Kala Chana Usali (dry sabji- festival dish)

Black Chickpeas are one of the staple legumes available in the pantry of any Indian kitchen. Loaded with proteins they taste delicious once it is cooked. It has inbuilt creamy texture and soft taste to it. It is a filling legume and hence there a few dishes that are made during religious fasting days. Usually, when a dish is made on a fasting day, people avoid adding harsh spices like ginger, garlic, onion etc and try to keep it simple. Here is one such dish which is made every now and then with minimum spices and yet it tastes great! Less is more is apt for this particular recipe.

One can substitute it with regular chickpeas too. These days you can get cooked chickpeas in cans and don't have to go through the process of soaking it for 8 hours and then pressure cooking it. I prefer doing it that way but if your schedule doesn't allow you with reminders and elaborate preps, go ahead and buy a tin of chickpeas. Remember to drain out the liquid (high content of sodium) and rinse it nicely a couple of times before using it in any dish.

During the 9 days of Navaratri people from all over the sub-continent of India do fasting. This dish is very popular during those days and is prepared using kala chana. It is a dry sabji and goes well with poori, roti etc. It is also made as an offering to the God (prasad) during many other auspicious festivals.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup kala chana (black chickpeas)
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 string curry leaves
• 2 red dry chilies
• pinch of asafoetida (hing)
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4th tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
• 1 tsp garam masala (optional, I like it)
• 1 green chili (optional)
• salt to taste
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1-2 tbsp grated coconut as garnish
• 1 tbsp cilantro chopped

Preparation:

• Soak kala chana in 3 cups of water overnight or for about 6-8 hours. It will double in size and you will get around 2 cups of chana. Pressure cook for 8 whistles or if you have a cooker without the whistle, follow those instructions accordingly. It must be cooked nice and soft.
• In a pan, heat oil, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, once it starts to crackle add curry leaves, dry red chili, asafoetida, quickly saute and add chili pwd, haldi, stir quickly. Work on the med flame. Do not let it burn. Immediately add the kala chana and mix everything nicely. 
• Add a little water from the cooked chana itself along with the salt. Add grated coconut and mix. Cook for another 5 minutes on med flame. Turn off the gas. Sprinkle cilantro on top! Serve hot with pooris.

You may also enjoy tomato poori, lachcha paratha, ragi poori, Kala Chana Sabji(gravy)

njoY!! happY cookinG!!

Health Benefit:
Channa is loaded with proteins. The fact that chickpeas have low glycemic index (GI) makes this legume good for diabetics. It causes a slow and steady release of glucose into the bloodstream and thus, maintains your blood sugar levels. Chickpeas also help in relieving mood changes during menstruation and post-menopausal symptoms in women. The high fibre content in chickpeas helps in promoting a healthy digestive system and intestine by lowering the risk of digestive disorders.

Kala Chana Masala

Kala Channa (Black ChickPeas Curry)

Kala Chana (black chickpeas) is a protein loaded legume. This particular curry is a simple preparation and it actually makes you feel like you have prepared some elaborate weekend kind of meal. It is a very down-to-earth earthy creamy kind of a dish. This curry can be made either dry or wet (I like it thin) and enjoyed with paratha, poori or chapati.

My Mom actually uses kala channa while she makes her korma curry. It tastes super yummy with all the spices and other vegetables. One can soak and cook the channa beforehand and freeze it. It becomes simpler and quicker to make this curry by just de-freezing and using it accordingly, that is what I do.

It makes a perfect party dish as it serves the purpose of easy entertaining. Very filling and the spices used in the curry blends in very well with the chana, making you want to eat more than one serving. Even in temples especially in South India, they serve a dry version of kala channa sabji that is very lightly tempered and it tastes so yummy.

Let us take a look at this kala chana masala (curry).

Ingredients:

• 1 cup kala chana dry ( or 2 cups of cooked kala chana)
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 2 tomatoes chopped
• 1 green chilli chopped
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 1 tsp garlic paste
• 1 tsp chana masala (can use garam masala, goda masala or kala masala too)
• 1/2 tsp red chilly powder
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp pepper powder
• 1/2 tsp amchur (mango powder)
• salt to taste
• 3 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 inch ginger julienned 
• handful chopped cilantro to garnish

Preparation:

• Soak kala chana in about 5 cups of water overnight. Cook it in a pressure cooker with 4-5 cups of water and 1 tsp salt for about 8 whistles. 
• It has to be cooked to a point where it is just soft and not soggy. That's when your curry will get a nice creamy texture.
• Let the cooker cool down. Use the water from cooking in your gravy. 
• In a pan heat oil, add onions, green chilli and saute till light brown. Add ginger garlic paste and saute for a couple of minutes.
• Now add tomatoes and cook till everything comes together and leaves oil by the side. 
• Add all the powders and mix for few seconds. Pour in cooked channa and add about 2-3 cups of water and bring it to a boil. 
• Adjust water as you need. Add salt, remember you have already added while cooking channa. 
• Keep stirring in between. Simmer the curry for good 10-15 minutes. Switch off the gas. 
• Serve hot while you garnish it with ginger, cilantro and lemon juice. I really enjoy it with plain pooris or ragi pooris.

njoY!! happY cookinG!!

notes*: if you want to make it more creamy, take 3 tbsp of cooked chana and make a paste in a blender and mix it in the curry. It thickens it and gives a nice texture too.

Health benefits:

Chana is loaded with proteins. The fact that chickpeas have low glycemic index (GI) makes this legume good for diabetics. It causes a slow and steady release of glucose into the bloodstream and thus, maintains your blood sugar levels. Chickpeas also help in relieving mood changes during menstruation and post-menopausal symptoms in women. The high fibre content in chickpeas helps in promoting a healthy digestive system and intestine by lowering the risk of digestive disorders.