Chickpea Dumplings Indian Muthias Food

CHANA MASALA (SAVORY INDIAN CHICK PEAS)

Steps:

• Grind onion, tomato, ginger, garlic, and chile pepper together in a food processor into a paste.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry bay leaves in hot oil until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour the paste into the skillet and cook until the oil begins to separate from the mixture and is golden brown in color, 2 to 3 minutes. Season the mixture with chili powder, coriander, powder, gram masala, turmeric, and salt; cook and stir until very hot, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Stir enough water into the mixture to get a thick gravy; bring to a boil and stir chickpeas into the gravy. Reduce heat to medium and cook until the chickpeas are heated through, 5 to 7 minutes. Garnish with cilantro.

CHICKPEA DAAL (INDIAN)

Steps:

• Wash chickpeas in water.
• Put chickpeas in fresh water with salt, two parts water to one part chickpeas.
• Leave overnight to soak.
• Put chickpeas (with water they were soaked in) into a large pot. Top up water to maintain 2 parts water to 1 part chickpea ratio if necessary. Bring water to a boil.
• Cover and turn down to medium (level 5) heat, skim off any white foam.
• Leave to simmer until chickpeas are tender, usually 2 or 3 hours.
• Take off heat.
• In a large pot, sauté onions and garlic on high heat, then turn down to (medium-high) level 8.
• When onions are thoroughly transparent put in ginger.
• Continue to sauté until mixture is sticking to bottom and brown bits are evident.
• Put onion mixture in a food processor and mix (not steadily) until smooth.
• Process tomato, 1/2 tomato portions at a time.
• Put mixture back into large pot.
• Add green onion.
• Heat should be at (medium-high) level 8.
• When mixture starts to bubble add tomato paste.
• Stir for 1 to 2 minutes until butter is released and mixture does not stick to pot.
• Add in potatoes.
• Add in chana masala.
• Reduce heat to level 7.
• Put in chickpeas with a slotted spoon.
• Water is NOT put in, but put aside for later.
• Mix for about 2 minutes Add in red pepper, masala.
• Mix for a further 2 minutes.
• Add water from chickpeas, additional water can be added to give mixture a watery consistency (mixture should not be too thick looking initially, as mixture will reduce, usually you can add in another cup of water).
• Add turmeric.
• Bring mixture to a boiling point on max heat, then reduce heat to level 7. Cover partially and mix infrequently.
• Once potatoes are tender, the daal is done.
• This daal is typically eaten with Indian bread- naan or chapati.
• As with most Indian cooking there is no"true" recipe, the cook decides what the recipe needs (somewhat of a hit and miss strategy, but it works).
• If you are unable to find garam masala the following can be used: 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, 1/4 teaspoon cracked dried bay leaves, and 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves.

CHICKPEA FLOUR STEW WITH DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Put the yogurt in a large bowl. Beat lightly with a fork and whisk until creamy and smooth. Slowly add 5 cups water and mix.
• Put the chickpea flour in another large bowl. Very slowly, add the yogurt mixture, mixing well as you do.
• Remove lumps as they appear, and strain it if the final paste is still lumpy.
• Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. When hot, add the cumin seeds, fennel seeds, nigella seeds, fenugreek seeds, and last of all the red chillies. When the chillies darken, add the coriander and turmeric, and a moment later, the chickpea flour and yogurt mixture.
• Add the salt and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low, cover partially and simmer for 25 minutes. Turn off the heat.
• While that is cooking, make the dumplings.
• Put the chickpea flour in a bowl. Add the salt and baking soda.
• Mix. Add the yogurt and mix well with a wooden spoon. You should have a thick but "droppable" paste. Add more yogurt if necessary.
• Continue to beat the paste vigorously with the wooden spoon for about 10 minutes, or until it becomes light and airy.
• Put vegetable oil into a large frying pan to about 3/4 inch deep. Heat the oil over medium heat.
• When oil is hot, lift up a blob of paste, about 3/4 inch in diameter, on the tip of a teaspoon. Release it into the oil with the help of a second teaspoon.
• Make all the dumplings this way, dropping them into the oil in quick succession. Turn the dumplings around and fry them slowly until they are cooked through and reddish.
• Remove the dumplings with a slotted spoon and pace them on a plate lined with absorbent paper towels. Let them cool slightly and then cover tightly.
• 10 minutes before you eat, heat the soup mixture over medium heat.
• When hot, add all the dumplings, then cover and simmer for another 10 minutes.
• Serve with basmati rice and chutney and enjoy!

