Quick Recipe Alert: Chickpeas with Coconut and Red Chilies

Frying coconut with chilies and aromatics like ginger and garlic helps this quickly prepared dish taste as if it's simmered for hours.

CHICKPEAS WITH COCONUT AND RED CHILI (CHOLE PANJIM)

What a great vegetarian main dish when served with rice and wedges of summer's sweetest tomatoes! Leftovers are excellent gently reheated, stuffed into warm pita bread pockets and topped with shredded lettuce and sliced onions. Very rich and should yield portions for 4 people per recipe below.

Heat 1 T. oil over medium heat and fry gently for a couple of minutes: 2 minced garlic cloves and 1 t. grated ginger root. Add 6 dried red chilies and cook until they darken a bit, less than a minute. Now add in 5 T. dry, unsweetened coconut. Cook until the coconut turns light brown but no further. Be careful to not allow either the garlic or coconut to burn!

Remove from heat and with 2-3 t. water grind to a rough paste in a processor or blender. Use the smallest amount of water needed to do this with ease. Set aside.

Heat 2 T. oil in a skillet and add to it 1 sliced onion. Cook for 3-4 minutes over a medium flame until the onion begins to brown. Add 1 15-oz can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed) along with the coconut-chili paste. Add salt to taste and enough water to make a thick sauce. Simmer gently now for 5 minutes and serve hot. If you like a sweeter flavor, add in up to 1 T. sugar during last 5 minutes of cooking.