Black Chana With Potato Food

EASY CHICKPEA CURRY WITH POTATO (CHANA ALOO CURRY)

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large pot or very deep skillet over medium high heat.
• Add onion and garlic, cook for 3 minutes until onion is translucent.
• Add Curry Spices and stir for 1 minute.
• Add the potatoes and stir to coat in the Spices. If the spices start to stick to the bottom of the pot, add a tiny splash of water.
• Add the chickpeas, tomatoes and vegetable or chicken broth. Bring to simmer then turn down the heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked and the sauce has thickened.
• Adjust salt to taste, stir through scallions/shallots and parsley.
• Serve with rice - basmati would be ideal, or Coconut Rice if you're wanting to impress. To go all out, add some Easy Soft Flatbreads!

BLACK CHANA MASALA CHICKPEA CURRY

Steps:

• Place the dried chickpeas in a large pot and fill it with water. Let it sit overnight on your counter, or for 8-24 hours. Drain the chickpeas and add fresh water to the pot. Bring the pot to a boil over high heat then reduce the heat and simmer for 1 ½ hours, or until the chickpeas are soft. Drain and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and let it cook until it's soft, about 5 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium and add the baking soda to the pan. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is dark brown, about 10 minutes. Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, ginger, garlic, and chilis to the pan and cook until a dark brown paste forms, about 5 minutes more. (See the pictures in the post to see what it should look like.)
• Push this onion paste to the side of the pan and add the tomato paste. Let it caramelize until is smells sweet and darkens slightly, about 3 minutes. Add the coriander, garam masala, and turmeric to the pan and let it cook for 1 minute more.
• Add the diced tomatoes to the pan and gently break them up with a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon. You want some texture here, just not big chunks of tomatoes. Add the cooked chickpeas, sea salt, and a ½ cup of water to the pan and let it simmer for a half hour. If you're serving this with rice, now is the time to start cooking it.
• Season with extra sea salt if needed and stir in the cilantro and lemon juice just before serving.

PANI PURI

Steps:

• For the green mango water: Combine the green mango, chilies, cilantro, mint, lime juice and 1/2 cup water in a food processor. Blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl and add the cumin, black salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt and 3 cups water. Whisk to combine. Add sugar to taste (this will depend on the sweetness of the green mango).
• For the potato filling: Put the soaked black chickpeas in a small saucepan and fill the pan halfway with cold water. Stir in a pinch of baking soda and 1 teaspoon sea salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat then reduce the heat to maintain a strong simmer and cook until the chickpeas are tender, about 45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, put the potatoes into a small pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to maintain a strong simmer. Cook until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 20 minutes.
• Drain the chickpeas and potatoes and allow to cool slightly. The cooked chickpeas should yield about 1/4 cup. Peel the potatoes then mash with a potato masher until coarsely mashed. Add the chickpeas, cilantro, cumin, black salt, chili powder, lime juice and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt and stir to combine. Taste and adjust salt.
• For assembly: Put a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 225 degrees F. Put the pani puri shells on a baking sheet and bake until crispy (you don't want the shells to brown at all), 3 to 5 minutes.
• To eat: One at a time, crack a small hole on top of the thinner side of a pani puri shell then add 1 teaspoon of the potato mixture and 1 1/2 tablespoons of the green mango water. Pop the whole pani puri in your mouth in one shot. Eat the assembled pani puris as you make them since they will become soggy if they sit at all.