aromatic – Batter Up With Sujata

Laal Maans

Laal maans.
A spicy and lipsmackingly delicious mutton curry from Rajasthani cuisine. A fiery hot and laal or bright red coloured curry. This spicy, rich, aromatic and red mutton curry is made of yoghurt, onion, garlic, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and mathania chillies. But it you don’t have mathania chillies, you can use Kashmiri red chilli. Use chilli according to your taste. If you want it hot add red chilli powder or chopped green chillies. My family members can’t eat too hot so I have used less chilli.

Laal maans is a meat curry from Rajasthan, India. It is a mutton curry prepared in a sauce of yoghurt and hot spices such as red Mathania chillies. This dish typically is very hot and rich in garlic, the gravy may be thick or liquid and is eaten with chapatis made out of wheat (usually eaten in summers) or bajra (a millet grown in Rajasthan and eaten in the winter months.
Rajasthani cuisine was influenced by both the war-like lifestyles of its inhabitants and the availability of ingredients in this arid region. Food that could last for several days and could be eaten without heating was preferred. Scarcity of water and fresh green vegetables have all had their effect on the cooking. It is also known for its snacks like Bikaneri Bhujia, Mirchi Bada and Pyaaj Kachori.
Source

This month in Shhhhh cooking secretly challenge facebook group we members are sharing different dishes from the cuisine of Rajasthan.
This month my partner is very talented blogger Pavani Gunikuntla who blog at Pavanis kitchen. I always love her healthy and easy to make recipes.
Visit her space for different types of healthy and mouthwatering recipes. Before giving secret ingredient we always ask our partner about her choice. And I have wanted to make this laal maans. Everyone in my family loves it and I wanted to share the recipe for my readers. So as secret ingredient Pavani gave me curd and green cardamom and I gave her red chilli powder and cumin seeds. Do visit her blog to check the delicious Dahi kadhi recipe she made with these ingredients.
Shhh Cooking Secretly a group started by Priya of Priya’s Versatile Recipes, is where every month food bloggers are paired up and give each other 2 secret ingredients to cook with according to the theme chosen. If you’re interested in joining this exciting group then please leave a message in the comment section. Thank you.

Normally mathania chillies are used to make this mutton curry. But We don’t get this chilli in our state. So I have used Kashmiri red chilli powder. This spicy mutton curry is goes well with steamed rice, jeera rice, pulao, roti, naan, bajra roti or any bread. Picture courtesy my daughter Suchismita .

Recipe

Mutton – 500 gram

Onion – 4, thinly sliced

Black cardamom – 2

Green cardamom – 4

Cloves – 3

Cinnamon – 1 inch piece

Bay leaf – 2

Mustard oil – 1/2 cup

Curd – 1/2 cup

Salt to taste

Ginger garlic paste – 2 tablespoon

Turmeric powder – 1/2 teaspoon

Coriander powder – 1 teaspoon

Cumin powder – 1 teaspoon

Kashmiri red chilli powder – 3 tablespoon

Ghee or clarified butter – 2 tablespoon

Warm water – 1 & 1/2 cup

Cilantro or coriander leaves and onion slices to garnish

Method

1. Heat mustard oil in a pan or pressure cooker.

2. When the oil becomes smoking hot remove from heat.
Let it cool down for a minute. Add bay leaf black cardamom, green cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and slices onion. Heat again and fry till the onion becomes brown.

3. Add mutton pieces, salt, ginger garlic paste and all the dry spices. See notes for other options for chillies. Saute till oil leaves the sides.

4. Add well beaten curd and mix well. Saute again till dried up and oil separates.

5. Add warm water and pressure cook till mutton pieces becomes tender.

6. Let the pressure settle on its own.
Open the pressure cooker and heat again. Check the seasoning and adjust as require. If require add little more water or if you want more thick gravy boil for a few minutes more till you get your desired consistency.

7. Add ghee and mix.

8. Remove from heat. Garnish with chopped cilantro or coriander leaves and onion slices.
Serve with hot steamed rice, jeera rice, pulao, puri, roti, naan, bajra roti or any bread.

