Name: Sour Chickpeas or Khatte Chhole
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1/2 chilli pepper (finely sliced); 1/4 small onion (finely sliced or diced); 10 g root ginger (cut into thin batons, finely diced or grated); 1 lemon (juiced); Pinch salt; 3/4 onion (sliced or diced); 1/2 chilli pepper (sliced or diced); 2 tomatoes (diced); 400 g tin of chickpeas (rinsed and drained); 1 tsp coriander; 1 tsp cumin; 1/4 tsp turmeric; 1 tsp garam masala; 200 ml vegetable stock (or water)

Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

This sour chickpea curry dish, also known as khatte chhole, is a tasty recipe for spicy chickpeas in a curry sauce with a chilli, ginger, onion and lemon juice dressing.

We all love curries in our house and these spicy chickpeas are a great choice for us when when we want a healthy meatless dinner.

Not only are the chickpeas in a delicious but mildly spiced curry, a spicy lemon and chilli dressing is poured on at the end to make the sour chickpeas. This means it's a very easy meal if you need to adapt the level of spiciness for different members of the family.

With this recipe, all the strong flavours are in the dressing. You can add as much or as little of it as you like to each portion.

You can stir the sour lemon, ginger and chilli dressing in for an even flavour or leave it on the top so you get a big hit of sourness and heat in certain spoonfuls! It is definitely the dressing that makes this dish special.

I first made this dish a few years years ago and it was the lemon dressing along with the name, 'sour chickpeas' that caught my eye when I saw it in Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cookery. As soon as I saw it I knew I wanted to try that dressing out. I love lemon in savoury recipes. I think it makes a brilliant base for a salad dressing or marinade. But until I came across this I had never made a dressing to pour on top of a curry.

Ingredient notes for sour chickpeas

To make this sour chickpea stew you'll need:

Chilli pepper - You can use red or green chillies and use more or less depending on how hot you want it.
Onion - I like to use red onion as I think it looks pretty in the dressing but you can use a brown onion if too.
Root ginger - Fresh root ginger is a must for this as it's used in the dressing.
Lemon juice - I use freshly squeezed lemon juice. If you are not a huge fan of our flavours then just use a little less.
Salt - Just a little to taste
Tomatoes
Chickpeas - I use canned chickpeas but if you want to use dried chickpeas you've cooked from scratch then go ahead.
Spices - Coriander, cumin, turmeric and garam masala

How do you make this spicy chickpea stew?

The first thing to do is to make the dressing so the chillies, ginger and onion can sit in the lemon juice as you are cooking the chickpeas. This pickles them slightly but they'll still have lots of flavour.

Then fry the onion and chilli gently in a saucepan for about 5 minutes. Add the spices and chopped tomatoes. Cook, stirring for a couple of minutes and then add the chickpeas and a little water or stock. Cover with a lid adn simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve with a little dressing drizzled over each bowl of chickpea stew.

how to make sour chickpea stew step by step

How do you serve these spicy chickpeas?

I love to eat this spicy chickpea curry with any type of Indian flatbread but you can also serve them with rice. If you have the time to prepare some more recipes then why not make a few different dishes? I've got lots more easy Indian recipes I could recommend such as dry curried okra or North Indian chicken curry or lamb meatball curry?

What can you do with the leftovers?

If you have any leftovers then store them in the fridge for up to three days. They will taste even better the next day as the flavours have more time to develop.

I like to store the dressing and the chickpeas separately so I can reheat the chickpeas and then pour the sour dressing on top.

You can reheat the chickpeas in a saucepan. Just keep stirring to make sure they don't stick and add a splash of water if they seem dry. Alternatively reheat in the microwave.

Can you freeze the leftovers?

Yes you can! However, if you want the meal to taste the same when it has defrosted and been reheated, you'll have to make the dressing again.

Alternatively, just stir any leftover dressing into the chickpeas before freezing. Defrost in the fridge overnight or on the kitchen counter. Then reheat in a saucepan or in the microwave. It'll still be a delicious chickpea curry!

Hands holding a bowl of sour chickpea stew

Recipe

Sour Chickpeas or Khatte Chhole

Corina Blum adapted from Madhur Jaffrey

This sour chickpea dish, also known as khatte chhole, is a tasty recipe for spicy chickpeas in a curry sauce with a chilli, ginger, onion and lemon juice dressing. If you want a vegan curry recipe with a zesty kick then this is definitely one to try!

5 from 10 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Course appetiser, Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Servings

Calories 398 kcal

Ingredients

Ingredients for the Dressing

½ chilli pepper finely sliced
¼ small onion finely sliced or diced
10 g root ginger cut into thin batons, finely diced or grated
1 lemon juiced
Pinch salt

Ingredients for the chickpeas

¾ onion sliced or diced
½ chilli pepper sliced or diced
2 tomatoes diced
400 g tin of chickpeas rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon garam masala
200 ml vegetable stock or water

Instructions

Make the sour dressing first. In a small bowl put half of the chilli pepper, the ginger and ¼ of the onion. Pour the lemon juice over the top and add a pinch of salt. Leave until ready to serve.
Cook the rest of the onion and chilli pepper in a saucepan until soft. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for another couple of minutes.
Then add the chickpeas, the spices and about 200ml of stock or water. Bring up to the boil then lower the heat to a simmer about for 20 minutes.
When ready to serve, either stir the dressing into the chickpeas or serve it on top of the chickpeas.

Video

Notes

Nutritional information is approximate and a guideline only.

Nutrition

Calories: 398kcalCarbohydrates: 69gProtein: 20gFat: 6gSodium: 27mgPotassium: 1064mgFiber: 18gSugar: 16gVitamin A: 1295IUVitamin C: 63.4mgCalcium: 129mgIron: 7.3mg

Keyword khatte chole, sour chickpeas

Tried this recipe?Tag me on Instagram @Searchingforspice

How about trying one of these spicy vegan recipes next?

I have lots of meaty and meat-free spicy recipes but here are just some that you might like! Let me know if you try any.

Red lentil soup
Nutty romanesco curry
Vegan lentil chilli with black beans

You might also like my collection of easy homemade curries.

Keep in touch

Do let me know if you make this sour chickpea stew or any of my other recipes. I love to get feedback from readers.

You can also stay up to date by following on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter

Comments