the hungry tiger: Onion relish, chickpeas, an effort to catch up

January 05, 2003

Onion relish, chickpeas, an effort to catch up

I am a little behind in the things I want to write up here, I'm afraid. Just before I last went away, we had this very tasty chickpea meal. It would have been significantly better if I'd also made some fresh and flavorful flatbreads to wrap the chickpeas in; the storebought pitas were pretty blah. Next time I will try to start a little earlier, or at least buy some superior bread. I should look at the local(ish) Indian grocery for frozen naan, because I know I would often be very happy indeed to have them on hand.

The onion relish recipe that follows (only minimally adjusted from the New York Times article on sumac I linked to a little while ago) complements the chickpeas beautifully and sparked up the meal significantly. It's so easy, too, and would be great with any number of curries. It mellows and melds as it sits, and you could keep it in the refrigerator for days. However, it was also just dandy made about half an hour before dinner, and we ate the whole batch between the two of us.

CHICKPEAS, TART AND SPICY
1 cup boiled, cubed potatoes
1 can drained chickpeas
1 T. olive oil
1 t. cumin seeds
6 cloves garlic, minced into a paste
3/4 c. salsa out of a jar, medium or hot
1/2 t ground cumin
1/2 t amchoor, or juice of 1/2 lemon
3/4 c. water
1 t tomato paste

Heat the olive oil in a heavy pan over medium-high heat. Add the cumin seeds. After a few seconds, add the garlic and cook for about a minute, stirring constantly. Still stirring, add the salsa and cook another 2 minutes. Add the potatoes and chickpeas, the water, the ground cumin, and the amchoor. Turn heat to low and cover. Cook about 20 minutes, then remove cover, stir in tomato paste, and cook down to desired thickness.

ONION RELISH
1 red onion, minced
1 T ground sumac
2 t. olive oil
1 t salt

Mix. Let sit, stirring occasionally. Serve.

Posted by redfox at January 05, 2003 08:52 PM (dinner reports)