Notes
1. You can add some finely chopped green chilli with sliced onion if you want more spicy and hot curry. Or you can use hot variety red chilli powder. Use chilli according to your spice tolerance.
2. If you have red Mathania chillies or kashmiri dry red chilli either dry roast and powder or soak in water for 20 – 25 minutes and grind and use instead of kashmiri red chilli powder.

If you tried my recipe, you can share your food pictures with me in the social network sites by using hash tag, #batterupwithsujata
I would love to see your creations.

I would love to hear from you. Please share your thoughts and suggestions in comment.
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Kathal Paneer Kofta Curry Or Raw Jackfruit And Cottage Cheese Balls In Gravy

Kathal paneer kofta curry or raw jackfruit and cottage cheese balls in gravy.
Gravy is rich creamy and delicious without cashew nuts or almond. Only nutritious melon seeds are used to thickened the gravy.
Low calorie and protein, vitamins and mineral rich melon seeds are not only excellent for thickened the gravy but also enhance the taste.

Melons derive their rich colour from beta carotin, which is good for eye.Dried melon seeds contain unsaturated fats and fibers. Watermelon seeds are rich in lysine, which can work wonders for diabetics.

Summers are here! And if there is one thing we can be thankful for in this scorching weather, it would have to be all the delicious fruits the season brings with it. A variety of Melons are seen at this time of the year, being sold by fruit vendors across the country at local vegetable markets.
Summer melons, be it musk melon, watermelon or honey dew melon, are packed with a dozen health benefits. But while relishing on the juicy flesh, have you been discarding the seeds laden with nutrition and health benefits? According to Healing Foods, it strongly recommends loading up on these miniature nutritional bombs you have ignored all your life. It notes, “Eat the seeds: The dried seeds contain unsaturated fats and fibers, makes nutritious addition to savoury dishes”.

Macrobiotic Nutritionist and Health Practitioner, Shilpa Arora says, “Everything begins with the seeds. These are living foods that give each cell in our body a renewed energy. All seeds are loaded with enzymes that aid digestion and absorption. In fact they have more enzymes than the actual fruit in the concentrated form.”

She goes on to say, “Summer melon seeds are great source of energy like magnesium, which is vital for a healthy heart. It is great for diabetics as it is loaded with essential amino acids like lysine and tryptophan. Melon seeds also provide a wonderful cure for insomnia because tryptophan induces relaxation and sleep.”

To read more about health benefits of melon seeds click here.

You may like some more kofta recipe on this blog.

1. Methi paneer kofta in palak gravy or fenugreek and cottage cheese balls in spinach gravy

2. Paneer kala chana kofta curry

3. Mint paneer kofta

4. Matar kofta

5. Aloo kofta curry

6. Soya kofta

7. Malai kofta

Monday again and this week’s 198 #Foodiemonday bloghop theme is Eid With Foodies.

My contribution is this delicious and easy to make kathal paneer kofta curry or raw jackfruit and cottage cheese balls in gravy. You can use your appe pan to fry the kofta in less oil. Fresh cream can be added in the gravy, I didn’t. If you don’t have melon seeds then you can use cashew nuts or almond or poppy seeds paste instead of melon seeds.

Recipe

For kofta

Kathal or jackfruit – 250 gram, boiled

Paneer or cottage cheese – 1 cup, crumbled

Besan or chickpea flour – 2 tablespoon

Salt to taste

Ginger – 1 inch piece, grated

Green chilli – 1 – 2, finely chopped

Bhaja moshla or roasted mixed spice powder – 1 teaspoon, get a recipe here
https://batterupwithsujata.wordpress.com/2018/03/18/roasted-mixed-spice-powder-or-bhaja-moshla/

Cumin powder – 1 teaspoon

Garam masala powder – 1/2 teaspoon

For gravy

Onion – 2, medium

Garlic – 4 – 5

Ginger – 1 inch piece

Tomato – 2, large

Green cardamom – 3

Clove – 3

Cinnamon – 1 inch piece

Salt to taste

Sugar – 1/2 teaspoon

Melon seeds – 3 tablespoon

Cumin powder – 1 teaspoon

Coriander powder – 1 teaspoon

Turmeric powder – 1/2 teaspoon

Garam masala powder – 1/2 teaspoon

Kashmiri red chilli powder – 2 teaspoon

Slit green chilli – 2, optional

Oil – 3 – 4 tablespoon

Water – 2 cup

Method

1. Soak the melon seeds in warm water for 15 minutes.

2. Grind onions, garlic and ginger into smooth paste.

3. Grind tomatoes, green cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and melon seeds separately.

4. Mash the crumbled paneer or cottage cheese well to make smooth.

5. Squeeze the water of boiled kathal or jackfruit.

6. Mix with mashed paneer, besan or chickpea flour, salt, grated ginger, chopped green chilli, bhaja moshla or roasted mixed spice powder, cumin powder and garam masala powder.

