Chana Masala

Translated into English it is spiced/curried chick peas. This dish is a very popular in North India, where is made with the addition of fresh cream and more often than not it is served with naan bread, howver the gujerathi community have adapted it to be less rich and we serve it with puris. As most of the gujerathi commnity are vegetarians, we need to include lentils, beans and etc in our daily meals, and thus the necessasity of adapting the recipe to be a bit healthier. I made this dish yesterday for a client that ordered a tradional vegetarian meal for 4people. This dish and curried green beans & potatoes where part of the main meal.

Chick-Peas

 

500ml cooked/canned chick-peas

100ml chopped tomatoes

250ml chopped spinach

65ml chopped onion

10ml cooking oil

5ml mustard seeds

5ml cumin powder

5ml coriander powder

5ml ginger & garlic paste

3ml chilli powder

1 green/red chilli finely chopped 

7ml salt

15ml lemon juice

40ml chopped coriander

 

Method

1. Heat oil in a medium size pot and add the onion and allow to brown
2. Add the ginger/garlic paste and mustard seeds – stir and reduce heat
3. Add the powder spices, stir well and add the tomatoes, spinach and chick-peas
4. Allow to cook for about 15min, stirring occasionally, season with salt and lemon juice
5. Garnish with the chopped coriander and serve with basmati rice or puri (Indian fried bread) or just on its own in a little bowl with an added squeeze of lemon.

 

 

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