This South Indian-style chickpea tamarind curry is best served with a warm bowl of steaming rice. The chickpeas are cooked in a ground spice masala and finished with the sweet, tart, sour flavour of tamarind extract. A recipe close to my heart from my favourite Kasargod family in Khobar. Thank you, UmmRaima.
Why you'll Love it
This chickpea tamarind curry has no fancy ingredients, no packaged spice blends, no garam masala, no coconut milk, not even onion, but it will win your tummy! Uses the standard pantry spices, which are easily available in the market.
During our years in Yanbu, we often escaped to Khobar to spend holidays with a dear family who always fed us generously. On one visit, her mother was staying with them, and I watched her make this comforting chickpea curry while listening to their sweet Kasargod dialect; mostly without understanding a word. She later helped me jot down the recipe, and this chickpea tamarind curry became one of the first curries I cooked in my Yanbu kitchen. It pairs beautifully with rice, Ari dosha and savoury kalthappam.
Notes on Ingredients
- Chickpeas: I used dried chickpeas, soaked and pressure-cooked. Canned chickpeas work too!
- Spices: Red chilli, coriander, turmeric, and cumin powders.
- Rice flour: Mixed with the spices and water to make a paste; it thickens the curry.
- Tamarind pulp: Soaked in hot water and strained.
- Coconut oil
- Tempering: Mustard seeds and curry leaves.
- Onion: Optional-added for extra flavour, though not in the original recipe.
- Others: Ginger garlic paste and potatoes.
Refer to the Recipe Card at the bottom of this page for a complete list of ingredients and quantities.
Quick Look: How to make this Curry
- Heat oil in a deep pot. Add mustard seeds and let them splutter.
- Add curry leaves and fry until crisp.
- Add onion (if using) and sauté until translucent.
- Add ginger garlic paste and sauté until the raw smell disappears.
- Add the cooked chickpeas with some of the cooking water. Bring to a boil.
- Lower the flame. Add the prepared curry paste and chopped potatoes.
- Add more water if needed and cook until the potatoes are tender.
- Stir in tamarind extract and salt. Bring to a boil and simmer briefly.
- Switch off and serve hot with rice. Store leftovers refrigerated.
More Recipes using Chickpea and/or Tamarind
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📖 Recipe Card
Chickpea Tamarind Curry with Potatoes
Ingredients
Pressure cook chickpeas
- 1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight, washed and drained
- 1½ cup water , to pressure cook
- Salt to taste
For the curry paste:
- ½ teaspoon red chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ tablespoon cumin powder
- ½ tablespoon rice flour
- ½ cup water
For the tamarind extract
- 2 tablespoons tamarind pulp
- ½ cup hot water
For the curry
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil, or any cooking oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- curry leaves
- 1 medium onion, chopped finely (optional)
- 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
- 1 large potato, chopped into chunks
- Salt to taste
Instructions
Pressure cook
- Add the chickpeas, water and salt into a pressure cooker and pressure cook for 4 to 5 whistles on medium flame. You can also use an Instant Pot at high for 35 mins and NR. You may skip this cooking part and use roughly 2 cups of canned chickpeas.1 cup dried chickpeas soaked overnight, washed and drained1½ cup water to pressure cookSalt to taste
Prepare the curry paste
- Add all the spice powders along with the rice flour in a small bowl. Stir in the water and mix thoroughly to a smooth paste. Keep this aside for later use.½ teaspoon red chilli powder½ teaspoon coriander powder½ teaspoon turmeric powder½ tablespoon cumin powder½ tablespoon rice flour½ cup water
Prepare the tamarind extract
- Add the tamarind pulp into a heatproof bowl and pour hot boiling water over it. Keep covered until required. Strain and use in the curry.2 tablespoons tamarind pulp½ cup hot water
Prepare the curry
- Heat oil in a deep saucepot on a medium flame. Add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Next, add the curry leaves and fry until crisp. Then, add chopped onion if using and saute until translucent. Next, add ginger garlic paste or freshly chopped and saute until no longer raw.1 tablespoon coconut oil or any cooking oil1 teaspoon mustard seedscurry leaves1 medium onion chopped finely (optional)1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
- Dump all the boiled chickpeas along with enough water from the cooker. Bring this to a full boil.
- Reduce the flame to low and stir in the prepared curry paste along with the chopped potatoes. Add more water and salt to taste and boil until the potatoes are cooked through.1 large potato chopped into chunksSalt to taste
- Stir in the prepared tamarind extract juice and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, simmer for a few minutes and switch off.
- Serve hot with rice. Refrigerate any leftover covered.
Famidha Ashraf says
I forgot about this gem until recently... this chickpea-tamarind curry with potato is a must-try. Do tell me how it turned out in the comments!