Greatest hits, volume II

Last year on the first anniversary of the first episode of Use a Kitchen Scale (Oct. 2, 2015), I was so surprised to still be at this that I posted a list of some of my favorite episodes from my first year of blogging. The second anniversary slipped by me, but I remembered today. So here, just a few days late, are some of my favorite episodes from year 2 of UaKS:

• 100th episode extravaganza: 9 cookbooks
• The dud parent
• Not bad for an old guy, episode I & episode II
• The index card of fatherly wisdom
• A song
• Bad to the bone, George
• Life is good

Unlike last year, you even get a recipe to go with this year's collection of greatest hits. I've now been through four curry recipes by Meera Sodha, and they're all good, even if the flavor profile is pretty much the same. This is the latest one I tried, which Brad and I both liked a lot (Mom ditched us to have dinner with some friends)—enough that Brad had two helpings and I've been scarfing the leftovers for two days. This is the easiest one of the bunch, so it is the most likely to make it into our regular rotation. It also has the benefit of cooking the chickpeas longer than Sodha's other Chickpea Curry I made before, which means it works just fine with the canned chickpeas that have enough time to soften in this recipe. Of course, if you have the time to make it with dried chickpeas, it will only be that much better, so I included directions for doing that in the headnote.

Kale and Chickpea Curry

Adapted from Meera Sodha

If you want to make this with dried chickpeas, place 200 grams dried chickpeas in a medium saucepan, cover with cold water by a few inches (they’ll expand as they soak), and stir in 1 teaspoon baking soda. Soak for at least 6 hours. Ideally, you would start soaking the chickpeas the morning of the day you’re making this for dinner. When you’re ready to cook, drain the chickpeas, rinse and drain them again, then cover them with more cold water. Boil until they’re soft but not falling apart, 30 to 45 minutes, occasionally skimming the scum off the top.

You can use regular or Tuscan kale. But since Sodha says she substituted kale where she would ordinarily use spinach in this dish, I used 1½ bags of Trader Joe’s Organic Mixed Baby Kale, which doesn’t have large, chewy ribs like regular kale and so is more like tender spinach.

2 15.5-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed (see note)
3 tablespoons (40 grams) neutral-flavored oil such as canola or sunflower
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 large (~8 ounces/225 grams) onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 plum tomatoes or 1 beefsteak tomato, diced
3 tablespoons (45 grams) tomato paste
1½ teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt
1½ teaspoons ground coriander
1½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon red chilli powder, or to taste (you might want to start with less and work your way up; Sodha usually recommends Kashmiri chili powder for her dishes)
¾ teaspoon turmeric
200 grams kale, chopped, or baby kale or spinach (see note)
Greek yogurt, for serving

    1. Place the chickpeas in a medium bowl and microwave on high power until hot, 1½ to 2½ minutes depending on the power of your microwave.
    2. Heat the oil in a large, lidded sauté pan or saucier over medium heat. Stir in the cumin and mustard seeds. When the cumin is fragrant and the mustard seeds start popping, stir in the onion. Sauté until the onion is soft and golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Don’t skimp on the time, and stir frequently. Stir in the garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and tomato paste, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are starting to break down, about 5 minutes.
    3. Stir in the chickpeas, and cook just until warmed through. Add the coriander, cumin, salt, chili powder, and turmeric. Stir well until the chickpeas are coated with the spice mixture. Pour in about an inch of water. Cover the pan, and cook for 5 minutes, adjusting the heat to maintain a steady simmer.
    4. Stir in the kale or spinach a handful at a time. Cover the pan, and cook until the kale is soft and tender, about 5 minutes.
    5. Sodha says this is best scooped up with hot chapatis (recipe; video of Sodha making chapatis), but she also suggests that it can be served over rice with a dollop of yogurt, which is what we did. If you go the latter route, don't skip the yogurt, which adds a nice tang to the warm curry flavor. Serves 4.