Saturday 11 August 2018

Coronation chickpeas

Yotam Ottolenghi’s coronation chickpeas.
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 Yotam Ottolenghi’s coronation chickpeas. Photograph: Louise Hagger for the Guardian
There are many points of difference that distinguish this salad from the original coronation chicken that inspired it, but the sweet-savoury creaminess that makes the original so loved (or loathed) is still here and makes this, at least for me, a perfectly satisfying summer meal. Feel free to leave out the raisins if you don’t like them.
Prep 20 min
Cook 40 min
Serves 4 as a starter
3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1½ tsp tomato paste
1 tsp cumin seeds, roughly crushed in a mortar
¼ tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp mild curry powder
40g golden raisins
2 tbsp apricot jam
Salt and pepper
75g Greek-style yoghurt
2 x 400g tins chickpeas, drained (480g net weight)
5 spring onions, finely sliced
5g coriander leaves (about 1¼ tbsp), roughly chopped, plus a few extra leaves, to serve
20g roasted salted peanuts, roughly chopped
2 baby gem lettuces, trimmed and leaves separated
1 red chilli, finely sliced
¾ tsp mustard seeds
6 curry leaves
Heat two tablespoons of oil in a large saute pan on a medium-high flame then fry the onion, stirring occasionally, for eight minutes, until softened and lightly browned. Add the garlic, ginger, tomato paste and spices, and cook for a minute more, until fragrant, then pour in 250ml water. Add the raisins, jam, half a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper, and cook for 10 minutes, until the liquid has reduced to about 60ml, then leave to cool for 10 minutes.
Stir the yoghurt and chickpeas into the pan, then transfer about 200g of the mixture to a separate bowl and use a fork to crush the chickpeas into a rough paste. Return the crushed chickpeas to the main pan with the spring onions, coriander and half a teaspoon of salt. Stir and transfer to a serving platter, sprinkle the peanuts on top and arrange the lettuce and extra coriander to one side.
Put the chilli and remaining tablespoon of oil in a small frying pan on a medium heat and cook for about seven minutes, until the chilli begins to dry out without taking on any colour. Add the mustard seeds and curry leaves, cook for two minutes more, until the leaves develop a deep green shine, then pour over the chickpea mixture. Serve at room temperature, using the lettuce leaves as utensils to scoop everything up.

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