7. Mix everything well and make small balls.

8. Heat oil in a pan. Fry the balls till golden brown from all the sides. Place the fried balls on a paper towel. If you want, you can use appe pan to fry the kofta in less oil. Or use your air frier to make kofta balls brown.

9. In the same oil fry onion, garlic and ginger paste till onion mixture starts to change it’s colour.

10. Now add ground tomatoes, green cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and melon seeds paste.

11. Saute and add salt, sugar, cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder and kashmiri red chilli powder.

12. Saute till oil leaves the sides. Add water and 2 slit green chilli. Let it boil.

13. When it starts to rolling boil reduce the heat. Cook on simmer for 15 – 20 minutes.

14. Add fried kofta and cook for 2 minutes more.

15. You can add 1 – 2 tablespoon cream if you want. Remove from heat.

16. Garnish with cilantro or coriander leaves.
Serve hot with steamed rice, roti, paratha, naan, puri pulao, jeera rice, fried rice or any bread.

Notes

1. Cashew nuts, almond or poppy seeds paste can be used instead of melon seeds.

2. You can use your appe pan or air frier to fry the kofta in less oil.

3. Use chilli according to your taste.

f you tried my recipe, you can share your food pictures with me in the social network sites by using hash tag, #batterupwithsujata
I would love to see your creations.

Jam Cake / Whole Wheat Flour Cake

Egg less whole wheat flour jam cake. Soft, delicious and easy to make cake.
No need to add sugar. Mixed fruit jam gives a lovely colour and perfectly sweet taste. I didn’t used refined flour or maida. Cake is made of only whole wheat flour or atta. But you can use any flour of your choice. Even you can use any flavoured jam instead of mixed fruit jam.

Sharing this recipe from my archive. Made this cake first time 4 years ago. Got the recipe in food group Chef At Large from Nisha Ambar. Nisha is an excellent baker. Loved her all the bakes but this cake attract me a lot. Tried and loved the taste. Now sharing this simple yet delicious recipe here. Thanks Nisha for this wonderful recipe.

This week our 195 #Foodiemonday bloghop theme is Third Letter Magic suggested by Amrita Iyer who blog at The Food Samaritan. Do visit her space for mouthwatering recipes.

In this theme we have to share a recipe with the third letter of our name. I was thinking about the letter J and remember this delicious jam cake. Earlier I have made it with choco chips but this time used walnuts. You can use tutti fruity, choco chips or any dry fruits of your choice. This time I didn’t use any other flour for this cake like my other cakes, followed exact Nisha’s recipe. If you want you can also make it with any gluten free flour or refined flour or maida or mixed flour.

Recipe

Whole wheat flour or atta – 1 cup

Mixed fruit jam – 1/3 cup

Curd – 1/2 cup

Olive oil – 1/2 cup

Baking powder – 1 teaspoon

Baking soda – 1/2 teaspoon

Vanilla essence – 1 teaspoon

Walnut – 1/4 cup + to sprinkle, chopped

Method

1. Preheat the oven at 180° for 10 minutes.

2. Grease a baking pan with oil and dust with flour or line with parchment pepper.

3. Sieve whole wheat flour or atta, baking powder and soda.

4.In a large bowl mix oil, jam and curd. Whisk to blend everything well. Add vanilla essence and whisk again.

5. Add all the dry ingredients and mix well.

6. Fold in the walnuts.

7. Pour the batter in the greased and flour dusted cake pan. Tap the pan on your kitchen counter 3 – 4 times to remove air bubbles.

