Simple, Wholesome and Fast: Fresh Green Chickpeas Pulao

The great thing about Indian Cuisine is its mind-boggling variety. That’s why every time I enter an Indian restaurant in the United States; it’s disappointing to see the same stale names on the menu again and again. Making it worse are the sub standard ingredients and the tasteless frozen vegetables along with the overcooked meat that’s used. Of course there are exceptions I’m sure. I just haven’t come across any of those exceptions. No wonder a large number of people think Indian food is spicy, greasy and rich. Well… if we did eat like that, we would have keeled over and become extinct by now.

In the meantime here is a super simple recipe for Fresh Green Chana (Garbanzo Beans/ Chickpeas/ Hare Chana) Pulav.  I kept everything very simple to let the freshness of the green chana come through. Fresh green chana is very tender and requires much less cooking than the dried variety. It is sold in its pod and needs to be shelled, just like peas. Although the process of shelling the chana can be tedious, it is definitely worth giving a shot!

Fresh Green Chana Pulav

What You Need:

1 tsp – Shah Jeera or regular jeera (cumin)

1 stick of cinnamon

2 whole green cardamoms

1 clove

1 bay leaf

1 small onion, sliced (optional)

1 cup - shelled green chickpeas

3/4 cup – Diced paneer cubes

A few sprigs of Mint

Kasoori Methi, a generous pinch

Salt

White pepper

1 cup – Basmati rice, washed and drained

2 1/2 cups – water

 ¼ cup - coconut milk

To Garnish:

Chopped Coriander

Fried Cashews (Fry cashews in ghee, drain and keep aside)

Lemon

Getting Down To Business:

Heat oil in a kadai or heavy bottomed pan. Add in jeera, cardamom, clove and bay leaf. Allow the cumin to start spluttering. If using an onion, then add it in now. Sauté till translucent. Otherwise add in the chickpeas, chopped mint, kasoori methi, salt and pepper. Sauté for a few minutes. Then add in your paneer. Stir once to mix. Then add the rice, water and coconut milk. Combine well. I used a rice cooker and hence I transferred it all to the rice cooker. Once it is done, garnish with the coriander and cashews. Add a squeeze of lime before serving.

Notes:

Once you add the lime, do not reheat the rice. Sometimes limejuice can taste bitter up on heating.

Using a rice cooker is not a must. Go ahead and use whatever means you use to cook rice and adjust the water accordingly. I normally use 3 cups of water but I reduced it to 2 ½ cups since I also added ¼ cup of coconut milk.

Using Paneer is optional and was more a personal preference. I normally make my own paneer using low fat milk to save on calories.

I save the ghee-fried cashews for special occasions! It’s too much of an indulgence for everyday!

Fiesty Mango Salad and Spicy Chana Dal

Being Indian there’s nothing I love more than mangoes and like most Indians, when I get my hand on a mango, I use it in so many ways to ‘maximize’ my mango experience – jams, curries, dals, desserts, mojitos (yes, it’s a food group by itself) and even salads to name a few. I can even have a mango for breakfast (hellooo… the golden gorgeousness of a ripe mango on my oatmeal in the morning… ahh sweet heaven!)

Anyway I digress… today I bring you a gorgeous mango salad that’s not only easy to make but is very easy on the eye too. The contrast of the green coriander leaves against the golden mango is so so very pretty. It’s light, refreshing and perfect for summer.

Mango salad

What you need:

½ a semi ripe Mango

½ Cucumber

½ of a Small Onion

¼ bunch Coriander

Green Chilies to taste (you can even use red jalapeños to add color)

Roasted Peanuts as needed

Salt to taste

Lemon Juice to taste

A pinch of Sugar

Getting down to business:

Dice the mango and cucumber into small even sized cubes. Finely chop the onion, chili and coriander.  Combine all the ingredients except the lemon juice, salt and roasted peanuts. Add these three ingredients at the end just before serving.

Notes:

I prefer using a semi raw mango as opposed to one that is completely raw or completely ripe. I think the in between stage helps balance out flavors as something too raw would be too strong for some palettes while a ripe mango may end up breaking down too much.

I actually did not add any salt in my salad as I used salted roasted peanuts to begin with.

The reason I specify not to add in the salt before serving is that it can make the onions and cucumber ‘sweat’ which means it’ll extract all the water in your veggies and make your salad soggy!

You can add and delete vegetables from this salad as you wish – throw in some striking orange carrot or some shredded cabbage even.

