will have to be the softest chickpeas ever. They are par boiled then baked in a slow oven for 2.5 hours. The dish is served either hot, warm or cold – it will make a meal in itself with a little feta and a green salad or some cooked greens. The recipe is adapted from Ikaria, by my favourite Greek cookbook author, Diane Kochilas.  It is a dish that can be made at any time of the year.

Similar recipes include Baked Black Chickpeas,Eggplant and Tomatoes, Softest Chickpeas, Baked Dakos with Chickpeas, Feta and Tomatoes, and Slow Cooked Tomato Chickpeas.

Browse all of our Chickpea recipes and all of our Greek dishes. Or explore our Mid Winter recipes.

Minestrone di Pasta e Ceci | Minestrone with Pasta and Chickpeas

I have always loved pasta with chickpeas – a pretty classic dish in this household. There is something about the texture of the chickpeas with the pasta that is wonderful. And of course a pasta dish seems really healthy with all those chickpeas.

This recipe brings pasta and chickpeas together again, this time in a classic Minestrone. Use smaller pasta for this soup – small shells or small rounds of pasta like anelli or ditalini.

Similar recipes include White Beans and Pasta in a Beautiful Broth, Genoese Minestrone, Borlotti Bean and Pasta Soup, and Chickpea and Parsley Soup with Turmeric.

Browse all of our Minestrone recipes and all of our Soups. Or explore our Mid Winter dishes.

Chickpea and Parsley Soup with Turmeric

Here is another of my loved rustic soups. It is a health-boost in a bowl, this soup. I usually don’t make it until later in the Wintery cough-and-cold season, but here we sit, at the beginning of the coronavirus scare. It is early March as I write, so I am putting attention to boosting the immunity of family and friends – and myself of course.

This is a very easy soup to make, and the chickpeas can be cooked the day before if you wish. Tinned chickpeas can be used – just skip the instructions for cooking them.

Similar recipes include Potato and Chickpea Soup with Greens and Tahini, Freezing Ginger and Making Ginger Paste, Chickpea and Pasta Soup, Turkish Spinach Soup with Chickpeas, and Parsley Braised with Tomatoes.

Browse all of our Soup recipes and all of our Chickpea Soups. Or explore our Early Autumn dishes.

A Huge Collection of the Best Ever Chickpea Recipes

Chickpeas, and the flour made from ground chickpeas feature strongly in our kitchen.  Today we want to share with you our most favourite chickpea and chickpea flour recipes. Many of these recipes have been on our kitchen’s menu for over 20 years! They have been shared via our previous blog Food Matters from 1995 – 2006, in person with friends, and through this blog that has been running from 2006.  The older recipes of course don’t show the fashionable food styling that is current today, but here we believe in food for sustenance, food for flavour, and healthy food to keep the body healthy. We are not so much about food for entertainment. I do hope you enjoy.

Turmeric Chickpea Hummus

Hummus is pretty common in everyone’s home and in many a Middle Eastern restaurant. We make it a lot, whizzing it up in the food processor in a matter of minutes. There are many variations on hummus, but we now have our favourite way of making it, so it is a no-fuss, no thinking dish that can be on the table in under 5 minutes (if you have cooked the chickpeas ahead of time – we keep bags of them in the freezer).

Recently I came across Turmeric Chickpeas – chickpeas that have been soaked and cooked with a lot of turmeric. You can read about our experiments with them here or jump straight to the recipe (you will need it for the hummus).

For this recipe we use Turmeric Chickpeas instead of plain, ordinary chickpeas. It is the same recipe as our usual hummus, just that we are adding this twist. BTW, if you are interested in reading about the different thoughts about how to make the best hummus, check our usual recipe. It also has some variations that you can incorporate.

You might like to read our Very Special Turmeric Recipes.

Similar dishes include White Bean and Sun Dried Tomato Dip/Spread, Tray Baked Spicy Turmeric Chickpeas, Celeriac Hummus with Cauliflower Tabbouleh, Smashed Chickpeas with Dukkah and Brocolli, and Creamy Pearl Hummus Salad.

You might like to browse all of our Dips and all of our Chickpea recipes. Explore our Middle Eastern recipes. Or take some time and browse our Mid Spring recipes.

Tray Baked Spicy Turmeric Chickpeas | Turmeric Chickpeas Roasted with Spices

Baked chickpeas are a delicious, easy and healthy snack. You can snack on them straight from the pan, or throw them into salads, on top of pasta  or scattered over a thick wintery soup. Eat them sitting in the garden in the sunshine. Take them in your backpack on long walks. Bring them to a picnic. Take a small container to the gym. Bring in your bento box to the office for lunch. Nibble when you have the pre-dinner munchies. Or snack on them late at night while watching TV.

I first baked spicy chickpeas way back in 2008, and they have been a firm favourite in our household. But recently we made a variation of the recipe. Rather than using canned or ordinary cooked chickpeas, we have soaked and cooked the chickpeas in turmeric water. It adds a lovely colour to the chickpeas and a turmeric tang to the flavour. Turmeric chickpeas are all across the internet, and we have done a small experiment with them to test the flavours, visual appeal and health impact. If you are interested, you can read more about the wonders of Turmeric.

The recipe for Spicy Baked Chickpeas is one that works well with the Turmeric Chickpeas.

Similar recipes include Throw a Tray of Veg into the Oven, Baked Black Chickpeas,Eggplant and Tomatoes, Tray Baked Veg with Pomegranate Molasses, Deep Fried Potato and Carrot Strings, Baked Okra in Dukkah, and Paprika Oven Chips.

Browse all of our Snacks and all of our Chickpea recipes. Or explore our Mid Summer dishes.