Showing posts with label Original Recipe. Show all posts

Chickpeas in Pickled Spices & Pickled Chickpeas Sandwich Too | Achari Chana | Step Wise Cooking | Vegan | Gluten Free

Hi All!!

I’ve been away from blogging for about two weeks, but it feels like ages. People might guess that I was mopey and I didn’t have anything to post but that was not the case friends (pun intended). In the last fortnight on and off I could see the fluctuations in the temperature here which I could also compare with my health, which was also going up and down but was largely down with the virus having fun in my body. Also, the younger kid was writing his first term papers and the house had become quiet to let him study. Being the mother I could feel the pressure of his studies hitting me as well. He needed me to be around all the time and help him with his difficulties and doubts. Fortunately he has his last exam today and I’m already elated that I can relax now…what a sense of relief!!!

While the kid studied, I would read a lot of books; fiction, romance and obviously cookbooks. The other day I had run out of the veggies and I had no mood to go out and shop. The lazy me soaked some chickpeas with no clarity or vision in my mind, of how I would cook it. I wanted to cook something different but had no idea how..

So after soaking the chickpeas I came and sat with the kid, flipping through the books as I couldn’t watch TV too Sad smile . After flipping through some old Good food magazines, I picked up Camellia Panjabi’s 50 Great Curries Of India and I was so happy reading all of them, all over again. While I read, I landed on a recipe of lamb cooked in Pickled spices. After reading the recipe I was too tempted to try it in a vegetarian way. I asked myself, people make achaari paneer, achaari aloo, achaari bhindi, why can’t I try the spices with chickpeas? The thought itself exhilarated me and believe me friends I needed that sense of elation desperately, with all the pressure around. The thought was so intoxicating that I immediately went ahead and searched for all the spices and other ingredients. I realized that a skerrick of an ingredient was not available in the desired amount required for the recipe; I was short of yogurt, so I immediately searched for tomatoes and was happy to see a few of them sitting pretty in the refrigerator.

Bit by bit I garnered all the ingredients and laid them on the kitchen platform and geared myself to cook. Fortunately, I always have ginger, garlic and onion in the pantry no matter what else finishes, so I was kind of sorted with the recipe. The curry turned out superb, perfect to inebriate my spirits. It was well spiced, tangy and perfect to tickle the taste buds.

During the course of cooking I got a thought that the chickpeas with pickled spice blend might taste great with the paav, the thought led me to remove a portion of the dry chickpea achaari, with which I intended to make a sandwich later on. The Achaari Chickpea Sandwich was quite different & innovative. It turned out very tasty and the kid loved it.

CHICKPEAS IN PICKLED SPICES | ACHAARI CHANA

Soaking Time:4-6hrs | Preparation Time: 1hour | Cooking Time: 30mins | Serves: 6-8 | Difficulty Level: Moderate

Ingredients

3-1/2cups Cooked Chickpeas

4 medium sized tomatoes/ 250gms yogurt

8-10 baby potatoes (optional)

2 medium size red onions

a large handful of fresh coriander

6-8 green chilies (spicy version)

1/4tsp red chili powder (optional)

4-5 garlic flakes

2” piece ginger

salt to taste

about 1/2cup oil

1/2tsp dry mango powder (optional)

Pickle Spices

1-1/2tsp Fennel seeds

1tsp cumin seeds

1tsp onion seeds (kalounji)

3/4tsp mustard seeds

3/4tsp fenugreek seeds (methi dana)

Method

Wash the dry chickpeas (about 1-3/4cups) and soak them in water for 4-6 hours. Pressure cook them with some salt to taste and a pinch of soda bicarbonate, till tender. This takes about 25mins. What I normally do is that I let the cooker attain full pressure on high flam, then reduce the flame and cook it on low flame for about 15-20mins.

Dry roast the pickle spices on a low flame for 5mins, cool and grind them together. I have powdered here but one can keep it coarse too. Fill the spice mix in slit green chilies and the spice mix left after filling be kept aside to be used later.

Roughly chop the onion, tomatoes and coriander.

Grind together onion, garlic and cleaned ginger to a paste.

Similarly grind together tomatoes and coriander.

Heat oil and tip in the stuffed green chilies and sauté lightly for a few seconds.

Add the onion-ginger-garlic paste and sauté properly on low flame till oil separates.

Add turmeric, chili powder and the remaining spice mix and cook for a minute. Add the chili powder only if you believe that the green chilies are not spicy enough. Sauté for a few minutes.

Add the tomato-coriander paste and cook till done. Add salt to taste and dry mango powder. Cook till oil separates.

Tip in the boiled and drained chickpeas. The drained water should not be thrown as it is used later to make the gravy. Mix thoroughly and cook under cover for a few minutes. At this stage when the curry was dry, I removed a small portion to make the Achaari Chana Sandwich.

Add the halved potatoes (this is completely optional) and about 2cups of the drained chickpea water. Bring the gravy to a boil and cook after covering with a lid for about 15-20mins. One can keep the gravy thick or thin as per their choice.

For The Achaari Chana Sandwich

Take two whole wheat bread slices and spread a thick layer of achaari chana on one bread slice. Top the chana with sliced onions and carrot juliennes. Sprinkle some salt and pepper. Cover it with the second bread slice. Heat a panini grill and apply some olive spray. Grill the sandwich. Serve with some sauce/ green chutney and salad.

