Khatte Meethe Chanay (Sweet and Sour Chickpeas and Kidney Beans)

I was initially dubious of this recipe. I like kidney beans in chili. I wasn't sure I'd enjoy them in a curry. And I wasn't sure how I'd feel about the contrast of the chickpeas with the kidney beans. As it turns out though, it was great! Kidney bean curries are amazing. And I really liked the sweet-sour combination.

Khatte Meethe Chanay

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1 red onion, minced
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 4-6 dried red Thai, cayenne, or arbol chilies, minced
• 1/4 c. ginger paste
• 2 Tbsp. ghee or oil
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 2 Tbsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt¹
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. fennel seeds, ground
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1/2 tsp. cardamom seeds from green pods, ground
• 3 c. cooked chickpeas
• 2 c. cooked kidney beans
• 1L water
• 2 tsp. tamarind concentrate
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Combine onion, garlic, chilies, and ginger paste.²
2. Heat ghee over medium-high heat.
3. Add cumin seeds and simmer for 10-15 seconds.
4. Add onion mixture and stir-fry for ~5 minutes.
5. Add coriander, salt, sugar, fennel, turmeric, and cardamom and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
6. Add chickpeas, kidney beans, and water.
7. Stir in tamarind concentrate.
8. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 25-30 minutes.
9. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

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¹ If you've cooked your own chickpeas and kidney beans from dried without the addition of any salt, you may need additional salt during cooking. Add up to 1/2 tsp. additional salt for salt-less legumes. ^Back
2 If you have a food processor, you can leave the onions, garlic, and chilies in large pieces and use fresh ginger in place of ginger paste. You will need three 1x2" slices of ginger each ~1/8" thick. Combine these ingredients in the food processor and process until minced. ^Back