Roasted tomato-chickpea dip

This is an easy and versatile dip I've adapted from The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook my co-worker gave me last year.

2 tomatoes - chopped

1/2 large onion - chopped

1 can chickpeas - drained & rinsed

1 bayleaf

2 cloves garlic

1 tbsp lemon juice

Salt to taste

Fresh or dry basil leaves for garnish - chopped

1 tsp olive oil

Heat the oil and saute the onions for 5 mins. on medium. Add the tomatoes and cook till very tender. In the meanwhile, microwave the chickpeas with 1/2 cup of water for about 2 mins. Add the chickpeas and the bayleaf to the tomato-onions mixture. Cook covered for 2-3 mins. Take off heat and allow to cool a bit. Remove the bayleaf and blend till smooth along with the garlic, salt and lemon juice. Mix in the basil.

This makes about 1 to 1.5 cup of the dip.

Apart from using this as a dip, I also slather it on toasted bread, sandwiches, parathas, use it to thicken soups, it even works well as a pizza sauce/spread.

This Roasted Tomato-Chickpea Dip is off to Mane Adige for the Chutney/Dip mania event.