Chickpeas Masala /Garbanzo Masala for Chapati, Rice, Pulao or Poori

Chickpeas Masala /Garbanzo Masala for Chapati, Rice, Pulao or Poori

INGREDIENTS: 

Dry Chickpeas/ Dry Garbanzo - 1 cup

Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Chili powder - 1 1/2 teaspoon (adjust the heat accordingly)

Medium sized onion - 1

Ripe tomato - 1

Salt - to taste

Chopped coriander leaves - handful (optional)

TO TEMPER :

Fennel seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Oil - 1 tablespoon

FOR PASTE :

Grated coconut - 1/2 cup

Medium sized onion - 1

Ginger - 2 inches size

Fennel - 1 teaspoon

METHOD:

1. Soak the chickpeas for 8 hours or overnight. 

2. The next morning, rinse off the chickpeas in clean water and drain them. 

3. Boil the chickpeas with enough water submerged in a stewpot with some salt to flavor the chickpeas. 

4. After the chickpeas has boiled thoroughly, drain them in a colander. Reserve the chickpeas stock for making soup later.

5. Now, in a frying pan or wok, add a tablespoon of vegetable oil, after it has heat up, now you may add all the ingredients under the 'TO TEMPER' section.

2. Then, followed by the chopped onion. Sauté the onion until translucent. Then add in chopped tomato and salt. Cook until tomato is slightly soften.

3. Make a smooth paste by adding enough water with all the ingredients under the 'FOR PASTE' section. Add the masala paste after the tomatoes have become mushy. At this stage, you can add turmeric powder and chili powder. Mix well.

4. Now, add the boiled and drained chickpeas into the masala paste mixture. 

5. You need to add some 1/ 2 cup of water to further cook the raw smell of the paste. You will notice the gravy has thicken slightly. 

5. I simmered this under the low flame reducing into thick dry masala gravy. That should be the sign to switch off the flame. Sprinkle a lavish amount of coriander leaves. I didn't use coriander leaves as I didn't have some at home.

6. Thus chickpeas masala can be served as a side-dish for rice, pulao, biryanis, chapati, rotis. 

Thank you

Abby 

Soya Chunks Kurma (Indian style curry in coconut milk)

Today, I would like to share with all the food lovers and beginners who are trying to find some inspiration to cook something exotic with spices yet not over powering. Kurma is none other than a type of Indian curry or gravy cooked with extra roasted coconut and its milk. This concoction is nicely blended with sauteed onions, ginger, garlic and green chillies. Here, the curry is dependent on white pepper, black pepper and green chillies for the spicy flavor that complement well with coconut milk. Also, this kurma dish can be served along with Indian flat bread such as Chapatti, Naan or Poori or any type of rice. I made the vegetarian variation of kurma using my favourite soya chunks with no added GMO and potatoes. You can find more about the soya chunks here in this link http://abbylakshmi.blogspot.com/2014/10/vegetarian-soya-chunks-rendang-spicy.html. Soya chunk is great substitute for chicken and mutton as it has the same fibrous structure as meat without artificial, preservatives or flavorings. It is purely made of soya bean flour which is highly rich in protein so I believe it's a boon for vegetarians out there. The kurma has rich, creamy and subtle flavor which would be a grand dish for any occasions. Don't get intimidated by the number of ingredients and procedures to make this kurma. I assure you the taste would be heavenly good and worth all the effort. The kurma powder is a staple spice mix in every Indian household which could be done in advance for a good storage of 6 months. The rest of the paste can be made the day before cooking.

Soya Chunks Kurma (Indian style curry in coconut milk)

Ingredients :

Dried soya chunks : 1 cup

Boiled Russet potato : 3

Big red onion :1

Medium sized ripe tomato : 1

Curry leaves : 2 sprigs 

Homemade kurma powder : 2 tbsp

Salt : as needed

Oil : 2 tbsp 

Chopped coriander leaves : 3 tbsp

Dry roasted coconut paste :

Grated coconut : 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp

White poppy seeds : 1/2 tbsp

  

Saute and grind to smooth paste :

Small red onions : 5

Ginger : 2 inches piece

Garlic : 4 cloves 

Green chillies : 3 - 4

black pepper : 1 tsp

Coconut milk : 1/2 cup 

Homemade kurma powder : 

3 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp white pepper
1 cinnamon stick
2 cardamons
3 star anise
1/2 tsp turmeric powder

 To temper:

Cinnamon stick : 1

Cloves : 3

Star anise : 1

Fennel seeds : 1 tsp

Cumin seeds : 1 tsp

Method :

1. Soak a cup of soya chunks  in a sufficient hot boiling water for 10 minutes. After the time, you'll find it doubled in size. Now, you have to squeeze out the excess water from the soya chunks.

2. Next process is to dry roast 1/4 cup and 2 tbsp of freshly grated coconut and 1/2 tbsp of poppy seeds in the heated pan till they turn light brown colour. To avoid burning the grated coconut, you must keep stirring so the heat is evenly distributed.Use mortal and pestle to grind this roasted coconut mixture till it oozes out oil. Keep that aside. Don't skip this process as it is crucial for making the kurma rich and creamy.

3. Add 1 tbsp of oil in a heated pan, started frying small onions, garlic, ginger, black pepper and green chillies until the onions are translucent. Grind them to a smooth paste consistency by adding enough water.