8. Level the top with a spoon and sprinkle walnuts over it.

9. Bake in the preheated oven at 180° for 30 – 35 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean. Insert a toothpick in the middle of the cake to check.

10. Let the cake cool down completely. Slice and serve.
Happy baking 😊

Notes
1. Refined flour or maida or any four can be used instead of whole wheat flour or atta.
2. You can use choco chips, tutti fruity or any dry fruits of your choice instead of walnut.
3. Any flavourless vegetable oil can be used instead of olive oil.

If you tried my recipe, you can share your food pictures with me in the social network sites by using hash tag, #batterupwithsujata
I would love to see your creations.

Potato With Green Peas

Potatoes with green peas.
A spicy, no onion garlic and delicious potato dish. Best accompany with puri, paratha, roti, dal chawal or make sandwich stuffing.
Little different from nimona or green peas curry.
I have used cilantro or coriander leaves with green peas for flavour but if you don’t like cilantro then you can omit it. Potatoes will be lip-smacking without it too.
In winter my vegetable vendor brings lots of colourful vegetables. And we buy green peas mostly every day. You can add these in any dish. Even green peas stuffed kachori or paratha are most favourite delicacies in this season.

You may also like Matar kofta or green peas dumplings.

And green peas are also healthy and nutritious. And high in many nutrients and antioxidants.

Green peas are a popular vegetable. They are also quite nutritious and contain a fair amount of fiber and antioxidants.

Additionally, research shows they may help protect against some chronic illnesses, such as heart disease and cancer.

They have been part of the human diet for hundreds of years and are consumed all over the world.

Green peas have an impressive nutrition profile.
Their calorie content is fairly low, with only 62 calories per 1/2-cup (170-gram) serving.
About 70% of those calories come from carbs and the rest are provided by protein and a small amount of fat.
Furthermore, peas contain just about every vitamin and mineral you need, in addition to a significant amount of fiber.
Source

Recipe is very easy to make. Just grind the peas ginger, green chilli, tomatoes and cilantro and mix with boiled and fried potatoes and cook. I have used small potatoes but if you don’t have small potatoes then you can also make it with large or medium potatoes. If you are using large potatoes, make small pieces and follow the method.

Recipe

Small potatoes – 500 gram, boiled

Green peas – 1 cup

Cilantro or coriander leaves – 1/2 cup, chopped

Ginger – 1 inch piece

Green chilli – 2

Tomato – 2 medium, chopped

Cumin powder – 1 teaspoon

Coriander powder – 1 teaspoon

Turmeric powder – 1/4 teaspoon

Garam masala powder – 1/2 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Mustard oil – 2-3 tablespoon

Water – 3/4 cup

Method

1. Peel the potatoes. You can prick the potatoes with a fork.

2. Grind green chilli, cilantro or coriander leaves, ginger and tomatoes.

3. Add green peas in the grinder and grind altogether.

4. Heat oil in a pan. Add the potatoes and little salt. Fry till the potatoes becomes light golden brown. Remove from oil.

5. Add the ground paste in the oil. Saute and add cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder garam masala and salt.

6. Saute till the mixture dried up and raw smell goes away.

7. Add fried potatoes and mix well. Saute for 1 – 2 minutes.

8. Add water and mix. Cook on low medium heat till water evaporate and dried up. Stir occasionally to avoid sticking at the bottom. You can add little more water if require.

9. Potatoes are ready. You can add 1 teaspoon ghee or clarified butter at the end.

10. Garnish with cilantro or coriander leaves.
Serve hot with roti, paratha, puri naan or any bread. These potatoes also taste great with dal chawal. If you have some leftover potatoes mash and use as a sandwich stuffing.

Notes

1. You can garnish with ginger julienne.

2. You can grind garlic cloves with green chilli, cilantro, ginger and tomato if you like garlicky flavour.

3. If you don’t like cilantro or coriander leaves, then you can omit it.

If you tried my recipe, you can share your food pictures with me in the social network sites by using hash tag, #batterupwithsujata
I would love to see your creations.

I would love to hear from you. Please share your thoughts and suggestions in comment.
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Gluten Free Rose Flavoured Nankhatai Or Shortbread Cookies

Gluten free rose flavoured nankhatai or shortbread cookies.
Mouth melting delicious cookies with Pearl millet or Bajra flour, almond, pistachio and chickpea flour or besan and flavoured with cardamom and rose water.

