Having money in the bank ,more importantly in your
name,gives you a sense of security. You are in need of money , just go take
some –no hassles , no worries…
Have 40 odd recipes in the blogger draft gives you a sense
of security of another sort. Whenever I am in a situation to cook but can’t,I
am sure there will be something in the drafts to come to my rescue – no
hassles, no worries.
For quite some time now, I am posting just for a few cooking
communities. I do cook and click but all that is safely stored in the drafts.
With other things taking a front seat, blogging takes a step motherly treatment
from my side. Hopefully this situation will get reversed soon….
Anyways,the second recipe for Blogging Marathon under the
theme – Cooking with Chickpeas, I have chosen this recipe from one of the books
that I had reviewed earlier. I had cooked this dish for the review and it never
got to be published on the blog. When Srivalli announced this topic, I wa happy
that I had at least one recipe ready.
Like yesterday’s chutney, today’s recipe is from a chef-
Aditya Bal. This recipe is from his recent book
The Chakh le India.
This Chole masala is a real Punjabi classic and has endless
variations. This can be served as a side dish or as a snack. I enjoyed it as a
snack and that’s why there are no roti’s / chapathis in the click….
I used:
Chick peas – 1 cup
Whole Bengal gram / kaala channa – 1 cup
For curry base
Tomatoes – 3, finely chopped
Onion- 1, chopped
Garlic- 5 cloves, chopped
Ginger – 1” piece, chopped
Spice powders :
Asafoetida powder – a pinch
Turmeric powder- a large pinch
Red chilli powder- 1 teaspoon
Coriander powder – 1 teaspoon
Whole spices:
Cumin seeds – 1 teaspoon
Cloves -4
Cinnamon stick – 1” piece
Black peppercorns- 5 numbers
Green cardamom-4
Bay leaf -1
Sugar- ½ teaspoon
Lemon juice- 1 tablespoon
Oil – 2 teaspoons
Butter - 2 teaspoons
Coriander leaves to garnish
- Wash and soak the chick pea and black channa with enough
water overnight. In case you forget, wash and soak the dals in hot water inside
a hot box/ casserole. The dal will swell up in a couple of hours.
- Drain the water and pressure cook with 3 cups of water till
70% done / 15 minutes.At this stage, the chickpea is cooked but not mushy.
- When the pressure releases, take out a handful of chickpea /
kaala channa and mash well. Keep aside.
- Heat oil in a wok and add the whole spices and bay leaf.
Sauté on medium flame.
- Next add the onions and sauté till they turn golden brown.
- Put in the ginger and garlic and cook till they soften.
- Add the spice powders and saute for a few minutes till you get a roasted aroma.
- Add some water to deglaze the pan and put in the cooked dals. Mix well so that the masala coats the dals.
- Add the tomato and cook till it is mushy and sprinkle sugar over it.
- Pour enough water so that it comes 1" above the chickpea mixture and bring to boil.
- Turn down the heat after 5 minutes,add salt and simmer for 10 minutes / cook till the gravy thickens.
- Add butter and lemon juice to lift the flavor.
- Check for salt and balance of flavors.
- Remove from heat and serve garnished with coriander leaves.
Hop over to the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#21
Bon Appetit...
Labels: Blogging Marathon, CCChallenge, Eggless Bakin Group, Punjabi Cuisine, Rotisides, Whoz on my side