Spicy Garbanzo Beans

Ingredients:

Garbanzo beans - soaked and cooked - 1 cup

Onions - cut finely - 1/2 cup

Tomatoes - cut finely - 1/2 cup

Salt - to taste

Chili powder - to taste
Cilantro - chopped 2 -3 tsp
Dry spices for garam masala tempering ( 4-5 cloves, 6-7 black peppercorns, 2" flat cinnamon stick, 1 badi ilaichi or 2 small green ilaichi, 2 bay leaves)
Peanut oil for tempering

Wet Masala:

Ginger root - freshly grated - 1 tsp

Garlic - chopped - 1/2 tsp

Green chili - chopped - 1/2 tsp

Green mango (sour) - chopped - 1 tsp (or dry mango powder - 1/2 tsp)

Cumin powder - 1 tsp

Coriander powder - 2 tsp

Chane ka masala - 1 tsp (store bought) - optional
Water - enough to grind masala to a fine paste - up to 1/4 cup

Recipe:

Add all the ingredients for the wet masala in a blender and add little water if necessary to grind everything in a fine paste.

Heat 2-3 Tb peanut oil in a pan.

Add whole dry spices (cloves, cinnamon, black peppercorns , bay leaves) one by one and partially cover the pan with the lid. (Cloves, and black peppercorns can splatter and cause burns).

As soon as the spices are cooked (20-30 seconds), add chopped onion and stir well. Let the onion get cooked. It will look translucent

Add chopped tomatoes and let the tomato get cooked. Continue stirring.

Add freshly ground wet masala.

Add cooked garbanzos (if you are in a hurry add 1 can of low salt garbanzos).

Mix well.

Add 1 cup water and continue cooking.

Add salt, chili powder to your taste.

Let the gravy reduce to about 1/4 cup water (or as thick gravy you would like to have).

Transfer to a serving dish and add freshly chopped cilantro.

Serve as a side dish with any Indian bread, or rice.

Notes:

1) I keep more gravy if I am eating it with rice.

2) Bay leaves reduce gas from the beans.

3) Replace water 2-3 times while beans are getting soaked. This will also reduce gas from the beans.

4) You can add 1cup tea water while cooking garbanzo beans to add color to beans 

(boil 1 cup water with 2 tea bags and discard tea bags and use this water).

5) I do not like the flavor of badi ilaichi so I rarely use it.