Nankhatai are shortbread biscuits popular in India and Pakistan. The word Nankhatai is derived from Persian word Naan meaning bread and Khatai from an Afghan word meaning Biscuit.

You may like some more nankhatai recipes here.
1. Orange crinkle cookies or nankhatai

2. Nankhatai

And bajra or pearl millet cookies recipes

1. Cashew almond honey cookies

2. Pearl millet sesame oats cookies

This week’s our 175 #Foodiemonday bloghop theme is Christmas special. And my humble contribution is this easy to make, delicious, mouth melting and healthy nankhatai.

Nankhatai is all time favourite among kids and adults both. I have added little food colour to make it attractive for festive season. But its completely optional. You can skip it. Ground almond and pistachio will enhance the taste of your nankhatai. Serve it on Christmas eve or make it to gift your friends. You can use refined flour or maida instead of pearl millet if you want.

Recipe

Pearl millet or Bajra flour -1 cup

Gram flour/chickpea flour or besan – 1/2 cup

Powdered sugar – 1 cup

Clarified butter or ghee – 3/4 + 2 tablespoon, melted

Baking powder – 1/2 teaspoon

Baking soda – 1/4 teaspoon

Cardamom powder – 1/2 teaspoon

Rose water or essence – 1/2 teaspoon

Almond – 2 tablespoon

Pistachios – 2 tablespoon

Red food colour – a pinch, optional

Shredded pistachio to garnish

Method

1. Preheat the oven at 180° for 10 minutes.

2. Grease or line a baking tray.

3. Grind the almonds and pistachio.

4. In a bowl sieve pearl millet or bajra flour, besan or chickpea flour, baking powder and soda.

5. Cream ghee or clarified butter and powdered sugar. Add rose water and whisk well.

6. Now add flour mixture, ground almond and pistachio and cardamom powder. Make a smooth dough.

7. Make small balls and arrange on baking tray. Place the balls 1 inch apart.

8. Place one pistachio piece on every balls. Press gently with your finger. You can place almond or cashew instead of pistachio.

9. Bake in preheated oven for 15 – 20 minutes or until the edges becomes light brown and cracks appear on the cookies.

10. Let the cookies cool down completely before serving.
Cookies will soft when hot and become crisp after cooling.

Serve with tea, coffee, milk or store in airtight container for later use.

Stay tuned for one more gluten free treat.

Notes
1. You can use refined or whole wheat flour instead of pearl millet.
2. If you like crisp cookies use 3/4 cup ghee and 2 tablespoon milk in the dough. Ghee or clarified butter will make your cookies mouth melting.

If you tried my recipe, you can share your food pictures with me in the social network sites by using hash tag, #batterupwithsujata
I would love to see your creations.

I would love to hear from you. Please share your thoughts and suggestions in comment.
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Goan Dal Curry With Coconut And Kokum

Dal curry with coconut and kokum.
A delicious and flavourful dal from Goan cuisine.

Beautiful state Goa known as “Pearl of the Orient” and a “Tourist Paradise”. The state famous for it’s beaches.
Goan cuisine consists of regional foods popular in Goa, an Indian state located along India’s west coast on the shore of the Arabian Sea. Rice, seafood, coconut, vegetables, meat, pork and local spices are some of the main ingredients in Goan cuisine. The area is located in a tropical climate, which means that spices and flavors are intense. Use of kokum is another distinct feature. Goan food is considered incomplete without fish. It is similar to Malvani or Konkani cuisine.
To read more about Goa click here.

Among all the food this dal curry is my all time favourite.
You can get some more dal recipes here

1. Dal kanda or dry chana dal fry

2. Beetroot dal

3. Whole Masoor dal or red lentils

4. Dal palak

5. Assamese massor dal boror tenga

6. Sprouts sundal

7. Egg dal tadka

We don’t get kokum in local market. Earlier used tamarind paste instead of kokum. But this time my daughter gave me a packet of kokum from Pune.
If you don’t have kokum then you can use 2 teaspoon tamarind paste instead.
I didn’t use onion in the dal. If you want you can fry 1 sliced onion before adding coconut and tomato paste. Or you can grind 1 onion with coconut, chilli, ginger, garlic and tomato.

