Chickpeas are one of my most favourite ingredients and I always try to include it in some form every week in our menu. When I make puttu, I pair it with kerala style kadala curry. For appam or idiyappam, I make varutharacha kadala curry or kadala kuruma with coconut. I grow up eating these coconut-based chickpea curries and I love it a lot. However, all these curries are bit elaborate and time-consuming.
Today I am sharing a north Indian style channa masala which I am making often these days for poori and chapati. This is my go-to recipe when I am in a rush or whenever I am very lazy to cook. The combinations we can try with this channa masala are endless, it goes very well with Jeera rice/pulao, roti/poori and sometimes we eat it with appam/dosa too. Let us learn to make this simple channa masala today. Also, please check out my Channa Masala Sundal and Channa Biryani recipe too.
Ingredients:Dried Chickpeas - 1 Cup
Salt - as required
For the sauce:
Big Onion - 1
Tomato - 2(small)
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup(chopped finely)
Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
To Temper:
Oil - 1 tblsp
Bay leaf - 1
Clove - 2
Cinnamon - 1 inch piece
Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp
Method:
1. Wash and soak the channa overnight or for a minimum of 8 hours. Then pressure cook it with enough water and salt for 3 whistles. Drain the excess water and keep it aside 
2. Meanwhile chop the onion and tomato finely. In a pan, add some oil and temper it with the items under 'To Temper'. Then add the chopped red onion and add a little salt.
3. When the onion turns transparent, add the ginger garlic paste and the chopped tomato. Saute it for a few mins and then add the turmeric powder, chilli powder and coriander powder. Mix it all together.
4. You can add a splash of water at this stage and cook everything until mushy. I used my potato masher and mashed everything really well for a smooth channa masala(You can also blend everything with a handheld blender or regular mixie). Now, add the cooked chickpeas and 1/4 cup of hot boiling water. Mix it well and bring everything to a boil. Adjust the salt and add the garam masala to the boiling gravy.
5. When everything combines well and the gravy starts to thicken, add the chopped coriander leaves. Mix it all together and switch off the flame.
Serve the yummy channa masala with poori, chapathi, appam or dosa.
Points to remember:
- Instead of mashing the onion and tomato with the potato masher, you can blend it using a handheld blender or regular blender. If using a regular blender, just cool it before blending.
- For a more creamy channa masala, along with the onion and tomato, you can blend a small of handful of cooked chickpeas too.
Happy's Cook - Divya
No comments :
Post a Comment