Pindi Choley – Dark and Spicy Chickpeas

March 24, 2013 Leave a Comment

Pindi Chana- Dark and Spicy North Indian ChickpeasTechinically, today was the start of the spring break for the kids. It offers a break in pace since this weekend we did not have the usual childrens activities. It always helps to actually have a weekend.

I am however never very happy, when I cannot take the holiday week off. Although, travelling into work during a quite week has its advantages, one of them being quieter, emptier trains. This time anyway,  the kids are happy about a new program they are doing for a week. So, I am getting into work the next three days with Thursday and Friday off making it a long weekend.

Today, all things considered turned out to be a long day that brought in a mixed bag of activities and I spent the evening recharging myself in the kitchen as I always do when the spirits need a little bit of “pick up”.

I actually had chickpeas on my mind. Well, strictly speaking, chickpeas and kabocha just because I picked up my first kabocha squash this weekend. I realize it is a winter squash, but the weather does seem a little confused this year, with the cold temperature we are having despite the official start of spring.  Now back to the chickpeas,  they have been on my mind ever since I posted this recipe because my friend Chitra wanted a non slower cooker recipe. Slow cookers are ok and some of us tend to like having them around, but the reality is that the pressure cooker is what makes it to the kitchen as an essential. Most Indian cooks worth their salt have at least a couple in different sizes. So, when she told me that she did not not have a slow cooker, I was pretty sure that she had a pressure cooker and right I was.

There are many style of cooking chickpeas, however broadly speaking the north Indian styPC1medles fall into two broad categories, a soft gravy based variety and this drier variation usually enjoyed with flatbread. Quiet often the puffy deep fried sourdough bread called bhatura or soft leavened baked breads called kulcha. I did not quite have the interest to make either, but I did make the basic chapatis and we were all happy.

So, pindi chole, aparently originated in Rawalpindi, and the variation that I offer here is what my mother in law tends to prefer, except she makes this sans onions, since she does not eat onions. It certainly is starker and does not depend on onion and garlic for its sauce. The soft chicpeas here are coated with spices, finished off with toasted ginger and chrushed dried pomegranate seeds. As of the the dark color, this comes from a tea bag, which was rather difficult for me to find today because, I am a loose leaf tea drinker and the husband usually drinks what I make or tends to stick to green tea. But, ultimately I did find something stuck in a corner waiting to be used.

All good, so here is the recipe and one of these days you will see my other variation.

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Pindi Choley – Dark and Spicy Chickpeas

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 60 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

A recipe for dark spice crusted chickpeas, in the punjabi style of cooking.

Ingredients

    For boiling the Chickpeas
  • 3/4 cup chana (dried chickpeas) (soaked overnight
  • 2 cups of water
  • 1 black teabag (this is for color)
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 black cardamoms
  • 2 to 3 cloves
  • 2 green cardamoms
  • 1 large (about 2 inch stick) cinnamon
    • For the cooking base
  • 3 tablespoons oil
  • 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
  • 1 medium sized red onion, diced
  • 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
  • 3/4 teaspoon amchur (dried mango powder) (can be substituted with juice of a lime
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
    • To Finish
  • 1 teaspoon oil
  • 1 tablespoon very finely diced ginger (you can add in julienned pieces if desired)
  • 1 teaspoon dried pomegranate seeds (anardana)

Instructions

  1. Place the chickpeas in the pressure cooker, with the water, tea bag, salt, cinnamon, cloves and black and green cardamoms and cook for 35 to 40 minutes. The key to this dish is soft and well cooked chickpeas.
  2. Cool and remove the lid, strain the chickpeas and reserve the water after discarding the tea bag and whole spices.
  3. Heat the oil and add the cumin seeds and with the seeds begin to sizzle add in the onion and ginger.
  4. Cook the onion until the onion is soft and turning gently golden, add in the chickpeas and stir well.
  5. Add in the dried mango powder, black pepper and the red chili powder and add in the reserved spice water and simmer and cook until all the water is absorbed.
  6. To finish, heat the remaining teaspoon oil add in the ginger and saute for about 1 minute.
  7. Pour this over the chickpeas.
  8. Crush the chickpeas and pour over the chickpeas. Serve hot with sliced red onions if desired.
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Filed Under Grains and Lentils, Regional Indian, Uncategorized Tagged With Amchur, Anardana, Chana, Chickpeas, Chitra, Dry Chickpeas, Gluten Free, Pindi Choley, Vegan

Super Simple Slow Cooker Chana Masala (chickpeas)

February 21, 2013 13 Comments

All right, so once you are done wincing at the title of my post, you will realize that I am trying, truly trying to get people (well, mostly one person) to take a shot at this chana masala.  This dish is an Indian style curried  chickpea dish that has lasted with me for a while.