Clockwise: Mango Salad, Chana Dal and Rotis

This is not a dal you mess with… its fiery but satisfying. For me, in addition to being tasty and comforting, it’s also oh so good for you – what more can you ask for? You can easily tone down the heat of the dal by omitting either of the chilies or even both or eliminate the red chili powder.

Masala Chana Dal

What you need:

1 cup Chana Dal (Split Chickpeas)

1 teaspoon Cumin/ Jeera

2 Red Chilies

½ big Onion or 1 small one

2 Green Chilies (leave them whole)

1 Tomato – puréed or crushed in a blender

A few Mint Leaves

11/2teaspoons Ginger Garlic Paste

3/4^th teaspoon Chana Dal Masala or ½ teaspoon Garam Masala– optional

3/4^th teaspoon Dhania/ Coriander Powder

½ teaspoon Jeera/ Cumin Powder

Chili Powder to taste

Dried Fenugreek Leaves/ Kasoori Methi

¼ teaspoon Turmeric

Salt to taste

A pinch of Sugar

A Squeeze of Lemon Juice

Minced Coriander Leaves to Garnish

Getting Down to Business:

Soak the chana dal for at least an hour before cooking (especially if your not going to pressure-cook the lentils as this will cut down your cooking time. I would the recommend you soak the lentils longer.). Drain and keep aside.

Finely mince the onion and chop the mint leaves. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a pressure cooker if you have one or in a heavy bottomed pan. Add in the cumin and red chilies. Follow this with the onions.

Sauté till the onions start browning. Add in the tomato and the ginger garlic paste with the green chilies. Sauté for a minute or two. Then add in the turmeric, chili powder, chana dal masala or garam masala, coriander powder and cumin powder. Add in the mint leaves.

Let it simmer till the whole mixture is shiny and seems as if the oil is separating from it.  Add in the dal. Mix well. Add in water to immerse the lentils and stand an inch above the mixture for a pressure cooker or if using a pan, add in water to cover the lentils. Add in a pinch of kasoori methi. Stir to combine.

Let it pressure cook for 3 whistles and then simmer for 10 minutes on a low flame. If using a pan, bring the mixture to a boil, turn the heat down to let the whole thing simmer and cover. Let it cook till the lentils are cooked through.

Once you’ve cooked the dal, add in the salt, coriander and sugar. Check seasoning and adjust if needed.  If needed add more water to loosen the dal or if you need to thicken it a bit, simmer till you get the desired consistency.

Just before serving, add a squeeze of lemon juice and serve hot with rotis or rice.

Chana Paneer Pulav

My husband loves meat. While he never makes demands and always compliments my vegetarian creations, most of the time I assume they pass under the radar. Occasionally there will be something’s that make his eyes widen and he starts nodding in approval while he tells me how good what he’s eating is. This dish is one of those creations… Chana Paneer Pulav. Don’t let the name fool you… this is no ordinary pulao/ pilaf/ pulav… it’s a crafty creation that easily steals the show. So I hope you try out the dish and get a similar encouraging answer… because that’s why I cook… to give the ones I love a few moments of pleasure and the satisfaction of meal well eaten.

With Raita

Chana Paneer Pulav

What You Need:

Basmati Rice – 1 cup

Chana / Garbanzo beans/ Chickpeas – 1 cup (Uncooked or you can use 1 tin of cooked beans)

Cubed Paneer – ½ to ¾ cup

Tomatoes – 3 – blanch and puree

Coconut Milk – 1-¾ cups

Peeled Pearl Onions/ Sambar Onions – ½ cup

Peeled Garlic – 8 cloves

Oil as needed

Coriander Leaves – ½ bunch

Green chilies – 4

Kasutri Methi (dried fenugreek)– 1 tablespoon

Garam Masala Powder – ½ teaspoon

Cinnamon – 1 inch piece

Cardamoms – 2 to 3

Cloves- 2 to 3

Bay Leaf – 1

Ghee – 2 teaspoons

Grind to a paste:

Peeled Small Onions 10

Red Chilies – 8

Cumin Seeds – 1 teaspoon

Garlic – 5 flakes

Grated Fresh Coconut – 2 tablespoons

Fry the ingredients in a teaspoon of oil. Don’t add in the coconut except whilst grinding.

To Garnish: (Optional)

Chopped coriander/ cilantro leaves

Fried or roasted Cashews

Fried Onions (I used the regular supermarket kind)

Whole Green Chilis

Getting Down to Business:

Soak rice for 10 minutes and drain well. Sauté the rice in a teaspoon of ghee for 2 to 3 minutes (to dry out the rice). Keep aside.

