Named as such because the chickpeas are so meltingly creamy, this is a recipe inspired by a chickpea curry I had from Afghan Sufra in Lakemba, an area of Sydney known for its wonderful Middle Eastern and sub-continental food scene. I’m obsessed!
Melting Afghan Chickpea Curry
Today’s recipe is inspired by a chickpea curry I had from a casual eatery called Afghan Sufra in Lakemba. Known for its authentic Afghan food, I was drawn in by the smell of smoky grilled meats and walked out with a generous spread of takeaway – for research, of course!
In amongst the loot was a chickpea curry that came with a gigantic flatbread – incredible value at $10, enough to feed two generously, if not three. I enjoyed the flavour of it so much I became fixated on recreating it. And here it is!
Why I love this Afghan chickpea curry so much
To be honest, throughout the creation process, the recipe diverged from the original – my sauce is thicker rather than watery, I use less oil, and I cheat with canned chickpeas so I can make it on demand. But the spirit of the Afghan flavours are there, and distinguishable from other generic curries (you know what I mean!)
You’ll love how the sauce is thickened naturally using dried lentils cooked until they break down, and the neat trick to make the chickpeas beautifully creamy with just a pinch of baking soda. Two tricks I learnt from this Parkistani Lahori Chanay recipe from Sugar Spice & More on which this recipe is based. Though, the spicing ratios I created with reference to the chickpea curry in Parwana, a wonderful Afghan cookbook by Durkhanai Ayubi, and many “debates” with JB (see FAQ below for tales!).
I know this is a weird photo, but it’s my attempt at proof of creamy chickpeas – so soft you can “smear” them with the back of a spoon:
Ingredients in Afghan chickpea curry
Here’s what you need to make this. Just drop by your local grocery store!
1. THE Spices
Because we’re using a combination of spices, it means you can substitute and still end up with a tasty meal, even if the flavour is not exactly what it was intended to be. Handy!
Cinnamon sticks (oops, photo below! 🙂 )- Sticks rather than powder sort of perfumes sauces in a more delicate way, especially when you toast it in the oil like we do here. If you don’t have sticks, cinnamon powder can be used instead. Just add it with the other powdered spices.
Coriander and cumin powder – One of these can be substituted with either Garam Masala (better) or curry powder (like Clives, Keens – just regular western brands). If you do both though, it’s too much.
Cardamom powder and ground cloves – One of these can be substituted with all spice or mixed spice.
Turmeric powder – Substitute with a small amount of saffron powder (imitation is fine) plus ginger powder.
Note: I’ve seen versions of Afghan curries call for whole rather than ground cardamom and cloves. But for the sake of convenience and to make this midweek friendly, I’ve opted for powder. Picking out little cardamom pods and cloves or fiddling with spice sachets is beyond my reach on Mondays! Cinnamon sticks though, we can manage. 🙂
2. THE CURRY
Dried red split lentils – Red lentils cook faster than other types, and split red lentils cook even faster (because they are literally the lentils split in half). They only take 10 minutes to cook but we deliberately overcook them here with a total simmer time of 45 minutes so they breakdown and thicken the sauce naturally.
See expandable box below for using other types of dried lentils / split peas.
Chickpeas – I use canned for convenience, as I’ve been making this as a mid-weeker. To use dried, use 1 1/2 cups (250g), once cooked this equates to around 3 cans of chickpeas.
Baking soda (bi-carbonate soda) – The magic ingredient that makes these chickpeas meltingly tender and creamy inside! It’s magical. 🙂 We only use 1/4 teaspoon in a giant pot of curry, a tiny amount you won’t be able to taste.
Ghee – A clarified butter commonly used in Indian and Middle Eastern cooking for its rich buttery flavour and high smoke point. Sold at large grocery stores here in Australia these days. Substitute in a pinch with butter or coconut oil.
Ginger and garlic – Fresh, for maximum flavour impact! Finely grated.
Bay leaves – Preferably fresh though dry is totally fine.
Vegetable stock – The liquid for simmering. I tried with water and it was ok…..but I felt it was missing body.
Other types of dried lentils / split peas
Other types of dried lentils/split peas take longer to cook but can be used. Adjust the recipe as follows:
Dried yellow lentils (split or whole), whole red lentils – increase lid on simmer time from 15 minutes to 30 minutes*
Dried yellow split peas, green lentils, green split peas: increase lid on simmer time by 30 minutes to 45 minutes*
Canned lentils – haven’t tried though I know it won’t be quite the same, it should work: drain, add with chickpeas (ie skip the entire lid-on simmer step).
Not suitable (they don’t break down or will take too long): French lentils (puy lentils), whole dried peas
* These are the times for the lentils to cook, you still need to add the 30 minute chickpea cooking time to let the lentils breakdown.