4. Dry roast the ingredients mentioned under 'Kurma powder' and grind them to fine powder. Keep in an air-tight container in a fridge. For this recipe, use 2 tbsp of the powder.

4. In a heated pan, add 2 tbsp of oil, chuck in ingredients under "Temper Section", a minute later followed by sliced big onion and salt. Fry till the sliced onions are translucent. At this stage, start adding diced tomato, Kurma powder, curry leaves and the blended paste. Fry for 10 min. 

5. Now, add 1 cup to 1 1/2 cup of water along with the dry roasted coconut paste. The liquid consistency is based on your preference. It should not be thick or too watery.

6. After that, add soya chunks and diced boiled potatoes.  

5. Let the gravy cook in low flame for 15 minutes and check for the seasoning. After, the gravy changed colour slightly and oil oozes out, add 1/2 cup of coconut milk. After adding coconut milk, you should only let it simmer for 3 minutes and switch off the flame as we don't want the kurma to curdle.

6. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

-Abby

Brown Chickpeas Curry

Last Thursday, I went to Shirdi Sai Baba Temple in Kuala Lumpur. Being a staunch believer of Baba, I thought of making Brown Chickpeas Curry for the afternoon food offering after the prayers. I'm not a big fan of legume based dishes but this particular curry has full bodied texture and aromatic smell contributed by the dried roasted coconut. The semi-thick curry was a great complement with Kuska or Plain Biryani. Apart from the, this curry goes well with Indian types of flat bread or white rice. Legumes and lentils are rich in protein which is a boon for vegetarians and by including a small proportion of it thrice a week will help utilization of folate, phosphorus, dietary fiber and other essential nutrients. Most importantly, the taste must be good to eat and I can assure you on that. 

Brown Chickpeas Curry

Ingredients :

Brown chickpeas : 250 gm

Raw or cooking banana or potato : 1 (optional)

Onions : 2 big

Ginger : 1 inch piece

Coriander leaves : a small bunch

Turmeric powder : 1/2 tsp

Salt : as needed

Tamarind : a very small lime size

Oil : 2 tbsp

 Ingredients to dry roast and grind :

Grated coconut : from 1 small coconut

Dry red chillies : 12

Black peppercorns : 1 tsp

Fennel seeds : 2 tsp

Cinnamon : 1 inch piece

Cloves : 6

Star anise : 1

Coriander seeds : 1 tbsp

 To temper:

Mustard seeds : 3/4 tsp

Curry leaves : 2 sprigs

Dry red chillies : 1 

Method :

1. Soak the brown chickpeas in a sufficient water overnight.

2. The next day, pressure cook the chickpeas, 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder and salt with 6 cups of water for 7 whistles. The cooked chickpeas should be tender.

3. In a pan, dry roast grated coconut till it becomes deep brown colour but be careful not to burnt it. 

4. Next, dry roast the coriander seeds, fennel seeds, black peppercorns, cinnamon, cloves, star anise and 12 dry red chillies separately.

5. Grind the roasted coconut, other spices, tamarind paste and enough water till it turns into a smooth fine paste. 

6. Finely slice the big onions and chop the ginger. 

7. In a hot pan, add oil, start tempering the ingredients mentioned in 'To Temper' section. After that, fry onions and ginger till translucent.

8. At this stage I have also used roughly chopped potato, cooked chickpeas and its excess water in the pressure cooker. Cook for 15 minutes or till the potato is done.

9. Add ground spices and water if you desire the curry to be watery. Cook for a while, let say for 10 minutes. More than that will make the curry slightly curdled.

10. Switch off the stove. Garnish the curry with finely chopped coriander leaves of a bunch. Serve this with Kuska Biryani , plain rice or Indian flat bread. 

Brown Chickpeas Curry

-Abby

 

Poori Masala

Poori masala or potato masala is a great complement with pooris. I prefer this style of masala which my mother used to make at home. I have tasted poori masala at other Indian restaurants before but nothing can beat my mother's special potato masala which has a kick of spiciness and slight sweetness from lots of onion used and fragrance from the exotic spice called Kalpasi or Black stone flower which is available at all Indian Spice store. Lets check the recipe:

 

Ingredients :

Potato : 4

Big Onion : 3

Small green chillies : 6 to 7 ( adjust according to your taste)

Turmeric : 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves : a sprig

Ginger : 1 1/2 inch

Coriander leaves : 2 tbsp (for garnish)

Salt : as needed

To Temper :

Fennel seeds or sombu : 1tsp

Bengal gram dal : 1 tbsp ( soaked in water for 15 minutes and use after removing the water)

Cinnamon : 1 1/2 inch

Star anise : 1

Kalpasi : 2 small pieces ( use little as it is enough)

Oil : 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Wash the potatoes to remove dirt and steam it in a pressure cooker until it turns mushy.

2. Mash coarsely those boiled or steamed potatoes by removing their skins off.

3. Then add, turmeric and salt and give quick mix again.

4. In a pan, temper the ingredients given under 'To Temper' section lightly till become brown colour but not burnt.

5. Later, stir fry the curry leaves, sliced half moon shaped onions, finely chopped green chillies, and ginger. 

 

6. Now, once the above mentioned items fried till transparent, add mashed potato mix and give a stir by adding 1/ 2 cup water. 

7. Cook for 15 minutes and at the same time mash big bits of potato pieces with the back of the frying spoon. The potato masala should be semi- thick. Serve it with hot pooris or chapatis.

Poori and Potato masala