Chickpeas in Tomato, Ginger and Garlic Sauce

I'm posting this because one of my friends requested curry recipes he could try. I thought others might also be interested so I'm posting it here. It also gives me a chance to plug one of my favorite cookbooks. This is an absolutely no-fail chickpea curry recipe I make quite often. I can usually pull together the ingredients from what's hanging out in my cupboard, it's quite low-fat and high in protein, and it's really tasty. The recipe comes from Vasantha Prasad's Indian Vegetarian Cooking from an American Kitchen. I highly recommend the book. I never would have thought making paneer and nan were possible until I tried the recipes in this book. It makes most dishes seem quite simple and foolproof. I suspect many of the recipes are not quite "authentic," but rather adapted to suite American cupboards, vegetarian diets, and a desire for low-fat dishes. However, I've made dozens of recipes from this book and only one left me disappointed. It's lacking a good Makhani sauce recipe but I've found that elsewhere!

Tomato, Ginger, Garlic Sauce
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Onions, peeled and finely chopped
1-2 green chilies, or less if you'd like it less spicy
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
2 ripe tomatoes (or one cup canned diced tomatoes)

For the Chickpeas
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 (15 oz) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Garnish
Extra onion, finely sliced
1 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro
1 ripe tomato thinly sliced

1. Heat oil in saucepan and saute garlic, chilies, ginger, and onions for about 3 minutes (until onions turn slightly brown).
2. Empty contents of saucepan into blender or foodprocessor. Add tomatoes and blend until it makes a course paste.
3. In same saucepan heat remaining oil and add puree. (be careful. It can splatter). Add chickpeas, chili powder, coriander, cumin, brown sugar, and salt. Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Set aside.
4. If you'd like garnish, some crispy carmelized onions taste really yummy on top of this! Spray a skillet with cooking spray and heat until very hot. Add finely sliced onions and roast for about ten minutes, stirring constantly, until they turn crisp and golden. You can also add chopped cilantro and thinly sliced tomatoes as garnish but it tastes just dandy without it.