Sending the sandwich to my event ‘Only’ Sandwiches, burgers & Panini, guest hosted by Savi-Ruchi.

A few chickpeas recipes that you can try ..

Green Chickpeas Biryani

Hariyali Chana Masala

Garbanzo & Paneer Curry

*No Oil Chana & Instant Whole Wheat Bread Bhatura

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Brown Rice & Red Beaten Rice Dosa With Onion-Tomato Chutney | Indian Pancake | Vegan | Gluten Free | Dairy Free | Step Wise

Hi All!!

Sorry for being away from the blog all of a sudden..the intention was definitely not to disappear but somehow life became too busy with traveling, then unpacking and getting back to a regular routine..

I’m posting yet another healthy preparation which is perfect for not only pregnant women but any health conscious person. I’m personally trying to move gradually to eating brown rice rather than the polished rice. I had attempted this preparation using brown rice before we started on a tour and during my travel I had carried my laptop too so that I could finish the post but life was so hectic that I never found time to complete the post. Finally today I’ve just pushed myself to sit in front of the screen and finish the incomplete job.

Let me be honest I was very skeptical about the taste of the dosa. The only thing I was confident about was that no matter how the dosa tasted, some kind of pancake could be made with the batter. To my surprise the dosa turned out really nice, it was very light to eat and had a nice nutty taste which I savored thoroughly without being guilty as it had healthy and wholesome ingredients in it.

I made a few changes to my regular tomato chutney and made it a little spicy too to go with the plain dosa and the combo turned out superb. I gave the dosa in kid’s lunch box and we had it for the breakfast. In case you want to eat light food for the dinner, this dosa is just perfect for that.

Brown Rice & Red Beaten Rice Dosa

Ingredients for Dosa

2cups brown rice

1/2cup red beaten rice/poha

1/4 cup dhuli moong daal

1/4cup urad daal

1/2tsp fenugreek seeds

Ingredients For Chutney

1small onion

2medium tomatoes

1/4tsp turmeric

4-5 dry red chilies

6-7 curry leaves

salt to taste

2tsp oil

For Tempering

2tbsp oil

1tbsp mix of urad-chana dal

1/2tsp mustard seeds

Method For Making The Dosa

Soak all the ingredients for 4-5 hours. The brown rice takes a longer time to soak. Grind them to a smooth & fine paste. Mix all and let it ferment overnight or for 8-10hrs.

Once fermented, mix again thoroughly to release the trapped air and add salt to taste. Adjust consistency using the water.

Grease a non stick pan and spread a ladle full of batter in concentric circles and cook on one side till crisp ad golden in color. Flip and smear more oil and let it cook.

Method For Onion- Tomato Chutney

Heat oil and sauté the red chilies followed by onions. Once the onions have become translucent add tomatoes, curry leaves, turmeric and salt. Cook till tomatoes are soft. Cool and grind.

Heat oil for tempering and splutter mustard seeds and then add urad-chana daal. Once the lentils are golden pour it over the chutney and mix.

Sending this to my event ‘Only’ Food For Pregnancy, hosted here.

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Raw Banana & Tender Fenugreek Leaves Paratha | Vegan | Flatbread | Stepwise | Pregnancy Recipes

Hi All!!

I’m here with yet another healthy recipe which is definitely tasty too. I was very curious and apprehensive about how this combination would turn out. The raw banana has become kind of favorite with me after I made the gluten free, Banana Rings. I had been eyeing the small bunches of baby fenugreek leaves for a few weeks now, in my regular vegetable shop and this time I decided to give it a try. These small baby plants are about 2-3 inches long with tender stems, roots and tiny leaves.

Both, the raw banana and fenugreek are extremely nutritive ingredients and a combination of both definitely is an extremely nutritional preparation. During pregnancy, one needs to consume about 300 more calories daily than one normally would in their non-pregnant state. The extra calories gives added energy to support the growth and development of the unborn child. The average-size banana contains about 100-110 calories. Other than that, the banana are fat free, cholesterol-free food that contribute to heart health.

Bananas offer a load of potassium in a relatively small package. Potassium is an electrolyte nutrient that, along with calcium and magnesium, helps manage your body's balance of fluids. Eating bananas for their potassium content during pregnancy can control lower leg edema, the swelling of the ankles and calves that often strikes expectant moms; and leg cramps, another common side effect of pregnancy. Bananas are also a nonacidic mild food, less likely to upset the stomach than fatty foods or citrus fruits. Bananas are an excellent source of Vitamin B6, which is suggested to be the key to relief from morning sickness.

When it comes to fenugreek, people have mixed opinions. A few believe it should not be eaten and others believe it a very good green for pregnancy. Personally, I ate all kinds of greens ( my doctor recommended that) in my pregnancy including the fenugreek leaves without any harmful effects. So, those who are apprehensive about eating Fenugreek leaves can replace this preparation with Spinach but before doing that, please read the contribution of this plant in pregnancy here.

All my dilemma with this combo was put to rest when I tasted the flatbread/paratha. It was yummy with the softness of banana, flavor of methi and perfect blend of spices added to it. I did not over do with the spices, as I wanted the flatbread/paratha to retain it’s natural flavors.