Sometimes it is a race against time even though you think you are well prepared. That is the case here. I had cooked the dish and prepped the pictures a long time before the publish date, yet here I am rushing to make it for the deadline!

Anyway this is a simple recipe for chana masala or chole. This is from Vasantha Moorthy’s vegetarian menu Cookbook. I already have a chole recipe on the blog but the method of preparation is a little different here. 

I am not a fan of recipes where you have to grind the raw onions first. I prefer to cook them before grinding, else I feel that the raw smell never quite goes away. But I learned it only recently that the trick is to cook the ground onion paste in oil before adding anything else, especially veggies like tomatoes which has high water content. I am not sure whether it works every single time for everyone out there, but it sure did for me when I tried it a couple of times. 

So read on for the recipe and serve it with hot baturas!

1. Soak 2 cups white chana(garbanzo beans) overnight. Pressure cook the next morning until cooked well. Drain and keep aside. 
2. Grind two medium onions, 2″ piece of ginger and 4 garlic cloves into a paste.
3. Heat 3-4 tablespoons oil, sauté 4 sliced green chillies. Add the onion paste and cook until the raw smell of onions go away. 
4. Add 3 tablespoons coriander powder, 2 teaspoons chili powder (or per taste), 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder and 1 teaspoon of garam masala. Mix well and cook for a couple of minutes.
5. Purée three big tomatoes and add it. Cook mixing in between to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. 
6. Add the cooked chana and salt as needed. Add water as needed to get to the consistency you prefer. Cook on medium to low heat for about 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle chopped coriander on top and serve with batura or pooris or chapati 
7. You can grind a handful of the curry (after adding the chana) and add it back and cook for a few minutes. This is to give the curry a smooth and thick consistency. 

This goes to Cooking from Cookbook Challenge Group.


Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 80

During the days  before marriage, eggs were a staple in our pantry and masala fried eggs were one of the regular recipes.  It’s a simple preparation and very tasty if you like eggs. I had completely forgotten about this until my friend’s mother prepared it sometime back. 

Soon after, I also started preparing these again. I prefer sunny Side eggs over hard boiled eggs because of the simplicity of preparation. But with the instant pot,  making hard boiled eggs is so much easier. All it takes is 6 minutes in the manual mode and immediate pressure release. You get perfect boiled eggs all the time! 

Though very easy to make, it qualifies perfectly for a protein rich dish. Without really planning it, the last few recipes has fallen under the quick and easy category. Hopefully I will be able to continue it for the rest of the week as well. 

Read on for the recipe. 

Ingredients:

• 6-8 hard boiled eggs
• 1.5 teaspoon chili powder*
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder 
• 1.5 teaspoon pepper powder*
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder,* optional
• Salt as needed
• 2 teaspoons oil

*replace all three with one single tablespoon of sambar powder

Method:

1. Cut the hard boiled eggs in half if preferred. Else you can keep the egg whole as well. 
2. Heat oil and add the chili powder, pepper powder, turmeric and salt to the oil and fry for a few seconds. Make sure that the kitchen is well ventilated, else when the masalas cook they might make you sneeze.
3. Once the masala is cooked (roughly 10-15 seconds or so), add the eggs. Add more oil if needed. Let the masalas coat the egg. Flip sides and let it cook for a 2-3 minutes. Take off the heat and serve with rice and sambar. 
4. Alternatively you can make a paste of the masalas with a little water. coat the eggs with it and then cook the eggs for a minute or two till done. 

Note: you can use a Tablespoon of sambar powder instead of chili and pepper powders. The masalas can be adjusted according to your spice level preference. 

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 80

For this week’s Cooking from Cookbook event, this is a take on vegetable Sagu from Vasantha Moorthy’s Vegetarian Menu Cookbook. Sagu is a mixed vegetable curry from Karnataka and is served with chapati, poori, set dosa etc. It is very similar to vegetable kurma. 

I have tried the recipe from the book without any modifications. However an online check told me that coriander seeds is not commonly included in the ground masala paste. So I might be leaving it out the next time I am making the recipe. I am not very sure about the authenticity of the recipe, but it was a tasty one for sure!

Read on for the pictorial. 

Serves 4 

Ingredients:

• 3 cups diced mixed vegetables (carrots, potatoes, cauliflower, beans, green peas etc)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 tomatoes , chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• Salt 
• Oil and ghee to sauté
• Chopped coriander leaves to decorate 

For the masala

• 1 Tablespoon coriander seeds*
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 Tablespoon roasted gram dal
• 2-3 green chilies (I didn’t have any so used red chilies)
• 2 cloves 
• 1″ cinnamon stick
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/2″ ginger piece 
• 3 tablespoons grated coconut

*skip if you don’t have. Most of the online recipes don’t have this listed. 

Fry the masala items from the list above until the onion in 2 teaspoons of ghee. Take off the heat. 

Now add a little more ghee if needed and sauté the onion, ginger, chili and coconut. Grind into a paste adding a little water if needed and the rest of the fried masala items. Set this aside. 

Heat oil and sauté the onions in the same pan. Once it’s done, add the tomatoes and sauté until it’s soft. Add turmeric powder and salt as needed. 

Add the diced vegetables and a little water to help the vegetables cook. Cover and cook until the vegetables are done.

Add the ground paste, chopped coriander. Let the curry cook for a few more minutes. Taste test the seasonings and adjust if needed. Serve with chapati. 

This goes to Cooking from Cookbook Challenge Group.