How to make Melting Afghan Chickpea Curry
A nice, straightforward recipe. There’s a total simmer time of 45 minutes but it’s low maintenance, you don’t need to worry about stirring.
Toast cinnamon sticks – Melt the ghee (or butter) then toast the cinnamon sticks. This brings out the flavour and flavours the ghee too.
Sauté – Add the onion, garlic and ginger. Cook for 3 minutes until the onion is translucent. Keep it moving so the garlic and ginger doesn’t catch.
Spices and lentils – Next, add the spices and toast them for 30 seconds, then in go the lentils. Stir to coat them in all the tasty spice flavour. Right about now, you know you’re onto something really tasty!
Simmer lentils – Add the stock and salt. Stir well and simmer for 15 minutes with the lid on.
Chickpeas – Then add the chickpeas, water and bakings soda. Simmer for a further 30 minutes with the lid off.
Ready to serve! During this second simmer time, the baking soda will work its magic and turn the chickpeas into the most creamy chickpeas you’ve ever had, and the lentils will breakdown to thicken the sauce. It will be like a thick soup consistency, not as thick as the sauce of popular Indian curries, like butter chicken. But it shouldn’t be watery – if it is, just keep simmering
Then, it’s ready to serve!
What to serve with this Afghan chickpea curry
Serve in a bowl next to a steamy mound of basmati rice (I put it on the side rather than on top because the sauce is runnier than creamy curries). Or in a bowl like a hearty stew with flatbreads for dunking.
If you can find traditional Afghan flatbreads, lucky you! Especially the giant ones the size of small yoga mats – everybody loves ripping into them! Ryde locals – find them at Bahar Persian Food, Paradise Supermarket and 32 Bakehouse on Church Street. Excellent value ($6 for 2 big breads around 60cm/2 feet round), freezes perfectly.
Else – anything dunk-able will suffice, like shop bought Lebanese bread, flatbreads, or make your own. I promise this will still be one of the most fabulous chickpea curries you’ve had in a very long time. 🙂 Just wait until you experience those creamy chickpeas! – Nagi x
Melting Afghan Chickpea Curry FAQ
Because the chickpeas are so soft and creamy thanks to a neat little trick of adding a smidge of baking soda! Such a small amount you can’t taste it. The chickpeas hold their shape but when you eat them, they are beautifully creamy, but not mushy.
I’ve seen this before in hummus and tips for cooking dried chickpeas, I just never thought to use it in a curry like this.
4 to 5 days in the fridge, or 3 months in the freezer.
Yes, see ingredients section for directions for adjusting the simmer time (I use red split lentils because they cook so quickly – 10 minutes, then I cook for an extra 35 minutes to make them break down so they thicken the sauce).
This is such a great one to showcase how I incorporate inspiration, recipe references and work with JB to create recipes that we share!
As I mentioned in the post, I enjoyed a chickpea curry from a place called Afghan Sufra in Lakemba which is known for serving authentic Afghan food. Truthfully, I love the spicing – it’s subtly different from Indian curries – but I thought the sauce was a bit thin compared to other Afghan curries I’ve had (I loved Sahar in Newport when I lived in the Northern Beaches) and it was oilier than I like for Monday night cooking.
In hunting for a recipe to use as a base, I came across this Pakistani Lahori Chanay recipe from Sugar Spice & More. Followed it mostly but tweaked the spices to what I thought I could taste in the Afghan Sufra one, thickened the sauce a touch more using more lentils, used stock instead of water, and other minor changes. Version 1 was tasty, but not quite what I was aiming for, it tasted more like a generic curry that could be from “anywhere”.
Made it again referencing the spices used in the chickpea curry in Parwana, a wonderful Afghan cookbook by Durkhanai Ayubi, Afghan refugee turned Australian restauranteur. Thought it was closer, so I took some into work for JB to try.
From there, we batted back and forth a few times trying to align the flavours closer to the source dish (we did another run to pick up more to taste and compare). And honestly, by the end, it came down to tweaking some spices up or down by 1/4 teaspoon.
All up, I made this one maybe 3 times by myself, JB made it around 3 times at work, then I filmed it and today we made it again to photograph it. Recipes like this are pretty “low effort” in the scheme of things because it’s something I’m happy to make on Monday nights, just “playing around”.
And even when it’s not exactly what I was aiming for, the results were always still very, very tasty – and never short of willing recipients for leftovers!
The final version I’m sharing today is not an exact replica of the original inspiration but to me, it is respectful of traditional Afghan flavours. I hope you love it as much as we do!
