Chickpeas with Mushrooms

As I noted in a previous post where I announced a giveaway for Madhur Jaffrey's new cookbook At Home with Madhur Jaffrey, the first recipe I tried from this delightful collection was this spicy Chickpea and Mushroom dish. How could I resist considering chickpeas and mushrooms are two of my very favorites and they pair so well together. This dish can be served as is but I decided that I liked the idea of presenting it in a wrap topped with yogurt and a sprinkling of hot sauce. I adapted the recipe slightly, but generally stuck to Ms. Jaffrey's instructions. For an extra special mushroom treat, serve with a generous portion of Mushroom Curry as a side.

My vegetarian readers in the UK might also be interested in a food contest hosted by Linda McCartney foods. The challenge is to come up with a meat free dish that is a complete meal in itself. The contest runs until the 28th of January. For more details, click here.

I am also submitting this recipe to Priya, who is hosting My Legume Love Affair this month, a most popular event started by darling Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook.

Chickpeas with Mushrooms

1 cup of dried chickpeas, rinsed and soaked in enough water overnight to cover
1/4 cup of ghee, or olive oil
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
2 inch piece of cinnamon stick
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 inch piece of ginger, grated or finely chopped
1 medium clove of garlic, crushed or finely chopped
10 - 12 mushrooms (cremini or white button mushrooms), sliced into wide strips
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne
1 small tomato, diced
2 -3 fresh green chilies, seeded and finely chopped
sea salt to taste

8 - 10 tortillas
fresh parsley
chopped tomatoes

Begin by cooking the chickpeas. Drain, transfer to a large pot, cover with water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cover and cook until the chickpeas are buttery soft - roughly 1 - 1 1/2 hours. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the cumin seeds and cinnamon stick. Stir and fry for a minute. Now add the onions and stir and fry until the onions begin to brown - roughly 5 minutes. Toss in the ginger and garlic, coriander, cumin, turmeric and cayenne. Stir and then add the mushrooms and cook until they begin to lose their liquid. Add the tomato, chopped chilies and a 1/2 cup of reserved chickpea cooking liquid (or water). Cover the pot, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the cooked chickpeas to the pot, along with the salt and 1 cup of the reserved chickpea cooking liquid (or water). Bring to a gentle boil, reduce the heat to low and cover and simmer for another 15 - 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

To serve as a wrap, place a few tablespoons of the chickpea mushroom mixture in the middle of a tortilla bread. Add some finely chopped tomato, chopped fresh parsley or cilantro and finely sliced onion if desired. Wrap, transfer to a plate and top with fresh yogurt or sour cream drizzled with hot sauce or with your favorite chutney or salsa.

Serves 6.

Other spicy chickpea recipes from Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen you are sure to enjoy:
Shredded Paneer with Tomatoes, Chilies, Mushrooms and Chickpeas
Chickpea Vindaloo
Chickpeas and Paneer in a Spicy Creamy Cashew Gravy
Spicy Chickpeas with Ground Pomegranate Seeds

On the top of the reading stack: 1,000 Indian Recipes

Audio Accompaniment: Marsen Jules