Indian Chickpeas In Tea Food

INDIAN CHICKPEAS WITH POACHED EGGS

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a non-stick sauté pan, add the garlic, pepper, chilli and the whites from the spring onions, and fry for 5 mins over a medium-high heat. Meanwhile, put a large pan of water on to boil.
• Add the spices, tomatoes, most of the coriander and the chickpeas to the sauté pan and cook for 1-2 mins more. Stir in the bouillon powder and enough liquid from the chickpeas to moisten everything, and leave to simmer gently.
• Once the water is at a rolling boil, crack in your eggs and poach for 2 mins, then remove with a slotted spoon. Stir the spring onion tops into the chickpeas, then very lightly crush a few of the chickpeas with a fork or potato masher. Spoon the chickpea mixture onto plates, scatter with the reserved coriander and top with the eggs. Serve with an extra sprinkle of cumin, if you like.

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.

CHANA MASALA | CHOLE RECIPE | PUNJABI CHOLE MASALA

Steps:

• Rinse the chickpeas a couple of times in fresh water. Then soak them in water overnight or for 8 to 9 hours. Add enough amount of water as the chickpeas increase in size after soaking it. Later drain the water and again rinse the soaked chickpeas with fresh water.
• To give a dark color to the chickpeas, traditionally dried amla (Indian gooseberries) are added. These also give a faint sourness to the stock. If you do not have dried amla, then add 1 black tea bag.
• In a 3-litre stovetop pressure cooker add the chickpeas along with the 3 to 4 dried amla pieces or 1 black tea bag. Taj tea bags work very well. Then add water.
• Season with salt and pressure cook the chickpeas for 12 to 15 whistles on medium heat. The chickpeas should be cooked well and softened. The chickpeas should be soft when you mash it with a spoon or eat it. The chickpeas should not give you a bite when you eat it.
• In a pan, take all the whole spices for the "chole masala powder" mentioned above and on a low heat begin to roast them.
• Stir often and roast the spices till they get extra browned. Don't burn them. You have to go beyond a point roasting them even after they become fragrant and they get more browned than what is the norm usually.
• Let these roasted spices cool and then grind or powder them finely in a coffee grinder or in a dry grinder.
• By now the chana will be cooked. You will see a darker brown shade in the safed (white chana). Remove the amla pieces which would have softened by now or the tea bag from the stock.
• Heat oil in a pan or kadai. Add ginger-garlic paste and saute for few seconds or till their raw aroma goes away.
• Then add chopped onions and saute stirring often till the onions turn translucent or light brown.
• Add tomatoes and saute stirring often till they soften and the oil starts to leave the sides of the onion and tomato mixture.
• Lower the heat and then add all of the powdered chole masala that we ground, together with the red chili powder, turmeric powder and garam masala powder (optional).
• Stir and mix the dry ground spices and then add slit green chilies
• Add the cooked chickpeas. Mix well.
• Add salt according to taste. Then add about 1 to 1.25 cups of the stock in which the chickpeas was cooked. You can also add water instead.
• Stir and cover the pan with a lid.
• Simmer on a low to medium heat. You can also cook the chana masala without the lid.
• The gravy will thicken and reduce. Mash a few chickpeas as this helps in thickening the gravy.
• Simmer till you get the consistency you prefer. The consistency of this curry is not thin, but medium consistency or semi-dry. For thick or semi-dry consistency add less water.
• If you have not added dry pomegranate seeds while roasting the spices, then you need to add amchur powder (dry mango powder) now. Mix and stir well.
• Serve the Punjabi chana masala with kulcha, bhatura, poori, roti, naan, bread with a side of sliced onions, tomatoes and lemon or lime wedges.
• While serving garnish with coriander leaves and ginger julienne.
• This Chole Masala also tastes good with steamed rice or jeera rice or saffron rice.

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.

INDIAN CHICKPEAS IN TEA

Steps:

• Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onion and garlic in hot oil until onion is translucent, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Stir tomatoes with green chile peppers into the onion mixture; cook until the tomatoes darken in color, about 8 minutes; add ginger and cook until ginger is fragrant, about 2 minutes more.
• Stir chickpeas, black tea, lemon juice, salt, cumin, garam masala, and coriander into the tomato mixture; bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, loosely cover the skillet, and cook at a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the tea has nearly evaporated completely, 15 to 20 minutes. Garnish with parsley.

INDIAN CHICKPEAS

Steps:

• Soak chickpeas overnight then rinse and cook in water till tender.
• Drain and keep the cooking liquid.
• Heat oil in frying pan and cook onion until golden.
• Add cinnamon and cloves and cook for a few seconds.
• Add garlic, ginger, chili pepper, and coriander and cook 5 minutes stirring.
• Add tomatoes with juice and cook till all liquid is absorbed.
• Add the chickpeas to pan, mix, and cook for 5 minutes.
• Pour in the cooking liquid from the chickpeas and simmer for 25 minutes or until all the liquid is gone.
• Sprinkle with garam massala and cilantro.
• Can be served hot or cold.
• Time to make does not include soaking the chickpeas overnight.

CHANA MASALA

Steps:

• Drain the chickpeas, then combine them in a large Dutch oven with the baking soda, bay leaves, black tea bag, black cardamom, 1 teaspoon salt and 3 cups of water. (To pressure cook the chickpeas, see Cook's Note.) Bring the mixture to a boil in a large Dutch oven, then reduce to a simmer and cook, partially covered with a lid, until the chickpeas are tender, about 1 hour. If the liquid is evaporating too quickly before the chickpeas are tender, pour in an additional 1 cup of water and continue to cook. Discard the tea bag, bay leaves and cardamom. Drain the chickpeas and put them back in the pot.
• Meanwhile, heat the ghee and/or oil in a large skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring and scraping occasionally, until the onions are very soft and golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Add the ginger, garlic and green chiles and cook until the raw smell goes away, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook until well cooked and pasty, about 8 minutes. Add the Roasted Chana Masala Spice Blend along with 2 tablespoons of water and saute until well mixed and the flavors have melded, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add the spice mixture to the chickpeas with 1 cup of water (see Cook's Note), mix well and bring to a simmer over medium heat; simmer until the curry thickens and coats and infuses the chickpeas, about 5 minutes. Adjust salt to taste. Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve with lime wedges or julienned ginger slaw, if desired.
• Combine the whole spices (coriander, cumin, black pepper, cinnamon and cardamom) in a small heavy skillet (preferably cast iron, if you have it) and roast over medium-high heat, shaking the pan often to ensure even roasting, until the spices start getting darker, 3 to 4 minutes. Lower the heat to low and add the powdered spices (pomegranate powder, mango powder, black salt, chile powder, turmeric and asafoetida) and cook, shaking or stirring constantly, until slightly darker, about 30 seconds. Be careful not to burn the spices. Immediately transfer the spices to a bowl and cool. Once cooled, grind the spices. You can double or triple this recipe and keep it in an airtight container for future use.