Watch how to make it
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Melting Afghan chickpea curry
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp ghee , substitute unsalted butter or coconut oil (for vegan)
- 2 cinnamon sticks (sub 1/2 tsp powder, add with other spices)
- 1 onion , finely chopped
- 1 1/2 tbsp grated ginger
- 1 1/2 tbsp grated garlic
- 2 bay leaves , preferably fresh else dried
- 1/2 cup dried red split lentils (Note 1)
- 1 cup water
- 1 litre vegetable stock , low sodium
- 1/2 tsp cooking / kosher salt
- 3 x 400g/14oz cans chickpeas , drained (Note 2)
- 1/4 tsp baking soda / bi-carbonate soda (makes chickpeas creamy, optional)
Spices (Note 3):
- 1 tbsp coriander powder
- 1 tbsp cumin powder
- 1 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 3/4 tsp cardamom powder
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
Serving:
- Basmati rice and/or Afghan bread (Note 4), or other flatbread
- Yogurt (I like to slightly thin with water so it can be drizzled)
- Fresh coriander / cilantro leaves , roughly chopped
Instructions
- Sauté – Melt the ghee in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the cinnamon and toast for 30 seconds. Add the onion, ginger, garlic and bay leaves. Cook for 3 minutes until the onion is translucent (stir regularly so the garlic & ginger don't catch).
- Spices and lentils – Add the Spices and stir for 30 seconds. Add the lentils and stir to coat in the spices.
- Simmer lentils – Add the stock and salt. Stir, bring to a simmer. Lower the head to medium, put the lid on and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Simmer chickpeas – Add the chickpeas, water and baking soda. Increase the heat to make it simmer again. Then lower the stove slightly and leave to simmer gently for 30 minutes without a lid or until the lentils mostly broken down to make a thin gravy (you can cook an extra 10 minutes to thicken more if you want).
- Serve with rice on the side and Afghan or other flatbreads for dunking, drizzled with yogurt and sprinkled with fresh coriander if you want (I do).
Recipe Notes:
- Either coriander or cumin with curry powder or Garam Masala
- Cardamom or cloves – all spice or mixed spice
- Turmeric – 1/4 tsp imitation saffron powder plus 1/2 tsp ginger powder
Life of Dozer
Director Dozer. He doesn’t realise it’s vegetarian. He didn’t use to care but these days he does, he only gets up when it’s “worth it”. 😂
Oh – he determined that this was definitely worth it. 🤣
I don’t comment often but I HAD TO for this, chickpea curry is a staple we have quite often and this is by far THE BEST version I’ve ever had. 10/10!!
Made this today and loved it. It really was melting in your mouth and the taste was amazing. I finished with a squeeze of lemon and lots of yogurt.
Nagi, this was DELISH!!! It is for sure going in our meal rotation <3
I know this sounds ridiculous, but do you have any recommendations for a substitute for the chickpeas? I’m fructose intolerant so I can’t eat chickpeas but would love to make this with some other legume (or other vegetarian food) that could handle the cooking process without collapsing. Any suggestions gratefully welcomed!
Can’t have ANY fructose? If I couldn’t have onions, leeks, garlic, broccoli, cabbage, artichokes, peppers, etc, I’d starve. Yikes. Lentils also contain moderate amounts of fructose. Hopefully you were diagnosed with labwork by an ACTUAL doctor, otherwise I have no idea how you’d make literally any of her recipes. Most fruits, vegetables and legumes have moderate to high amounts of fructose…
That’s not how fructose intolerance works. Yes I was diagnosed, and yes I know what contains fructose. The ratio of fructose to glucose is what’s important in fructose intolerance.
Absolutely delicious!!! easy and cheap to make, will def make again
Step 4 says, ‘Add the chickpeas, water and baking soda’
How much water? Unless I am missing somewhere that’s not mentioned anywhere in the ingredients list or method. Please help, it’s on the stove now! D:
Thank you Nagi!!! This recipe is fantastically delicious – and with such humble spices! And as usual, so simple and easy to throw together – love your work and your 2IC (the furry one, of course XD)
This curry cannot go wrong. It is a curry often made in Indian homes as well. Couple of suggestions : if so much of lentils may not agree with some, causing bloating, avoid the red split lentils and instead blitz 3-4 tablespoon of the canned chick peas and add it in the last lap of the cooking, which will give body to the curry. Another variation to adding yoghurt is to add 1/2 cup of thick coconut milk at the end.
I love this idea! Would you blitz some of the chickpeas that have already been cooked in the curry? Or keep some extra canned chickpeas set aside to blitz?
I made this last night and we love it! First of, the chickpeas’ texture was amazing — I didn’t think it was possible to make them that light. Baking soda strikes again!
