January 13, 2009

Kala Chana With Puri...



Wishing all my readers and my fellow bloggers a very Happy 2009. Got carried away with last minute flurries of studying, packing, shopping and managing sick kids.
I wanted to go to each of my favorite blogs and leave a new year greeting there, but instead went for a short break,with the exams being over. Results awaited of course, but I do hope to be blogging more often now.

Hope all of you had a big bang start to the new year!! And wish you all prosperity and good health.

The vacation was a well deserved break from the routine and of course from the cold weather here. We went to Disney World..not really a dream place to unwind but definitely a place where a grown up can be a kid again. It's hectic, it's crazy crowded and yet fun. What's better than screaming on roller coasters or when you have spiders coming down at you or mice running under your feet in the dark?(Make believe of course!!) I chickened out of the scariest rides but there was still plenty of good shows and rides.

And of course what's a vacation log without a discussion on the food?
Before I left, I had reached the end of my cooking spell, being sick of my own cooking, and the same old stuff... Deciding what to cook was a pain!! Well, nothing like a week of burgers( veg/nonveg, whatever..) and fries and chicken nuggets to get the tastes buds craving for spicy Indian food! Though the food there was the tastiest fast food we could get, with a variety of toppings for the sandwiches,it still didn't hit the "I am satisfied" button in our stomachs. We usually like variety and are open to all different cuisines in food, but without spice, can't eat much. It all tastes the same and insipid after some time and we start craving Indian food.

One evening an old friend who stays there visited us and the discussion turned to dinner. He was familiar with the area and got us some "Kottayam" and "Alleppey" fish curry from a South Indian restaurant a bit away from where we stayed and we made rice to go with it. Just fish curry and rice and curds....somebody should have taken a photo of our faces after that meal!! It was so good and yet it was not really an authentic Kerala curry but who cares... It had the right balance of spice and sourness (eruvum puliyum) in it!!Why bother with elaborate cuisines.. if you really want to whet an appetite that has fallen by the wayside, just feed the person the opposite of what they like for a week and see.
Now we want puttu-kadala, fish fry and more fish, the spiciest chicken curry, or just chammandi and rice...avial....the list goes on.. my friend who was with me was salivating over dosa and sambhar and chutney..:)

So I will get back to posting more recipe studded stories..but for now lets start the new year with puri-chole recipe...Most of you must be used to puri-alu or chole -bature but this is a good combination more familiar in North India. It's my fav combination,.. love the pure Punjabi dry kala chana and suji ka halwa with this.yum!! Over time though, this got modified a bit to make some more gravy for the sake of family. So now it's semi-dry which goes well with puri or chappathi.

You will Need:
Kala chana/black chickpeas-1 cup
Ginger-1 tbsp crushed or paste
Garlic- 1 tbsp crushed or paste
Onion-1 1/2 medium size- finely chopped
Green chilies-3 sliced
Tomatoes-1 chopped
Roasted Cumin Powder-1 1/2 tsp
Ground coriander-2 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Red chili powder -1 tsp or as per taste
Dry mango powder (amchoor )-1/2 tsp (substitute with 1 tsp lemon juice)
Salt To Taste
2-3 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp garam masala
Cilantro leaves- 2 tbsp chopped

Garnish:
Cilantro leaves-1/2 cup finely chopped
Shredded ginger-1 tsp
Green Chilies-1 chopped finely

Preparation:
1. Soak Chole in water overnight or for about 6 hr. Cook the chole with salt and enough water in the cooker for about 20 minutes or till fully done. Drain, reserving 1 cup of cooking liquid.
2. Heat oil in a cast iron or heavy bottom pan and add onions and sauté till golden on medium heat. Then add the garlic and ginger and green chilies. Keep stirring till the raw smell of the garlic reduces.
3. Add tomatoes, mango powder or lemon juice, cumin powder( to make cumin powder, roast the cumin seeds on a tawa for 5-6 minutes on low heat or in a microwave for one minute and then powder it), coriander, turmeric and chili powder and sauté over low heat until the oil separates. This takes patience to do it with little oil. Keep stirring. If you are in a hurry, add extra oil to speed it up. If the tomatoes are bland, then u could add 2 small ones but too much tomatoes changes the taste of the curry. Add the chole, the reserved cooking liquid, salt and let it come to a boil .Then cover and simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes.
Add a pinch of garam masala and serve the chana sprinkled with the remaining coriander leaves and shredded ginger.
For Puri recipe, click here.
This is my entry for Srivalli's "My Legume Love Affair"

