My father was a very accomplished cook, in fact the best spice master I have ever known. He was a great influence on me, especially in the way he flavoured his dishes.

He had his own catering company, and I grew up helping him. There are quite a few family dishes that he taught me, but this chickpea stew — a favourite dish in northern India — is the one I love most.

My father’s grandmother taught him how to make this stew and I make it 95 per cent the same way. I like to serve it with sliced red onion and green chilli, mango pickle and bhtura, a bread similar to naan.

Ingredients

Serves 4

250g chickpeas, soaked overnight

1 teabag

1 tsp salt

3 tbsp vegetable oil

4 medium onions, chopped

2 tsp chopped garlic

1 tbsp ginger, chopped

3 green chillies, sliced

5 tomatoes, chopped

2 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp cumin powder

½ tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp red chilli powder

2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

¼ tsp garam masala

1 tsp toasted cumin seeds, crushed

1 tsp toasted coriander seeds, crushed

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp ginger, cut into julienne strips

Method

1 Drain and discard the liquid from the chickpeas. Put the chickpeas, teabag and salt in a pan with 1 litre of water and simmer until the chickpeas are tender. Drain and reserve this liquid.

2 Heat oil in a kadhai (wok) and sauté the onions until golden brown, then add the garlic, ginger and chillies. Sauté until the garlic changes colour, then add the tomatoes and the coriander, cumin, turmeric and chilli powders, lower the heat and cook until the fat separates. Add the chickpeas and a cup of the reserved liquid and simmer until the liquid is absorbed. Add salt and most of the chopped coriander leaves, garam masala, crushed cumin and coriander seeds. Add lemon juice, ginger and remaining coriander leaves.

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