Food - Drink
Why You Should Be Adding A Teabag To Your Curry
By CATHERINE RICKMAN
Tea is an excellent morning refresher or relaxing afternoon beverage, and the bitter and herbal flavors in black tea can also lend a surprisingly delicious twist to your dinner. In fact, a traditional Indian recipe called Punjabi Chole, a chickpea curry with a rich brown color and a fragrant aroma, is often flavored with a teabag.
Punjabi Chole uses a spice mix called chole masala, and also often includes amla, or dried Indian gooseberry, to the sauce a dark color and a bit of sourness. However, many cooks use a teabag as an easier-to-find substitute for amla, and steeping the tea into the pot of water while boiling your chickpeas can create the right effect.
Dipna Anand, chef at Dipna at Somerset House, says that "Chickpeas tend to dry out when you cook them and a teabag also helps to retain moisture.” Tea makes a nuanced addition to any curry, and If you only have loose-leaf tea, just steep it in water, strain out the leaves, and use the tea to cook your chickpeas or other ingredients.