In India, this dish actually has a super simple name  – chole or chickpeas, but let us not get sidetracked with names.

I am actually trying to sell this dish to my dear friend Julianna, who is not really very fond of cooking. However,  since she wanted to give the slow cooker a shot I thought this might be the one. 

In fact, given her love for Indian food she might just get as hooked on to this recipe as the rest of my family. This dish like her is reliable, comforting and totally unpretentious but never fails to hit the spot.

My behaviour  with this recipe actually reminds me of my seven year old. Aadi loves geography and is very good at it, actually much at the subject than can be expected from his relatively young years.

To compensate, I am just as bad at geography, this makes the little one keep trying fun ways to try to teach me the spread of the world. Yesterday, he even gave me a sticker for my efforts.

Well, back to the dish itself, it has a bit of a history.

Many moons ago, at graduate school I was invited to an international potluck and asked to bring something for thirty people. Those  days I did not quite have the ability to toss things together the way I do today, I also had a more frugal culinary budget and cooking for thirty people seemed like such a daunting number.

To allay my fears, my friend Lina offered me her slow cooker. Now, I was not sure what to do with it. I had seen her throw things Super Simple Slow Cooker Chana Masalainto it and actually serve herself and some of us some pretty decent creations, but this was nothing like any of mom’s pots and pans.

As for the chickpeas, I had become pretty reliant on them and possibly could tackle them for a crowd. I decided to give the slow cooker a try and actually got some scallions to dress up the dish. I did not realize that I was creating a dish that would work and stay with me for almost two decades.

Even my children love it without the chilies. The best part of it all is that it pretty much cooks by itself.

While I do add the onions and tomatoes later in the game, I finish the prepping in one fell swoop and enjoy this dish with or without a crowd.

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Super Simple Slow Cooker Chana Masala

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 6 hours

Total Time: 6 hours, 10 minutes

Yield: 10 servings

An easy variation of curried chickpeas done in a slow cooker.

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
  • 2 and 1/2 cups water
  • salt to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 red onion, cut into a dice
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 2 teaspoons cumin-coriander powder
  • 3 tomatoes
  • 1 inch piece peeled fresh ginger
  • 2 green chilies
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 1 lemon or lime
  • 3/4 cup chopped scallions
  • 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Instructions

  1. Place the chickpeas, water, salt and turmeric in the slow cooker and set to a 6 hour cycle on high.
  2. After about 4 hours, add in the onions, oil and the cumin coriander powder.
  3. Grind the tomatoes, ginger and green chilies into a puree in a blender and place in the slow cooker and let this cook for the remaining two hours.
  4. The chickpeas should be very soft and the gravy thick, bright and saucy.
  5. Turn off the slow cooker and stir in the garam masala and let the mixture rest for 15 minutes.
  6. Cut the lime or lemon and squeeze in the juice. Stir in the scallions (reserving a little for garnish if desired) and the cilantro and serve.
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Filed Under Grains and Lentils, Slow Cooking, Uncategorized Tagged With Chickpeas, Garam Masla, Gluten Free, Indian Cooking, Julianna, North Indian, Slow Cooker, Vegan

Chickpeas with Kale, Roasted Tomatoes and Garlic

June 13, 2012 1 Comment

If Sunday was about griping, yesterday was different and today I am back to feeling positive and cheery. Something very interesting happened to me, I recently swapped phones. Yes, I am finally on an I-phone. I had resisted using it for a while, now why you might ask?

It is one of those principles that I have, I like to support the independent and the underdog. They are not always the same, but I have a dislike for monopolies, do not like chains so usually settle for the independent book store over Barnes and Nobles and Borders (if I can), avoid Starbucks (this one is not difficult) and I had placed I-phone in the same bucket.

