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Recipe: Chana Masala!

Mon, 09/28/2009 - 06:54 — hungry waif

Remember when I dragged you readers in to my culinary school adventures when I went about a year ago. Now, I'm dragging you into yoga teacher training land. We have to memorize all the names of the poses in SANSKRIT!!! its VERY confusing! Did you know downward dog is actually called Adhi Mukah Savasana! In sprit of my yoga insanity I decided to post one of my favorite indian dishes! Chana Masala! Packed with protein and fiber, its amazing this is actually good for you!

 


    * Tamarind pulp, 50 grams (2 oz)
    * Boiling water, 120 ml (1/2 cup)
    *Corn Oil, 3 tbsp
    *Cumin seeds, 0.5 tsp
    * Onions, raw, 1 medium finely chopped
    * Garlic, 2 cloves crushed
    * Fresh ginger root, 2.5 cm (1") peeled and grated
    * Fresh green chilli Pepper, 1 pepper finely chopped
    * Chickpeas (garbanzo beans), tinned (canned), 225 grams (1 1/4 cups)
    * Cumin seed, ground, 1 tsp
    * Coriander seed, ground, 1 tsp
    * Turmeric, ground, 0.25 tsp
    * Salt, 0.25 tsp
    * Canned Tomatoes, skinned and finely chopped, 225 grams
    * Garam masala, (Indian spice mix) 0.5 tsp
    *Peppers, hot chili, red, fresh, chopped for garnishing, 1 tsp
    * Onions, raw, chopped for garnishing, 1 tsp

Serves 4 

I recommend doubling the quantities and freezing half. Please note that this recipe uses tinned (canned) chick-peas. If you use dried chick-peas you will need to soak them overnight and then boil and simmer them for up to 2 hours.

* Break up the tamarind and soak in the boiling water for 15 minutes. Rub the tamarind through a sieve discarding any stones and fibre.

* Heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry the cumin seeds for 2 minutes until they splutter. Add the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli and fry for 5 minutes.

* Add the cumin, coriander, turmeric and salt and fry for 3-4 minutes. Add the tomatoes and tamarind pulp. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

* Add the chick-peas (garbanzo beans) and garam masala. Cover and simmer for about 45 minutes. Garnish with chopped chillies and onion