Confit Tandoori Chickpeas (Ottolenghi) (Vegan Option)

This simple confit of chickpeas, tomatoes and garlic flavoured with tandoori spices is from Ottolenghi’s new cookbook, Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love, written by Noor Murad and Yotam Ottolenghi.

It’s super easy vegetarian side dish to make as it’s a one-tray recipe – mix everything in a roasting dish, cover and roast for just over an hour. The low and slow method coupled with the generous amount of olive oil makes this a confit which enhances the sweet flavours in the vegetables and helps them soften without losing much moisture. This is particularly delicious when there are LOTS of garlic cloves involved (10 whole cloves!) as they become spreadably soft, mellow and sweet.

Whilst the recipe in the cookbook recommends cooking it in an oven-proof saute pan with a lid, I opted for a roasting dish covered with a large baking tray as a makeshift ‘lid’. You could also use a piece of foil to cover your chosen tray.

The recipe is served with a mint & coriander yoghurt for drizzling on – although the original recipe uses Greek yoghurt made from cow’s milk, it’s very simple to swap this out for a non-dairy option (coconut yoghurt is particularly tasty here) to make the recipe vegan friendly.

As the whole thing is quite rich on its own, I recommend serving it as a side dish alongside other curries/vegetables or have it over some brown rice with a few flatbreads and chutney for dolloping.

Confit Tandoori Chickpeas (Ottolenghi) (Vegan Option)

A super simple way to make a delicious chickpea curry – just throw everything into a tray and roast on a low heat until everything is tender. Serve with a herbed Greek yoghurt.

Extracted from Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love by Noor Murad and Yotam Ottolenghi (Ebury Press, £25)

4.69 from 22 votes

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Course: Salads & Sides, Savoury

Cuisine: Indian

Keywords: chickpeas, chiles, confit, coriander, Ottolenghi, tandoori, tomatoes, vegan option, yoghurt

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

• 2 (400g/14oz) tins chickpeas drained
• 200 ml (¾ cup) extra virgin olive oil
• 400 g (1 pound) cherry tomatoes or other small tomatoes
• 10 cloves garlic peeled
• 30 g (2 ounces) fresh ginger root peeled & julienned
• 3 mild chillies a slit cut down their length
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp coriander seed roughly crushed in a pestle & mortar
• 2 tsp cumin seed roughly crushed in a pestle & mortar
• 2 tsp red Kashmiri chilli powder or paprika to make it less spicy
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• ½ tsp chilli flakes
• ½ tsp fine table salt

For the herbed yoghurt:

• 180 g (¾ cup) thick Greek-style yoghurt or unsweetened, plant-based yoghurt for vegan option
• 30 g (1 ounce) fresh coriander (cilantro) roughly chopped
• 15 g (½ ounce) fresh mint leaves roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1 clove garlic peeled and crushed
• ¼ tsp fine table salt
• lime wedges, to serve

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F) fan.
• Combine the chickpeas, oil, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, chillies, tomato paste, sugar, spices and salt in a heatproof saute pan or roasting dish. Mix together by hand to combine everything.
  2 (400g/14oz) tins chickpeas, 200 ml (¾ cup) extra virgin olive oil, 400 g (1 pound) cherry tomatoes or other small tomatoes, 10 cloves garlic, 30 g (2 ounces) fresh ginger root, 3 mild chillies, 1 tbsp tomato paste, 1 tsp sugar, 2 tsp cumin seed, 2 tsp coriander seed, 2 tsp red Kashmiri chilli powder, ½ tsp ground turmeric, ½ tsp chilli flakes, ½ tsp fine table salt
• Cover the pan or dish with a lid (as long as it's ovenproof) or foil or a baking tray, to cover. Cook in the oven for 1 hour 15 minutes, stirring everything halfway through the cook time, until tender and fragrant.

Make the herbed yoghurt:

• Blitz together the yoghurt, coriander, mint leaves, lime juice, garlic and salt until the herbs have broken down.
  180 g (¾ cup) thick Greek-style yoghurt, 30 g (1 ounce) fresh coriander (cilantro), 15 g (½ ounce) fresh mint leaves, 1 tbsp lime juice, 1 clove garlic, ¼ tsp fine table salt

Serve:

• Serve the confit chickpea mixture drizzled with the herbed yoghurt with lime wedges on the side for squeezing. You can serve as a side with a larger meal or serve with rice/flatbreads to turn it into a meal.
  lime wedges, to serve

Video

Notes

Vegan option: use a plant-based, unsweetened, plain yoghurt in place of the Greek yoghurt e.g. soy yoghurt, coconut yoghurt, oat yoghurt.

Notes: I have slightly adapted the recipe from the original by reducing the level of salt in the confit from 1 tsp to 1/2 tsp. The original recipe also specifies caster sugar but I think any kind of sugar will do. 

Tried this recipe?Let me know how it went! Mention @izyhossack or tag #topwithcinnamon!