36 comments:

FH said...

What?! We were in FL and were in Disney World from Dec 19th to 27th too, all 4 parks! Did we bump each other or something?!:D

Happy new year to you and family. What a comfort food combo, I love the taste of red chana. Looks great S, guess I have to steal the recipe now! Hahaha!

I took a 5 month break too, just came back last week. Blog when you can, always a pleasure to be here! :)

indosungod said...

Happy New Year! Shaheen. Glad to hear that we will see more of you from now on.
I tried the puri/chana/sooji halwa combination, courtesy of a North Indian friend during a festival.

TBC said...

Oooh! I love the poori-kala chana- sooji halwa combination and have eaten it a couple of times. It is so very tasty!:)
I don't do very much with kala chana except kadala curry.

Varsha Vipins said...

Happy New year Shaheen..Good to see u back with an awsome combo dish..:)

Anonymous said...

black is not awailable here and i miss them lots..drooling.
hope you will be active soon.

Anita said...

happy New year to you and yours, Shaheen.
The combo of suji halwa-puri-and kala chana is the stuff of childhood memories which now I try to cook sometimes. Only because no one calls old women to those 'Kanjak' dos...

FH said...

S, here is my first ever bake in my new kitchen! :))

http://aromahope.blogspot.com/2009/01/spinach-and-feta-cheese-bread.html

Zerin said...

Helllo Shaheen,

I have been look out for your posts and really missed it. I had soaked kala channa in the morning, meaning to make kadala curry. But in the afternoon when i sat down to check my mail i saw a mail from your rss feed, about the kala channa and poori.
I will definitely try it.
Welcome back and hope your xams went well. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Sakshi said...

Wow thank god you are back and yup with a bang too. The dish brings back sweet memories for me abt Delhi. Wishing you all the happiness in this year and all the years to come. Hope you are bombarded with great recipe ideas too so that we can enjoy it. We started our new year with getting lost in the woods and then being bundled up by police in their car. Have written abt it in my blog...So i guess we had a rocking start for this year. Pray that we don't get lost again...lol

Finla said...

Happy Newyear to you and your family.
I was happy to hear that you too get fed up making the same dishes? Even I am sometimes like that.
Saying i am just making the same food always.
I love kadala like this and it looks so yumm.
Hi hi reading about the neencurry and rice i was drooling here, wish i was there to enjoy them too.

Shah cooks said...

Asha, we were there last week!!:) Then u must know how crowded it was. That was a loong break from ur side.Missed ur elaborate posts. all settled now?

Indo, how was new year? I do hope to blog more but there is always something more improtant.:) If u tried the combi., did u like it?

TBC, whenever i make kadala, I boil lots and i make half this way and half the nadan way with puttu.

Varsha, Thanks and a very happy new year too.

Ann, what!!!Happy new year. u don't get black chana there? move to US. we get everything here.:) What do the bolly wood people eat when they come there to shoot?just kidding.

Shah cooks said...

Anita, exactly my thots.. nobody calls old women to kanchak.. so khud banao, khud khao!

Zerin, Happy new year to u too. Was too busy to blog and then was wondering what to write for a long time.. laziness sets in if i stay away for too long.

sakshi, will read abt ur adventures right now.

Srivalli said...

Shaheen, Wish you and your family a great year!...that bowl of kadala looks so yummy, that you will have to send me that ..:)..well for the event at my place dear!