You can make it with any dal or lentil like moong or green gram, Masoor dal

or chana dal or Bengal gram.
Recipe is very simple and easy yet lip-smacking. Best accompany with your steamed rice or any bread.

Recipe

Toor dal or pigeon peas – 1 cup

Turmeric powder – 1/2 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Water – 2 & 1/2 cup + 1 cup

Kokum – 1 – 2 pieces

Cilantro or coriander leaves – 2 tablespoon, chopped

Ginger – 1/2 inch piece, chopped

Green chilli – 1 – 2, chopped

Fresh coconut – 1/2 cup, chopped

Tomato – 2, chopped

Garlic – 3 – 4 cloves

Cumin powder – 1 teaspoon

Oil – 2 tablespoon

Curry leaves – 12 – 15

Mustard seeds – 1/2 teaspoon

Cumin seeds – 1 teaspoon

Dry red chilli – 2, torn into 2 pieces

Hing or asafoetida – a pinch

Method

1. Clean and wash the toor dal or pigeon peas. Soak in water for 15 – 30 minutes.

2. Grind coconut pieces, green chilli, tomatoes, ginger and garlic. Make a smooth paste. You can add 1 onion if you want.

3. Boil the soaked dal with 2 & 1/2 cup water in pressure cooker for 3 – 4 whistle or till the dal becomes soft.

4. When the pressure cooker cool down, open the lid.
Add kokum pieces and 2 tablespoon chopped cilantro or coriander leaves. Mix and keep aside.

5. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan.
Add the ground paste and cumin powder.

6. Saute till the mixture dried up and smell of raw garlic goes away, add it to the dal.

7. Mix well. Add 1 cup water.
When it starts to rolling boil simmer the heat.

8. Cook on low heat for 5 – 6 minutes.
Stir in between to avoid sticking at the bottom of the pan.

9. Taste and adjust salt if require. You can add little more water if require. But don’t make the dal runny. It should be thick.

10.Switch off the heat.

11. Now heat 1 tablespoon oil or ghee in a small pan.

12. Add mustard seeds. Let them splutter now add cumin seeds.

13. When the seeds starts to splutter add dry red chilli and curry leaves.
Add hing or asafoetida and mix.

14. Add this tempering in the dal.
Mix well. Garnish with chopped cilantro or coriander leaves.

15. Serve hot with steamed rice, roti, paratha, puri, naan or any bread.

Notes

1. You can use moong, masoor, chana or any dal instead of toor dal.

2. If you don’t have kokum use 1 – 2 teaspoon tamarind paste instead.

3. Use chilli according to your taste.

Sending this post to ‘My Legume Love Affair’ hosted by

Cook with Renu

http://thewellseasonedcook.blogspot.com/?m=1
and
https://foodandspice.blogspot.com/?m=1

If you tried my recipe, you can share your food pictures with me in the social network sites by using hash tag, #batterupwithsujata
I would love to see your creations.

I would love to hear from you. Please share your thoughts and suggestions in comment.

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Kadala Curry Or Black Chickpea Curry

Kadala curry or black chickpea curry from Kerala cuisine.
A very flavourful and spicy curry. Freshly ground Kerala garam masala and coconut made the curry lip-smacking.
Beautiful state Kerala known as ‘God’s own Country’ or land of spices.
According to Wikipedia The cuisine of Kerala, a state in the south of India, is linked to its history, geography, demography and culture. Kerala cuisine offers a multitude of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes prepared using fish, poultry and red meat with rice a typical accompaniment. Chillies, curry leaves, coconut, mustard seeds, turmeric, tamarind, and asafoetida are all frequently used.

Kerala is known as the “Land of Spices” because it traded spices with Europe as well as with many ancient civilizations with the oldest historical records of the Sumerians from 3000 BCE.

I have shared two more black chickpea recipes here.

