Chickpeas in Star Anise and Date Masala Recipe (2024)

This is one of the most amazing dishes I have ever cooked, and so consistent. One critique--the nutritional info has to be way off. Maybe 1000 calories are in all six servings combined?....

The nutrition analyzer Edamam sometimes has trouble with the NYT times recipes. I checked this one, and it looks like it's really about 427 calories per serving (6 servings total).

This recipe is beyond delicious. It tastes deceivingly complex even though it truly takes just about a half hour to make. I love serving this with rice, a dollop of plain yogurt, and some cilantro and fresh pepper. I've tried this recipe with mission figs as well, which adds a particular sweet counterbalance to all of the savory goodness that the other ingredients supply.

This is one of the best recipes of all time, where the ingredients produce something so unexpected and beyond delicious.

Chickpeas don't agree with me unfortunately so I always substitute lentils. This dish is fantastic with lentils! I used red and yellow mixed because that what I had.

I love this dish so much that some years ago I bought a huge bag of dates and made this almost biweekly. But as the months went by I couldn’t figure it why it stopped tasting and smelling as good. Did you know preservative-free dates should be stored in the fridge? Apparently I didn’t read the bag! Fermented dates = bad flavor. Don’t make my mistake =~) I bought fresh dates and am back on the bandwagon.

If you use the whole star anise, I'm assuming you remove them before serving - but the instructions do not say so.

This is a wonderful dish which tastes even better the next day! I took the advice of one of the comments by adding spinach. This added a wonderful bit of additional colour to the dish. We actually had this for breakfast with some eggs. We also had some as a side dish with meats and bread. I will definitely be making this again! Yum!

When I heated up the leftovers I added coconut milk and spinach, peas would have been also been good. This time it was delicious. A warming meal for cold nights

I added a small can of petite diced tomatoes and a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste. I added 2 tablespoons Tumeric but would cut down to 1 tablespoon next time and decrease the amount of Cumin. ToSweet it more I added a small can of coconut milk and a couple extra dates. I, too, added a cup of frozen peas. I cooked it in my instant pot for three minutes After caramelizing the onions and toasting the spices.Yummy!

Exquisite! Made w dried figs as no dates in stock - don’t stint on black pepper..

Super flavorful. Sweet and Spicy.

I had 2 cans of chickpeas so I followed some of the modifications suggested by reader jdub...reduced the amount of pepper and cayenne, used 4 garlic cloves, but kept other spices the same. Didn't have neutral cooking oil so I used olive oil, which meant cooking onions/garlic at a lower temperature to avoid burning (I had to throw out my first attempt). For the water, I used some of the aquafaba I had reserved from the canned chickpeas. Very tasty recipe!

This is fabulous. It is worth seeking out the black cardamon. I also skip the cayenne and sautee some Garam Masala with the ground spices. Then add onions, then after 5-7 minutes garlic, and after 1 minute add the dates and tomato pastr. Brown the paste to a brick red colour. Then add enough water to cover the base of immersion blender and puree. Then add chickpeas and gently simmer until warmed through and ready to serve.

Delicious, but triggered the most horrendous acid reflux for both me and my partner! If you have even mild GERD, proceed with caution :-)

Disappointed by this recipe twice. First time the black pepper overwhelmed the dish. Second time, I eliminated the black pepper but still used the cayenne which also overwhelmed the dish and burned my mouth. Light brown sugar, maple syrup, ketchup, lemon, you name it , I tried everything to tame this meal. From the list of spices, it looks like it should be a savory pleasure. Alas, it's a mouth burning mess. Next time, no cayenne, more star anise and cardamom. Maybe a little coconut milk.

Used 2 cans chickpeas, maybe more like 4 cardamom (couldn’t tell as I had seeds already separated from shell), 1 onion, 4 large garlic5 Tbs tomato paste, 10 deglet noor dates (smaller than medjool), 2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp turmeric, Saltheaping 1/4 tsp cayenne and heaping 1/2 tsp black pepper which was more than spicy enough for me2 star aniseLarge pinch amchur powderAt the end added a whole package of baby spinach and served with yogurt and julienned watermelon radish over rice.

I stumbled on this recipe and cannot get over how good and complex it is for so little effort! Deserves all the stars! Next time I may add a bit of amchur powder for some brightness and tang.

I love this dish so much that some years ago I bought a huge bag of dates and made this almost biweekly. But as the months went by I couldn’t figure it why it stopped tasting and smelling as good. Did you know preservative-free dates should be stored in the fridge? Apparently I didn’t read the bag! Fermented dates = bad flavor. Don’t make my mistake =~) I bought fresh dates and am back on the bandwagon.

Salty, sweet, spicy, earthy — delicious in a word. I browned the onions over high heat for 20 mins in 3 tbsp ghee / 3 tbsp coconut oil but otherwise stuck to the recipe. For guests, I’d maybe cut the cayenne to 1/2 tsp and up the dates, as it’s got a kick! Served with yogurt.

So good! Highly recommend adding a bit of tamarind water for tang : YUM!

This was delicious! So easy but such complex flavors. I added a dollop of sour cream and mixed it in when I reheated some as leftovers and wow--just kicked it up a notch. So wonderful!

I used red lentils (1.5 cups), plus fingerling potatoes, instead of garbanzo beans and it was delicious! I followed, roughly, the recipe through step 3 (however, didn't have cardamom pods, just used ground cardamom). At step 4, I used 4 cups water and let it all simmer for 20 minutes. Yum! Will DEFINITELY make this again.

Has anyone done this with butter or ghee? Or olive oil? I’m considering reduce my canola/general vegetable oil use, and wondered how butter would taste, but don’t want to risk messing up a batch! Thanks.

When I heated up the leftovers I added coconut milk and spinach, peas would have been also been good. This time it was delicious. A warming meal for cold nights

This recipe is beyond delicious. It tastes deceivingly complex even though it truly takes just about a half hour to make. I love serving this with rice, a dollop of plain yogurt, and some cilantro and fresh pepper. I've tried this recipe with mission figs as well, which adds a particular sweet counterbalance to all of the savory goodness that the other ingredients supply.