Have you heard of Mealtime Calisthenics? If you have toddlers, then I’m sure you’ve done the “workout”. After setting the table for my two tots – mac ‘n cheese, chicken strips, and edamame – I warmed up a plate of leftovers for myself. The kids were munching away with an occasional protest, but eating nonetheless. I was about to set my tush down, when one pipes up and wants more milk. I set my plate down and walk back to the kitchen to refill his cup. I set his cup down and my other tot decides to swipe her sippy cup to the floor. Bend and reach. Next, the first one almost falls off his chair. Swivel on my toes, catch, lift, and wipe food off the floor. You get the picture. My lovely plate is now cold and I am too exasperated to sit down and eat.
Some days are better than others and there are days when I’m grazing on whatever’s on the counter, floor, or lunchbox. Not good. Not good at all! One fortunate day, I stumbled upon a great recipe for a savory and healthy snack – Alice Currah’s Crunchy Roasted Chickpeas on the PBS.org site. Crunchy? Roasted? Check and check! My tots could not get enough of the crunchy bites! However, I wanted to spice things up a bit for myself with a bit of curry and cayenne. The heat makes it a little less kid-friendly, but it did not stop my 2 year old from reaching into the bowl of these spicy little beans. Go ahead and treat yourself. You’ll feel better grazing on these than pretzels and Goldfish. (Warning: these are highly addictive.)
Crunchy Curry Chickpeas
Ingredients
- 1 15- ounce can chickpeas garbanzo beans
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons grapeseed oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Drain the chickpeas in a strainer and rinse thoroughly under running water.
- Blot dry with paper towels. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients.
- Add chickpeas and mix until evenly coated.
- Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and spread chickpeas on the pan.
- Roast for about 50-55 minutes until browned. Give the chickpeas a stir midway through.
- Cool before eating.
I’ve decided I have to make these this weekend, babies or not 🙂
You’ll be glad you did! That is, until you realize that you ate the whole batch in one sitting! 😉
Suggested substitute for grapeseed oil? I don’t tend to have it on hand.
Didn’t have curry, so I used garam masalla instead (with a good dose of extra cayenne pepper) and they turned out great! Not sure if it makes a difference, but I used dried chick peas which I did in the pressure cooker instead of canned and they’re very crispy.
Hi David! I’ll have to try the garam masala. I bet the dried chickpeas are more flavorful…we’ll have to do a side-by-side comparison some day!
I just pulled these out of the oven (finally made them). There is no way you can stop me from eating the whole batch.