Black chickpea kabab

Paneer kala chana kofta curry

This month in Shhhhh cooking secretly challenge
facebook group we are sharing different dishes from Kerala cuisine. In this group members are paired up every month. And the pairs give each other two secret ingredients. This month my partner is Sujitha Ruban who blog at

http://sujithaeasycooking.com.
Sujitha Ruban gave me two flavourful ingredients Mace and fennel seeds and I gave her banana and ginger powder. Check out her blog for the recipe she shared with these ingredients.

I made this kadala curry or black chickpea curry from Kerala cuisine with those aromatic ingredients.
Black chickpeas, also known as Bengal grams, Garbanzo beans or ‘kala chana’ belong to the ‘desi’ variety and have a much higher fiber content and lower glycemic index. Being an extremely versatile legume, it is widely used in a variety of Middle Eastern and Indian dishes like falafels, hummus and curries as well as salads, soups and stews or even as a quick snack. In addition to their delicious nut like taste and buttery texture, black chickpeas are extremely beneficial for health.

Being low in fat, high in dietary fiber and rich in vitamins and minerals, black chickpeas can indeed be a healthy addition to your diet. Two to three tablespoons of these legumes are equivalent to one portion of the daily recommended five portions of fruits and vegetables. The health benefits of black chickpeas are as follows.

Aids in Weight Loss: …
Cardiovascular Benefits: …
Lowers Cholesterol: …
Stabilizes Blood Sugar and Low Glycemic Index (GI): …
Prevention of Diabetes: …
Great Source of Iron: …
Good Source of Protein for Vegetarians: …
Beneficial for Women:
Source

Now coming to the recipe. You will love this flavourful curry. And all the flavour comes from aromatic Kerala garam masala. If you have Kerala garam masala ready in your pantry then you can use 1 teaspoon of it. I have used kashmiri red chilli powder to bring some colour in the curry.

Recipe

Kala chana or black chickpeas – 1 cup

Water – 2 & 1/2 cup

Onion – 2, chopped

Green chilli – 1-2 finely chopped

Curry leaves – 12 – 13

Ginger – 1 inch piece

Tomato – 2 small

Coconut – 1/2 cup heaped, grated or finely chopped

Coriander powder – 1 teaspoon

Turmeric powder – 1/4 teaspoon

Red chilli powder – 1 teaspoon

Black pepper powder – 1/4 teaspoon

Mustard Seeds – 1/2 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Coconut oil – 2 – 3 tablespoon

Water – 1 cup

Fennel seeds or sounf – 1/2 teaspoon

Mace – 2 blades

Cloves – 2 – 3

Green cardamom – 2

Star anise – a small piece

Cinnamon – 1 inch piece

Nutmeg – a pinch

Method

1. Wash and soak the kala chana or black chickpeas in sufficient water overnight.

2. Boil the soaked chickpeas with 2 & 1/2 cup water in pressure cooker for 7 – 8 whistle or till chickpeas becomes soft.

3. Lightly dry roast fennel seeds or sounf, mace, cloves, green cardamom, star anise, cinnamon and grated nutmeg. Roast lightly till fragrant. Don’t overdo.

4. Let the spices cool down. And grind into fine powder.

5. Grind the coconut. Add water as require to make a smooth paste.

6. Grind tomato and ginger. You can use chopped tomato and grated ginger. But I like smooth paste so ground altogether.

7. Heat oil in a pan.
Add mustard seeds or rai and let them splutter.

8. Now add curry leaves, chopped onion and green chilli.

9. Fry till onions becomes light brown.
Add tomato and ginger paste or grated ginger and chopped tomato.
Saute till the tomatoes becomes mushy.

10. Add coconut paste, coriander powder, turmeric powder, red chilli, black pepper powder and dry roasted and ground fennel seeds, mace, cloves, green cardamom, star anise, cinnamon and nutmeg.

11. Saute till everything dried up.
Add boiled black chickpea or kala chana and salt. Mix well. Saute for a minute.

12. Add 1 cup water. Or you can add 1/2 cup more water if you want more gravy.

13. Let it boil. Now cook on simmer for 12 – 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.

14. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Remove from heat.

15. Take out 3 – 4 tablespoon chickpeas and mash well with a spoon and add in the gravy if you want your gravy thick.

16. Garnish with grated coconut and serve hot.

Note

If you want you can also add garlic to the curry. Grind garlic cloves with tomato and ginger.

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