Tag: chana

Chana masala

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BM# 101: Week 3, Day 3
Theme : Creamy gravies

Last month, my old neighbors had come over home. With the kids at school, there was enough time to relax and catch up with each other. We had a mini pot luck and had a great lunch. I had made three gravies that day, two of which I am posting for this theme. I hadn’t picked this theme when I was preparing the meal, it was just good luck that I took pictures of the thali. My friends had brought in vegetable biriyani and bisibela bath. It was served along with the Chana masala, Chettinad mushroom curry and a mixed vegetable curry. Do check out the carrot halwa recipe too, it is a simple and easy way to make this great dessert.

Coming to the Chana masala recipe, this is again from Vegan Richa’s Indian Kitchen. After trying the mushroom curry recipe from the book, I made this first when we had some friends coming over. I didn’t have enough time to soak Chana, so I cooked it for one hour in Instant Pot before making this gravy. If you have time, you can soak the Chana overnight and cook it before making this curry. I already have a recipe for Chana masala in the blog, but this recipe has enough differences to make a separate post.

Read on for the recipe.

Recipe source: Vegan Richa’s Indian kitchen

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
  • 6 medium tomatoes, chopped roughly
  • 2″ long piece of ginger
  • 6-8 garlic cloves
  • 2 green chilies
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoon oil or ghee
  • 1 medium onion, chopped finely
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • A good pinch of hing
  • 2 teaspoons Chana masala or Garam masala
  • Salt as needed
  • About 2 cups of water*
  • Coriander leaves and lemon juice for garnishing and serving

*You can use the water Chana was cooked in.

Method:

  1. Drain and Pressure cook the soaked Chana with enough water until it’s done. Let the pressure release naturally. Set aside.
  2. In a blender, combine tomatoes, ginger, garlic, chilies and 1/2 cup cooked (and cooled) chickpeas. Set aside.
  3. Heat oil or ghee in a pan. Add the chopped onions and cook till it turns pink. Add all the masala powders – cumin, turmeric, chili, garam (or Chana) masala, hing and salt. Mix well.
  4. Add the puréed tomato paste. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring in between to prevent tomatoes from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add a little water in case that happens. Reduce the heat and cook for another 10 minutes until the mixture is dry and starts to leave the side of the pan.
  5. Add cooked chickpeas and about 2 to 2.5 cups of water. You can use the water in which Chana was cooked. Cover and cook for about 15 minutes, taste testing in between to adjust the seasoning. Take off the heat and serve garnished with coriander leaves, minced onion and lemon juice. This pairs very well with rotis and plain basmati rice.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the recipe from other Blogging Marathoners.

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Chana masala

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2chana_masala

BM # 71
Week 1, Day 1
Theme : One pot dishes
I am surprised that the oft repeated everyday dishes are hardly featured here in my space. I was sure that I had a recipe for chana and rajma here since its something I make regularly. Apparently not! Its been part of some thali meals in the past, but never been featured as a recipe post here. Since its a regular dish at my place, I will get a chance soon to update this post with better pictures sometime down the line.
I always use pav bhaji masala when making chana masala. Its something I started long back and I don’t remember how I decided pav bhaji is the masala for this curry. Kasuri methi also adds a wonderful flavor to this dish.
Now a days, I make this curry in the Instant Pot (electric pressure cooker). I use soaked chana directly and don’t bother with cooking it ahead or using canned beans to cut short the time.
Read on for the pictorial.

1chana_masala

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

  • one teaspoon oil
  • one medium onion, chopped finely
  • two medium tomatoes, chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder (or per taste)
  • 1 heaped teaspoon coriander powder
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 1 can garbonzo beans (or soaked and cooked chana)
  • 1 tablespoon Pav bhaji masala
  • 2 teaspoons kasuri methi
  • handful of chopped cilantro
  • salt

Pictorial

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Heat one teaspoon oil and saute one chopped medium onion. When it turns pink, add two chopped medium tomatoes. Saute till tomato is cooked a bit and is a little mushy. Add the masala powders (1/4 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp chili, 1 heaped tsp coriander, 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tablespoon pav bhaji masala). I forgot to add it at this point, so added it later. Add the salt also.

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Mix well. Cover the pot with a lid and let it cook in low heat for 4-5 minutes. If its dry, add 1-2 tablespoons of water to prevent the masalas from sticking to the bottom. Stir in between to ensure nothing burns.

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When the masalas are all cooked and the tomatoes are mashed well, add 1/2 cup water. Take aside 1/4 cup of cooked or canned garbanzo beans and make a paste out of it in a mixer jar. This paste step is optional, but helps in thickening the curry.

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Add the rest of the chana to the curry. Add water to cover the chana. About 2-3 cups. Let it come to a boil. Add the chana paste to the curry and mix it in with a ladle. This will help thicken the curry.

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Pav bhaji masala is coming to my mind only now :D. Better late than never, add a tablespoon of it to the curry.

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Now time for kasuri methi and chopped coriander. Add it and mix. Let it cook in medium heat for about 5-10 minutes, taste testing and adjusting it as necessary. Take off the heat when it reaches the desired consistency. Serve hot with rice or roti.

BMLogo

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM#71

Spinach Chickpea Soup

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It was raining outside and very nice and cool inside the house. The sweet smell of rain,  a mood to cook something different, to see my loved ones enjoying their food, the satisfaction coming from that… all that inspired me to cook this wonderful soup.

Or you can say that a bunch of spinach leaves about to wilt, chickpeas frozen to death, potatoes dying for attention and immense laziness to cook up a whole dinner led me to whip this up.

Whatever be the reason to cook, this garlic flavored soup tasted wonderful. With potatoes and chickpeas in it, you can have them as the main meal itself (there by saving yourself the trouble of cooking anything more).

Warm toasted bread, a bowl of hot soup, great company, candle light dinner and rain outside. Cannot ask for more in life! (hmmm…may be for the power to come back soon!)

Ingredients:

  • Onion                              :   1, chopped
  • Garlic                              :   4 cloves, chopped
  • Spinach                          :   1 bunch, cleaned and chopped
  • Chana/Chick pea        :   400 gms, cooked
  • Potatoes                         :   3 big, cooked and chopped
  • Fennel Powder             :   1 tsp
  • Coriander Powder      :   1 tsp
  • Milk                                  :    2/3 cup (or Cream)
  • Corn Flour                     :   1 tbsp
  • Stock                                :   4 cups
  • Tahini paste                  :   1 tbsp
  • Olive oil                          :   1 tbsp
  • Salt and Pepper

Method:

  1. Heat oil in a pan, add the onions and garlic. When the onion turns brown, add the cumin or fennel powder and coriander powder. Cook for 2 minutes and add the spinach.
  2. When the spinach is slightly done, add 3 cups of water or vegetable stock. I used Maggi stock cubes for this.
  3. Add the cooked potatoes and chickpea now. Let everything come to a boil.
  4. In a separate bowl, add the cornflour, tahini paste(if using), milk, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly so that there aren’t any dry lumps of corn flour.
  5. Add this to the soup and let it all come to a boil. Cook for another 5 minutes, check and adjust seasonings according to your taste. Take off the heat and serve hot.

Note:

I have adapted this from Linda Fraser’s book : The Vegetarian Kitchen.

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