I love the flavor of the spice combo. Since some of my spices are pretty old, I had to go a bit heavier, and rounded it out with Aleppo pepper as well as cayenne. Aleppo pepper’s slighty fruity base, I think, made the dish a little richer tasting . The smell while cooking was fabulous, and the cooking times were very accurate. lehtils to make a gravy worked like a charm.
What a great recipe for a meatless meal! We’re going to make this a regular dish.
With basmati rice (I did put cumin seeds in the basmati, and a little butter because I always do), the recipe made four very generous servings.
Thanks very much, Nagi!
Oh my goodness! This was amazing!! The only modification I made was to add a bit more salt and some vegetable “better than bouillon”. The spice combination was perfect and the yogurt and cilantro took it to a whole new level. Can’t wait for leftovers tonight. Didn’t miss meat at all!!!
Made this tonight and it was delicious. I might add some carrots next time, I feel like it needed some more veges. The coriander worked well.
Carrots is definitely a good idea! Did you dice or grate?? – N x
Hi Nagi! I haven’t tried it yet, but I plan to dice as I think it will be nice to have little bits of of carroty sweetness “pop” in one’s mouth. I think if I were to grate it, the carrot might just blend in and get lost in the rest of the curry (which already tastes fab!).
I hope it’s ok for me to say on this post that I was inspired to buy “Tonight” when I heard what was going on with Brookie (sorry to hear about it – you have our support!), and I have really enjoyed Charlie – that sauce has really upped my stir fry game! I have recently been making the best stir fried noodles of my life, and my family are very grateful!
My husband even asked the other night after I made one of your recipes (and it was yum again, of course!), “Was that from the lady with the recipes that never fail?”
Looking forward to trying more of your recipes :).
I made this last night and we all found it very bland which was disappointing the smell was amazing when it was cooking. There are so many positive reviews so I’m wondering where mine went wrong. Anyone got any ideas?
Well, I’ll be damned! I had no idea what this was gonna taste like and WOW – this meal is a solid 10! I will never make make Aloo Chana again! As I only had 2x cans of chickpeas, I added in 2x potatoes at the chickpea step and it cooked beautifully and compliments this curry so well. I also made your flat bread to accompany it as I was out of rice lol. I look forward to making this every few weeks. Love your work, Nagi!!
Hi FB! The number one offender for lack of flavour with recipes like this that use a LOT of ground spices for flavour is if your spices were old. Age = less flavour. So you can tip in half a cup of ground coriander and still not taste much!! I’ve experienced this problem numerous times in my life 🙂 Try again with fresher spices? 🙂 N x
Thanks Nagi, I’ll try that and give it another go. Also, I didn’t use ghee so would that make a difference?
Trying to add more vegetarian dishes during the week & tried this recipe. Was delicious & very easy.
Glad you enjoyed it Donna! Thank you! N x
Made this for dinner tonight and it was divine! I already had a few chickpea curry recipes, but this one just shot to the top of the list.
I LOVE HEARING THAT!! It’s a good one, isn’t it 🙂 A little different because of the broken down lentils! – N x
That baking soda trick is genius! Really did make the chickpeas ‘melting’. Family voted this in our top 5 vege curries. It’ll absolutely become a regular. Delicious! Thanks Nagi 😊
Isn’t it amazing!! I feel like I have to go back and change ALL my chickpea recipes!! N x
Just finished eating this for dinner. Was delish. Pureed some canned great northern beans (instead of the lentils) to thicken the broth. Am not vegeterian, so I also seared some chicken thigh meat in the ghee and then included it in the simmer. Totally delicious over some Basmati Rice.
Alway LOVE your recipes. Have recommended you and Dozer to so many people. Thanks for the time, effort and love you put into EVERYTHING you do.
I did not have any lentils, but I had a bag of frozen butternut squash I could never find a use for. I subbed that in (just tossed in frozen) for the lentils. Used less water but otherwise followed the recipe. Mushed them against the side of the pot before adding the chickpeas and by the time it was done the squash was all broken down. Worked well and tastes good! Thank you!
love love your recipes Nagi. Made the chocolate cake for Mother’s day, everyone loved it. Thank you.
I made this just then and had a bowl. Flavour was quite nice but my chickpeas were still very hard for some reason (I did add the 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda and even cooked it for an extra 15 minutes). Any ideas why this happened? My best guess is that he chickpeas I had (Bella Lucia brand) were quite firm coming out of the can but I thought this would be the case for most chickpeas
Another winner, thanks Chef JB & Nagi! I was not convinced I had followed the instructions right literally until the first spoonful… and then spices meets chickpeas and cue the magic… just amazing! 3 bowls later…