Spicing things up

We had a curry night! Actually I'd a number of dishes planned for a proper Indian meal to be enjoyed after the children are in bed, however while they were eating their tea K decided that he couldn't wait any longer after all and so I had to quickly throw a couple of recipes together asap - humph! So the Spiced Prawn Soup turned into Prawns Sauteed in Butter and Lemon, and the Saag Aloo is on hold 'til tomorrow when I finish off today's Chick-pea Curry leftovers. Don't you just love it when a recipe makes more than you realise and you have enough over to avoid having to cook the next day?!



Chick-pea curry (serves 2, generously)

2 onions, chopped
400g tin of chick-peas, drained
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2.5cm piece of fresh root ginger, grated (I cheated here and used the tubed stuff you can get here)
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon ground corriander
1 tablespoon tamarind paste (I couldn't get this)
3 fresh tomatoes, skinned and chopped
200ml black tea

Stir-fry the onions until soft and starting to brown. Add the other ingredients and bring gently to a simmer. Put a lid on and cook for 10 minutes, then remove the lid and continue to cook for a few minutes until the liquid has reduced and thickened slightly. Season and eat!

I served this with saffron rice, but I think it would be better with a veggie pilau. It was pretty good, although not spectacular - something was missing (I suppose that would be the tamarind). But I've got enough to play around with for lunch tomorrow, and I'll pair it up with the Saag Aloo that I didn't get to make tonight. Certainly beats Marmite on toast!