Chana Kulche is one of my favorite dishes. Here Chana is the operative word. Kulcha basically is a kind of bread. And is thus replaceable with other kinds of bread depending on which part of the world you live in. So, I am going to show you today the recipe for Chana. Chana can also be had with Rice. Chana Rice is also a very popular dish consumed in India. While Chana Kulche is likely to be breakfast,** Chana Rice** is mostly Lunch or Dinner Item. If you make the dish to consume with bread then the dish tends to be a bit dry. It has more gravy if its meant to be used with Rice.
So, let’s get to it! How do we make nice yum tasty Chana?
Let’s take a look at the ingredients needed. Most of the items mentioned here are things that are available in an Indian Kitchen. However, if you are someone who lives in the west. These items can be easily procured from an Indian Shop.
**Ingredients
**
½ Kg chickpeas
1 tsp baking Soda
1.5 tsp salt
1 tsp mango Powder
1 tsp Garam Masala
½ tsp red chili powder
½ tsp black pepper powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp powdered clove/ 5-6 cloves
Cardamom – 5-6
1 tsp dry ginger/ A small psc grated
1 tsp coriander powder
Bay Leaves
1 tsp cinnamon/ 2-3 Sticks
Tomato Puree
1 Tea Bag
Water- 5 Cups
Onion grated – 2 onions medium size
Red Chilli powder as per taste
2 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
The Preparation
The Chickpeas need to be prepared for cooking by soaking them overnight in water. You can also prepare by boiling them in hot water if you want to prepare the dish immediately. However, its best to go with the overnight soaking protocol for best results.
Take the Chickpeas and Boil them with 5 cups of water. Also add the cloves, cardamom cinnamon bay leaves and salt to taste. One can add the tea bags as well. It adds a nice dark color to the dish. However, it can also be messy in case the tea bag splits in the cooker. Hence, I will leave it to your judgement. Needless to mention it has no impact on taste. The tea bag is purely a coloring agency.
Pressure cook till 1-2 whistles. After that cook for another 10 mins on low flame. Let it after its been cooked for another 5 mins. Then open the cooker and check. The Chickpeas should be soft by now. If not cook for another 1-2 whistles in the cooker. Save the water in the cooker for later use.
The Recipe
Heat 2 tsp of oil in a pan.
Add cloves and grated onions. Fry till the onions turn light brown.
Add ginger garlic paste. Cook till the smell of ginger garlic goes away.
Now add tomato puree, stir and let it cook for 10-12 mins.
Add the other ingredients except Garam Masala one by one now into this mixture. Stir well to ensure that all the spices have mixed well with the chickpeas.
Add the stock water drained from the pressure cooker which was used for boiling the chickpeas.
Cover the same and let it cook for 20 mins. Manage the water as per the thickness of gravy you need.
Add a spoon of Ghee (Clarified Butter) to temper the same. You can use slightly warm butter also.
Turn the flame off and let it cool for 2 mins.
Serve in a nice bowl. Garnish with Chopped Onions and Coriander leaves. Sprinkle some Garam Masala on top.
You can serve this with any kind of bread or you can serve with rice or better still you can have the dish as is. A nice salad and Raita(Curd mixed with water and veggies) goes well with the dish.
Hope you enjoyed my recipe. If you would like to share any other vegetarian recipes do feel free to mention in the comments, I will be more than happy to share.
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Yenjoy!
