It’s been a while since I posted a truly Pakistani recipe. I tend to make the same dishes over and over again. But I recently found FatimaCooks.net, by a Pakistani woman who lives in London. Her recipes taste right – like good home cooking – and Kumy really likes them too. They’re clear, well written and don’t use as many difficult-to-find ingredients. Though I do recommend getting Kashmiri red chilli powder, which she uses fairly often.

This curry is actually pretty quick and delicious. Cholay is usually pretty spicy, but you can turn down the heat by reducing the Cayenne pepper. It’s great over rice, or served with warm naan.

Ingredients

1 medium onion, diced finely
2 medium tomatoes diced finely
1 tsp garlic powder, or 2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 inch ginger, grated
1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained (chickpeas) or soak your own.
½ cup plain, full-fat yogurt
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp cayenne powder
½ tsp paprika
¼ tsp turmeric
¾ tsp garam masala
¼ tsp amchur powder (dried mango powder) or 1 tsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro, for garnishing

Heat oil in a pot and add the chopped onions, garlic and ginger. Cook them over medium heat till they brown lightly, stirring frequently. Add tomatoes and a couple of spoonfuls of water. Continue cooking and stirring frequently until the tomatoes break down.

Add all the spices and the chickpeas and cook for 2 more minutes.

Add yogurt and ½ cup of hot water. Turn the heat to low and let the curry simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Uncover – if the curry isn’t as thick as you’d like, let it continue to cook for a few more minutes to thicken up. If it’s too thick, just add a little more water

Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve with rice or with Naan.

Note: If you’re serving with Naan, you’ll want to make it a little dryer. If you’re serving over rice you can leave it a little wetter.