Curried Chickpeas

I will be the first to admit that I am no cook.

In fact, in college, I lived next door to my boyfriend at the time and his 2 roommates and I had a sick habit of eating butter sandwiches for lunch/dinner. I tried to make a hot dog in the microwave but I blew it up twice in a row and gave up. That was how pathetic I was. Anyways my boyfriend and his roommates got so worried/mad/annoyed that I couldn't cook anything so the 3 of them would have to take turns cooking dinner for me.

HA.

I can't believe I just told that story.

Anyways, since then I have learned to become a bit of a better cook. I can now cook a hot dog in the microwave without blowing it up, and chicken nuggets are my specialty. Made in the microwave of course.

My friend Rachel told me about this awesome blog called budgetbytes.blogspot.com. If you have never been to it go check it out. They have awesome recipes with the breakdown of the cost per serving. They also show step by step pictures which I love because I can see what it's supposed to look like! I found a recipe for curried chickpeas aka chana masala on there which just happens to be my favorite Indian dish. I immediately went out and got the ingredients to make it.

Quick Curried Chickpeas

2 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion

2 cloves garlic

2 15oz cans chickpeas

1 20oz can tomato sauce

1 cup water (I forgot this!)

1 tbsp curry powder

1/2 bunch cilantro

STEP 1: Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Cook the onion and garlic in a large pot with olive oil over medium heat until softened (3-5 minutes).

STEP 2: Drain the canned chick peas and add to the pot. Also add the tomato sauce, water and curry powder. Stir the pot until everything is evenly mixed. Bring the mixture up to a simmer over medium heat.

STEP 3: While the chick peas are simmering, rinse the cilantro and pull the leaves from the stems. Roughly chop the leaves and add them to the pot. Give everything a stir and continue to simmer until the sauce has reduced to a thick consistency (about 20 minutes total). Stir the pot every few minutes to prevent the sauce from burning and sticking to the bottom.

So easy. So quick. So delicious. I actually forgot the water which I think worked out in my favor because my friend Rachel said that when she made it she couldn't get the sauce to thicken. I also used a tad bit more curry powder...but that just all depends on how spicy you like it.

Anyways. Go make this NOW! It's so yummy and definitely definitely check out budget bytes if you haven't already!