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!

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