CHICKPEAS AND DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion,garlic, carrots, parsnip, potatoes, celery, thyme, and bay leaves. Cook until the onions are translucent, about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Whisk together 3/4 cup flour, baking powder, salt, and dill in a medium bowl. Use a fork to gradually stir in 1/2 cup of milk. The batter should be a bit thicker than pancake batter, but still drop easily from a spoon; if it's too thick, add the additional milk 1 tablespoon at a time. Set aside.
• Sprinkle the remaining flour over the vegetables and stir to coat; cook for about a minute, or until the flour is golden brown. Pour in the wine and cook until it has evaporated, about 2 minutes.
• Add the broth, chickpeas, paprika and salt and pepper to the pot; bring just to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.
• Drop the dumpling batter into the pot in heaping spoonfuls. You'll have enough batter for about 8 dumplings. (Keep them evenly spaced so they don't stick together as they cook.)
• Cover the pot and continue to simmer for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and the dumplings are firm to the touch and baked through. Remove the bay leaves and season with additional salt and pepper, if desired.

VEGAN MALAI KOFTA: INDIAN DUMPLINGS IN CURRY TOMATO CREAM SAUCE

Steps:

• First cook the potatoes for the kofta. Peel and cut the potatoes in half, then place them in a pot and cover with water. Place a lid on the pot and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Turn the heat to medium and let boil for 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are fully cooked and easily pierced with a fork. Drain the hot water from the potatoes, mash them until smooth, and set aside.
• While the potatoes are cooking, start the curry tomato cream sauce. In a large heavy bottomed pot add the onion, canned tomatoes and their juices, cashews, garlic, ginger, garam masala, turmeric, cayenne, and salt. If you are using fenugreek seeds instead of kasoori methi, also add the fenugreek seeds at this point. Cover the pot and bring it to a simmer over medium heat. Let simmer covered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Transfer the onion and tomato mixture to a blender and blend until smooth, making sure to vent so hot air doesn't build up in the blender. Alternatively, you can use an immersion blender, but the final sauce will not be as silky smooth. Pour the creamy mixture back into the pot and add the coconut milk, reserving ~1/4 cup back to serve and crush the methi in your fingers and add to the pot. Mix together and cover the pot and set aside until the kofta are ready.
• In a large mixing bowl, mash the tofu by squeezing it in your hands until it's creamy and no chunks remain. You want to have the texture of ricotta. Alternatively you can blend it in a small food processor until smooth.
• Add the mashed potatoes to the mashed tofu along with the corn starch, minced cilantro, lemon juice, garam masala, and salt. Mix together and test the consistency by forming some into a ball. It should hold together. It can stick to your hands a little, but if it is very sticky or too wet and falling apart, you can add a bit more corn starch. This can vary depending on what brand and variety of tofu you use, but the recipe is quite flexible. Mix in the frozen peas. Shape the kofta mixture into heaping 1 tablespoon portions and roll into balls or into a football shape (a torpedo).
• To fry the kofta: Heat about 2-inches of high heat safe oil in a heavy bottomed pot over medium-low heat. Test the oil either with a thermometer until it is 325-350 ºF or you can test with a small piece of the kofta mixture: the oil should bubble/boil vigorously around it and the kofta should float to the surface fairly quickly after being dropped in. When the oil is heated fry the shaped kofta in batches, being careful not to overcrowd the pan, until the kofta is a beautiful dark golden brown color, flipping halfway through for even cooking. This should take 5-10 minutes, depending on the temperature of your oil, how much oil you have heated (more oil means the temperature is more stable when you add the kofta), and how many kofta you add at once. When the kofta are cooked, transfer to a paper towel lined plate with a wire spider strainer. Repeat with remaining batched of kofta until all are cooked.
• To bake the kofta: Preheat the oven to 425 ºF. Line a baking tray with parchement and spray or brush with oil. Arrange the shaped kofta onto the baking tray so there is 1/2-1" between each kofta. Spray or brush the tops with oil. Bake for 30-40 minutes, flipping after the first 15-20 minutes, until both sides are golden and the edges of the kofta are crispy and chewy. It's normal for the kofta to lose their shape a little and flatten when baked.
• When ready to serve, pour the sauce overtop the kofta (only use what you will eat in one sitting, as the kofta get soggy once in the sauce), then pour the reserved coconut milk over top the kofta. Garnish with cilantro if desired. Enjoy with Indian flatbread and/or basmati rice.

CHICKPEA DUMPLINGS - INDIAN MUTHIAS

Steps:

• 1. Mix flour, coconut oil until combined. 2. Stir in ginger, chile, coriander, cumin, salt, tumeric and cayenne pepper. 3. Add chopped cabbage and mix into stiff dough. 4. Form dough into dumplings (individual or a long roll that can be sliced after steaming) 5. Lay dumpling in a single layer on top of reserved whole cabbage leaves lining steamer. 6. Steam dumplings for 20-25 minutes until shiny and firm. 7. Serve hot dumplings with yogurt and cilantro.