Mirchi Waale Kala aur Kabuli Chana (Black and Yellow Chickpeas with Red Chilies)

I forgot that the grocery stores would be closed on Easter Sunday and thus couldn't get the bits I needed to make the chicken and potato curries I had planned. So I had to do a swift search of the curry book for an emergency back-up plan. I ended up setting on a potato-paneer curry and this mixed legume dal.

Mirchi Waale Kala aur Kabuli Chana

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. dried chickpeas
• 1/4 c. dried black chickpeas
• 1/4 c. dried kidney beans
• 1/4 c. whole black lentils (mapte beans/sabud urad)
• 3 1/2 c. water, divided
• 1 onion, chopped
• 10 whole cloves
• 3-8 dried red Thai, cayenne, or arbol chilies, stems removed
• 4 green cardamom pods
• 2 (7-8cm) cinnamon sticks, crushed/broken
• 2 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 1 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 2 Tbsp. ghee
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1/2 Tbsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Rinse the dried legumes, drain, cover with hot water and let stand for 8-24 hours. For a quick-soak, place in pressure cooker, pressure cook for 1 minute, then let stand for 1 hour.
2. Drain the legumes, add 3 c. of fresh water, and pressure cook for 1 hour, followed by a 15-minute natural release.
3. Meanwhile, add 1/4 c. of the remaining water to a blender along with onion, cloves, chilies, cardamom pods, and crushed cinnamon sticks and purée.
4. Transfer onion paste to a bowl and stir in the ginger paste, garlic paste, and turmeric.
5. Melt ghee over medium heat.
6. Add the onion paste and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.
7. Stir in the tomato paste and salt and set aside.
8. Once the legumes are done, open the pressure cooker and add the sauce.
9. Pour the remaining 1/4 c. of water into the pan that the sauce was cooked in to deglaze it and add this liquid to the legumes as well.
10. Simmer the dal over medium-low heat for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally. For thinner dal, keep it covered while simmering. For thicker dal, simmer it uncovered.
11. Stir in the cream.
12. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.