Ingredients (Serves 4 – 6) 50g chickpeas
50g red kidney beans
450ml plain yoghurt
50ml cooking oil
2 medium sized onions
250g spaghetti
Salt to taste
4 large tomatoes or 2 tablespoons tomato paste Raisins
a handful, if liked Crushed garlic to taste
2 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp turmeric powder Red chilli powder or chopped, fresh, green / red chillies to taste
1 handful chopped fresh mint or 1 large spoon dried mint Water
Method:
Soak the chickpeas and red kidney beans in water overnight. Adding a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda to the soaking water helps soften the peas / beans and thus speeds up cooking time.
Remove excess water from the yoghurt by draining it through a piece of very fine muslin cloth: first scald the cloth with boiling water to sterilise it. The yoghurt usually takes about an hour to fully drain.
Place the chickpeas and red kidney beans in a large pan along with the water they were soaked in, add additional water if required. Bring to the boil and simmer gently until fully cooked. Cooking time varies depending on the freshness / age of the dried pulses.
Meanwhile, prepare the sauce: peel and chop the onions, fry, lightly in the oil — keep back a little oil to add to the spaghetti water — then add the garlic, spices, tomatoes / tomato paste, salt to taste and cook until the sauce is thick. Add water to prevent it sticking to the bottom of the pan if necessary. Simmer for 10 minutes on a very low heat and then stir in the cooked chickpeas, red kidney beans, raisins if used, drained yoghurt and mint. Adjust seasoning and amount of liquid to personal satisfaction. Cover and set aside.
In a separate, very large, heavy based pan, heat up enough water to boil the spaghetti in: adding a little oil and salt to the water prior to putting in the spaghetti. When the it is cooked, drain off the water leaving the spaghetti in the pan. Then pour the sauce over the spaghetti, mixing it — a couple of very large forks, used to toss the spaghetti in the sauce, are ideal for this purpose.
Allow the spaghetti / sauce to stand for 30 minutes or so while the flavour develops and then re-heat, very slowly and on a very low flame to prevent it from sticking to the base of the pan and burning. Once nicely hot, serve immediately accompanied by salads, kebabs if liked and fresh naan bread if appetites are large.
