Chickpea Curry (Chana Masala)
Ingredients
• 2 C dried chickpeas
• 7-9 C of water
• 3 Tbsp ghee/oil
• ½ Tsp yellow asafetida powder
• 2 Tsp cumin seeds
• 2 Tsp garam masala
• 1 Tbsp chana masala
• 1 Tsp chat masala
• 1 Tbsp coriander powder
• 1 Tsp amchur powder (dry mango powder)
• 1 Tsp turmeric powder
• 1½ -inch ginger piece
• 2 hot green chilies
• 4-5 medium sized tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• 2¼ Tsp salt
• ¼ C chopped fresh coriander leaves
Preparation
1. Wash the chickpeas and soak them in water for 6 hours. Drain. In asaucepan, combine the chickpeas and water. Bring to a boil,
reduce the heat and cook covered until the chickpeas are soft but not broken. (Alternately if you are pressure cooking the beans then use 7 cups of water)
reduce the heat and cook covered until the chickpeas are soft but not broken. (Alternately if you are pressure cooking the beans then use 7 cups of water)
2. Pour the cooked chickpeas through a colander and reserve the cooking liquid by placing a bowl underneath the colander.
3. In a small bowl, take 1/3 cup of the cooked chickpeas and mash them. Keep aside.
4. In a saucepan, heat ghee/oil over moderate heat. Add asafetida and cumin seeds, when they darken a bit, add all the spice powders. Fry the spices on low heat until they begin to darken. Add the ginger and chilies and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and salt. Reduce the heat to low and cook until ghee/oil oozes out from the tomato-spice paste. Add both the whole cooked and mashed chickpeas, and half of the coriander leaves. Pour the reserved cooking liquid according to the consistency required for the curry. Cook partially covered over low heat for atleast 1 hour or until thick. Add the remaining coriander leaves. Serve with chapattis, puris or rice.
Serves
4-6
By Anand Lila Devi Dasi
« Idlis
