Black chick peas or Kala channa as called in India is a rich source of protein and fiber. It helps reduce cholesterol and is a very healthy food. 
Here is my version of Kala channa masala .

Prep. Time: 25 mins
Serves: 3 

INGREDIENTS:

Kala channa (black chickpeas): 3 cups
Tomato: 1 medium sized
Onion: 1 medium sized
Green chillies: 4 nos.
Ginger (grated): 1 tsp
Jeera: 1 tsp
Cloves: 4-5 nos.
Cinnamon stick: 1/2 inch
Maratha moggu: 2 nos
(I do not know its english name. May be someone can help me with this.)
Red chilli powder: 1 tsp
Dhania powder: 1 tsp
Jeera powder: 1/2 tsp
Garam masala: 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp
Fresh cilantro chopped: 1/2 cup
Lemon juice: 1 tblspn
Water as required
Oil for tempering
Salt as per taste

METHOD:

Soak the channa overnight and pressure cook with a little salt.
In a kadai, heat a little oil and add cloves, cinnamon, maratha moggu and roast. To this, add 2 of the green chillies, ginger, half of the finaly chopped onion and tomato. When the onions turn golden and tomatoes are mashed, cool down the mixture and grind this along with 2 tablespoons of the cooked kala channa. Keep aside.
Heat a little oil in the kadai. Add jeera. Once they sputter, add the remaining 2 green chillies, finely chopped. Next, add the remaining onions and tomatoes, turmeric powder and saute well. 
Add the cooked channa, the ground masala, salt, red chilli powder, cumin powder, dhania powder and mix well. 
Add water as required to dilute the mixture and bring it to a single boil. Remove from the stove and add the garam masala, finely chopped cilantro and lemon juice. (It is better not to heat after adding the garam masala and lemon juice. Heating would reduce the flavour of the garam masala.) Mix well and serve hot with rotis, naans or parathas. It also goes with any rice item.

Ciao till next time...Have fun! Vidya.

5 comments:

Neha said...

looks nice, i never made kala chana in gravy, though my hubby always asks for....

Anonymous said...

Huhh..I'm not lucky enough to taste ur dishes!!!I shud simply luk at this blog n fill my stomach :(((

Vidya said...

@Neha: Thanks..you can try this too :)

@Nittu: haha dont worry will make them when we meet....

Dave said...

This looks great, but how many cups of water should be used to pressure cook the channa?

thanks.

Vidya said...

Thanks Cannoli, you could cook the soaked channa with twice the amount of water. I would pressure cook with not more than a single whistle. Just make sure it doesnt mash out completely.