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Chickpea Dal with Mustard Greens and Tomato

From the collection
Serves 4

Introduction

Ladle this dal over brown or basmati rice, or serve it with poppadums. While you can deep-fry or toast poppadums, the easiest way to prepare them is to pop them into the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Ingredients

3 cups cooked chickpeas, plus 2 cups cooking liquid (if reserved, otherwise plain water)
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 Tbsp. minced ginger
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion, minced
~ Salt
1 tsp. garam masala
½ tsp. turmeric
1 bunch mustard greens, stemmed, blanched, and coarsely chopped (see Note)
1 can diced tomatoes (14 ounces), well drained
¾ cup coconut milk
~ Cayenne pepper to taste

Steps

  1. Combine 1 cup of the chickpeas and 1 cup cooking liquid in blender and purée until smooth; set aside.
  2. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering; add the ginger, jalapeño, garlic, onion, and large pinch salt, and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and just beginning to brown, about 6 minutes. Add the garam masala and turmeric, and stirring constantly, cook until the spices are fragrant and darkened, 30 seconds.
  3. Add the puréed chickpeas, whole chickpeas, and remaining cup of cooking liquid from chickpeas, plus 1 cup water (or 2 cups water); bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium low, and cook 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and coconut milk; simmer another 10 minutes. Stir in the greens, adjust seasoning with salt and cayenne, and serve.

Notes

To blanch the greens, cook them in a large pot of boiling, well-salted water until just tender, about 5 minutes. Immediately drain and shock with cold water before squeezing dry and chopping.

Read more about garbanzos in Matthew Card’s feature on chickpeas.

This content is from the Matthew Card collection.

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Comments
There are 6 comments on this item
Add a comment
Average Rating 5
66% recommend this recipe
1. by Liz Crain on Mar 26, 2008 at 11:22 AM PDT

I made hummus earlier this week and ended up with a couple extra cups of soaked chickpeas. This is just what I was looking for -- a warm, spicy way to use them. AND we have mustard greens growing in the back yard right now. Perfect -- thanks.

2. by anonymous on Apr 1, 2008 at 10:30 AM PDT

yummmmmm! I had a wonderful time making this. I made an event of it with my friend over the weekend. She has a two year old and doesn’t really get a chance to devote much time to cookery, and I have a family who rarely enjoys the kinds of food which I enjoy cooking. A perfect combination.

I looked a couple of places around Portland for the mustard greens before eventually finding the most beautiful mustard greens of all time at the Hillsdale Market grown by my beautiful friends at Gathering Together Farms of Philomath. Another perfect combination!

All in all a wonderful experience.

3. by Liz Crain on Apr 25, 2008 at 3:15 PM PDT

I made this recipe again last night -- still lots of mustard greens a growing -- but added mung beans, black lentils and lots of cinnamon. It was super tasty. And now it’s committed to memory. Thanks again.

4. by meerastvargo on Oct 15, 2008 at 4:50 PM PDT

If you want to make your own garam masala: mix together 2 teaspoons ground coriander, 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (use 1 tsp. of this mixture in this recipe).

5. by Iann on Jun 20, 2009 at 3:53 PM PDT
Rating: five

I made this with spinach and served it over brown basmati rice. DELISH! Just the right amount of spice to make my nose run and super flavorful. Thanks! Can’t wait to eat this for lunch tomorrow too!

6. by Heather Phelps-Lipton on Jan 6, 2010 at 5:35 PM PST

i would like to send an official thank you mr. card’s direction for this deliciousness.
we are total bean heads + this is a magnificent addition to our garbanzo eating repertoire.

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