Confit tandoori chickpeas

These chickpeas have had their fair share of Insta fame for a multitude of reasons. The first being that the simplicity of the dish makes it really quite attractive: throw everything into a pan and pop it into the oven, leaving it to its own devices (and you to yours). The second being that slow-cooking the chickpeas in oil without added liquid makes them super soft, allowing all the aromatics to break down into the oil. Lastly, this dish can easily be made ahead and served later; it only improves with time. Swap out Greek yoghurt with a non-dairy alternative for a completely vegan meal, and serve with rice.

Serves 4

Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 20 minutes 

• 2 tins of chickpeas (800g), drained (480g)
• 11 garlic cloves, peeled,10 left whole and 1 crushed
• 30g fresh ginger, peeled and julienned
• 400g datterini or regular cherry tomatoes
• 3 red chillies, mild or spicy, a slit cut down their length
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tsp cumin seeds, roughly crushed with a pestle and mortar
• 2 tsp coriander seeds, roughly crushed with a pestle and mortar
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• ½ tsp chilli flakes
• 2 tsp red Kashmiri chilli powder
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 200ml olive oil
• 180g Greek-style yoghurt
• 15g picked mint leaves
• 30g fresh coriander, roughly chopped
• 2–3 limes: juiced to get 1 tbsp and the rest cut into wedges to serve
• salt

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C fan.

2. Put the chickpeas, whole garlic cloves, ginger, tomatoes, chillies, tomato paste, spices, sugar, oil and 1 teaspoon of salt into a large sauté pan, for which you have a lid, and mix everything together to combine. Cover with the lid transfer to the oven and cook for 75 minutes, stirring halfway through, until the aromatics have softened and the tomatoes have nicely broken down.

3. Meanwhile, put the yoghurt, mint, fresh coriander, lime juice, crushed garlic and ¼ teaspoon of salt into a food processor and blitz until smooth and the herbs are finely chopped.

4. Serve the chickpeas directly from the pan, with the yoghurt and lime wedges alongside.

Make it your own:
– Jarred butter beans would be great here! A simple gram for gram swap.
– No Kashmiri chilli powder? Use an equal amount of paprika instead.