If using dried chana, Pressure the soaked chana for 15 to 20 minutes. Keep aside. Otherwise drain the can of chana and rinse once. This removes any additional sodium and gives you better control of salting the dish.

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan and add in the cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and bay leaf. Add garlic and fry till it starts browning. Don’t let it burn!

Then add in the slit green chilies and small onions. Fry for a minute. Follow in with the ground masala paste. Fry on a medium flame, till you start getting a good aroma. Add in the pureed tomatoes, kasoori methi, salt, a pinch of sugar, and garam masala powder. Let it all boil for a few minutes. Then add in the chana and the coconut milk. Again let it come to a boil, add in the rice and stir well to ensure the rice is well incorporated. Add in the cubed paneer.

Reduce the flame and cover the pan with a either a heavy lid or add a heavy weight to the lid to ensure that the lid is airtight. Let the whole thing cook on a low flame for 20 minutes. Do not open the pan in between.

Once its all done, garnish as you wish and serve with some crispy potato wafers or chips and lemon wedges. (I used the cashews and fried onions).

Notes:

Coconut milk: I used a light version of the coconut milk. If you do not have access to getting light coconut milk, merely dilute a cup or a cup and quarter of coconut milk to get the required 1 ¾ cups.

If you don’t have paneer on hand, that’s fine. I’m sure boiled potatoes would also work well in this recipe.

Regarding the spice, I’ve listed the number of chilies required by the original recipe but you can easily halve the whole thing and not loose out on flavor. I’ve cut back on the chilies many times successfully.

If you wish, you could even fry the paneer ahead of adding it into the pulav.

As this is one of my favorite pulavs, I'm sending it out to The My Legume Love Affair hosted by Simona of Briciole that was originally started by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook!

But that's not all… my pulav is also going to be visiting Nithu of Nithu's Kitchen started by Kiran of Sumadhura!

Adapted from a recipe by Mallika B

The Ubiquitous South Indian Sundal

The ubiquitous south Indian sundal – made with peanuts, chickpeas, black-eyed beans, kidney beans.. you name it. For many, this will bring back memories of home. Sundal makes itself seen everywhere from beaches to temples and puja rooms in homes across South India. I made this dish for a recent tea I hosted (Gosh that sounds so fancy… but really, it was just us girls getting together!) and was great alternative to the usual fried goodie that makes its appearance with chai.

This also is a great source of nutrients and makes and easy quick snack if you use black chana/ garbanzo beans or any other high protein bean or lentil.

Next time you’re in madras, head to the beach, and look out for the vendors shouting out “ Thanga mangaaaa Soooondalll”!

This is my entry for the ongoing My Legume Love Affair 23 hosted by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook.  This marks the first entry from me to any foodie blog event! Yipee yay for that! 

Masala Chickpea Sundal

What you need:

Garbanzo Beans/ Chana – 1 ½ cans or 1 cup if using dried

2 Whole Red Chilies

1-½ tablespoons Oil

1/4 teaspoon Mustard

1 teaspoon Urad Dal

Salt to taste

Curry leaves – 6 to 7 leaves

Half a Lemon

Garnish:

Green Mango – chopped fine or grated on the large side of a box grater

Coriander Leaves – chop fine

Masala:

3 Green chilies

¼ inch Ginger

1 tablespoon Grated fresh Coconut

Getting down to business:

If you’re using dried garbanzo beans, soak the beans overnight and pressure cook till cooked. (I would do one whistle and then 10 minutes on medium low heat.) Once cooked, drain and keep aside.

Coarsely grind all the ingredients for the masala. Keep aside.

Heat oil and add in mustard. Once it starts spluttering, add in the urad dal. As the dal starts changing color follow with the curry leaves and red chilies. Don’t let the red chilies burn or turn black!

Next, add in the ground masala. Sauté for a minute.  Throw in the cooked chana and the salt. Stir for a minute or two. Remove from the fire and give the whole thing a squeeze of lemon.

To serve:

Transfer to a serving bowl an top with the mango and coriander leaves. This sundal tastes great at room temperature and doesn’t need to be served hot, so feel free to make ahead and relax!

If you would like to go really authentic, serve the sundal in newspaper cones just like at Marina beach in Madras, the motherland of all kinds of Sundal!

Lots of love

The Housewife

Recipe courtesy Mallika Badrinath