Journalist Gurby Killilea is well known by her friends and family for being a great home cook.

And her Punjabi food is perfect for Shropshire Credit Munchers because it’s packed with flavour, uses high quality ingredients and costs next to nothing.

Gurby’s channa masala can be adapted to suit people with different tastes.

Gurby says: “You can use the basic curry recipe and then add different vegetables to it – cauliflower and marrow are excellent examples – to give you different flavours.

“This has to be my favourite curry. It is a classic Punjabi vegetarian dish and is very popular at weddings and other social functions.

“On such occasions, it is usually served with a deep-fried chappati, called puris – a combination that is simply divine.

“It can be cooked dry or in a little water – both ways work well. Apart from being delicious, the next best thing about this curry is that it’s very simple to cook.”

* Serves 4 – cost £2.17 (53p each)

Ingredients

• 3 cans of chickpeas (£1.20)
• Three-quarters tsp coriander power (or garam masala) (2p)
• Three-quarters tsp turmeric power (2p)
• Half tsp salt (1p)
• 1 tsp crushed ginger (10p)
• 1 large onion finely chopped (27p)
• 3 garlic cloves finely chopped (11p)
• 2 green chillies chopped (16p)
• 2 tbsp oil (3p)
• Half can chopped tomatoes (16p)
• 4 -5 fresh sprigs chopped coriander (9p)

Method

1) Fry onions, garlic, ginger and chillies in a pan on a low heat until starting to brown. Add spices and salt and after 1-2 minutes add tomatoes. Gently cook for another 2 minutes.

2) Add chickpeas and some water to get a slightly runny consistency, and cook for 10 minutes. Then take off heat and sprinkle with fresh coriander.

3) Serve with rice, naan or chappatis and a side portion of salad.

A new 80-page pocket guide to eating out in Shropshire is available for people who want to learn more about the county’s best restaurants, hotels, pubs and takeaways.

The pocket guide has been compiled by Shropshire Star and features extensive details of eateries across the region.Copies are available at all branch offices of the Shropshire Star, at its Ketley head office or by emailing cweaver@shropshirestar.co.uk