Namratha said...

Can almost imagine how good this tastes....slurp!

Suganya said...

This is a very cool recipe. Looks so good. YUM!

Happy Pongal!!!

Anonymous said...

Haven't seen Kala Chana anywhere till in Toronto till now. I miss it. The picture makes me hungry!!

Anonymous said...

Indian food is one of my favorite also!! YUMMY!!

delhibelle said...

its been ages since i saw kala chana & poori,thanks for evoking fond memories

sra said...

I've never heard of this combination, Mallugirl! Most of my friends are South Indians, I guess that's why, but it's easy to see that it would be tasty and popular - i wonder why North Indian restaurants in the South don't offer this combination?

indosungod said...

Shaheen, I like the combo a whole lot but once in a blue moon perhaps. Just that the halwa with all the ghee and deep fried puris don't sit well together for me.

bee said...

that kadala looks so fantastic, dear shaheen. wishing you and your family a wonderful 20009 with just the right balance of eru and puli.

Seena said...

Salam Shaheen, kure nalayallo kandittu? :)
Never tried black kadala with puri, always puttu + kadala here.. :)

J said...

Hehe... next time I'll call you over for kanjak :) And treat you to some puri-channa-halwa. The pic looks awesome. Happy New Year, Shaheen!

Anonymous said...

I love puris with kala chana. I love kala chana just by itself as a sokkha(dry) dish

Happy new Year to all of you too. How did the little one enjoy the rides ?

sandeepa(Bong Mom's CookBook)

Shah cooks said...

jyo, sure... i will come over any day. old tastes die hard.

indo, i agree.. its too heavy for me too now..not too healthy too..:)wonder how i used to hog this as a kid.. but one puri is fine.

Shah cooks said...

happy cook.. if i am not blog hoppings and trying new recipes, then i revert to the familiar and same ol stuff..

mona, u want me send u some chana.. there are 2 varieties available here!!

sukanya, happy Pongal to u too..

Shah cooks said...

delhi belle..from ur name, i thot it would be pretty common in ur house.:)

Sra, yup..South Indians are not very familiar with this combi.. i too end up making puttu -kadala more often than this. Do u ever wonder why SI restaurants in the north don't serve the huge variety of our dishes and limit it to the idli-dosa-appam?

bee, thanks for ur eruvum puliyum wishes.:)

Anonymous said...

picture from ur blog.i hope you are aware of this http://www.yummydesserts.org/entry/mouth-watering-falooda-a-special-indulgence/

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year, dear neighbor! I've been having a break too and what brought me back was your fabulous fish dishes -- I made something with salmon derived from your recipes the other day and it was outstanding!

Kala chana would be so good on these cold nights -- thanks for more inspiration.

Glad you enjoyed Disney -- it's not really a vacation, as I remember with the little kids, but a trip -- and yea, the food isn't great. Better to be cooking at home now :)

Loved your wintry pics in prev. post, too!

lan said...

Just when I was craving black chana! I prefer the more gravied version but then I have never tried this. I am sure it will come out well based on your other recipes I have tried. Bookmarked in my mind and waiting for other gems in the pipeline.

Pravs said...

lovely combo of kala chana and puri.. i will love it. I would have loved to be on some of those rides...and be a kid again :)

lubnakarim06 said...

Wow looks hot, spicy and yummy... I got bored with the same old combo of poori and aloo. Will try this soon.

Sona - quick picks/pick quicks said...

Hi SHaheen..happy new yr too...better late than never...

Shreya said...

a perfect combo, and your chana recipe is so good..Happy New Year..

Raaga said...

happy new year and that's a great recipe to make a come back with :-)

Rumela said...

Hey those kala chana with piri look yummi, I love eating breakfast and always try new fast food recipes. I would love to try the kala chana, piri with rosgolla sweet for breakfast. that looks tasty. puri is also a snacks food option and can make a satisfying breakfast. The Photos are amazing... I am already feeling hungry. thank you for shearing your post.