Black chick-pea soup

Adpated from: Ismail Merchant's Passionate meals

Serves 4

1 cup black chick-peas, soaked over night
1 dried red chilli
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 inch ginger, grated
2 tomatoes, diced
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp chick-pea flour or besan
juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1. Pressure cook chick-peas with 1 tsp of salt and 4 cups of water until tender. About 20 mins.
2. In a saucepan, heat oil and fry the dried chilli for a couple of minutes.
3. Add cumin. mustard seeds, garlic and cook for another couple of minutes.
4. Add ginger, tomatoes, 1 tsp salt and turmeric. Cook until tomatoes are well blended with the spices. I used a wooden spatula to gently press down on the tomatoes while cooking.
5. Add chick-pea flour and stir to mix well. Cook for another 5-6 mins.
6. Add this mixture to the chick-peas and the water it was cooked in. Stir well, add lime juice and cook for another 10 - 15 minutes on a slow simmer.
7. The sauce will be thick. Garnish with cilantro and serve.