 Well, there is one case where I make exceptions. It is about convenience. As a busy mama, time savings trump all. One of the reasons, I cannot avoid shopping on Amazon, in fact, I just placed an order for my first cast iron skillet. I am told by fans it is going to change the way I cook. The I-phone I have to confess is indeed a very convenient tool and has made my life significantly simpler. But the interesting side benefit of swapping phones has been that I have found messages and contacts that I had stored in drafts and forgotten about. One of these was an email to a very close friend, who I had almost lost touch with, almost… Yesterday we picked up like we had never separated. That is what makes a good friend different.

 Speaking of convenience, these chickpeas are all about simplicity and ease. They need about 15 minutes of hands on cooking time. Do not get me wrong, they cook much longer, but that is what the slow cooker is for. The flavors are seemingly complex but really not so, but roasting the tomatoes and garlic offer this recipe a surprising depth. Something magical happens to garlic when it is roasted, it mellow into a rich silky soft smoothness.

 Next week, I head of to Spain for a week on a much needed vacation. Cannot wait, so stay tuned for Tapas –Westchester style.

Chickpea Stew with Roasted Tomatoes, Garlic and Kale

 Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Serves 6

 Ingredients

 1/3 cup for 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 tomatoes, quartered

8 pods of garlic

2 cups chickpeas, cooked until very soft (I did this in the slow cooker overnight on an 8-hour cycle)

1 teaspoon coarsely ground cumin

11/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 small bunch of kale (finely chopped, about 8 leaves)

Salt to taste

1 tablespoon fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped

Lime or lemon juice (optional)

 Method of Preparation

 Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the tomatoes and the garlic in separate ovenproof containers.

Drizzle most of the 1/3 cup oil over the tomatoes and some over the garlic.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat for a minute.

Add in the cumin and cook until it sizzles.

Add in the pepper flakes and the kale and cook for 5 minutes.

Lightly mash some of the chickpeas to give some texture to the sauce, add in the whole and partially mashed chickpeas to the kale mixture with some water (about 1/3 cup).

Add in the salt and continue simmering.

Mash or mince the garlic and stir it in.

Add in the tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes.

Stir in the cilantro leaves and sprinkle with lime or lemon juice.

 

Filed Under Grains and Lentils, Local and Backyard Cooking, Uncategorized Tagged With Chickpeas, cilantro, Garlic, Kale, Roasted Tomatoes, Summer

Comfort Chickpea and Fish Pilaf – Memories of Black Cardamom

March 26, 2012 1 Comment

Among the many people in my life, who I think of in the kitchen is Rosy. In an ideal world, I would be able to tell her how much and how often I think of her, but the distance would make my effusive emotions sound too ostentatious and this would embarrass her.

Rosy was one of my colleagues in graduate school, she and I, took many a class together and she also cooked many a meal and taught me tips and tricks about many a spice and how to use them.

She once told me that her name meant, a bouquet of roses, I think that is how I think of her. She was always neat, dressed in colorful semi-traditional clothes, actually her idea of wearing long tunics over jeans is so trendy now that we are all doing it, she had bright eyes, a perky nose and long black hair. Her constant smile always reached her eyes.

Rosy is fromPakistan, she came to school with her husband and unlike the rest of us instead of living in the dorm she lived in a small apartment off campus. Her world combining school and household seemed so alien at times to me, but the seductive comfort of her cooking drew me in. She had no dearth of samplers on her small table, so she often cooked her food, community style. Her dishes were hearty robustly spiced stews, comforting curries and several other one pot dishes. She taught me how to let the rice rest, before serving a pilaf to allow the rice to, “bloom”. She also introduced me to the black cardamom. This was a new spice to me, not used a lot in my mother’s kitchen but I learnt to love its husky smoky taste.

We often completed assignment together, nourished by the simple comfort of her meals, we also chatted and shared many a vision of the future together.

After graduation, I connected with Rosy, over facebook in the last year and learnt that she had two beautiful boys (now in their teens), she spent the rest of her time teaching and in just the past year she and her husband has started a new restaurant. His family was in the hospitality business, but she had always wanted to branch out to something smaller and more personal and it was nice to see that she had been able to accomplish that.

I share with you a one-dish recipe that is inspired by some thing she used to cook quite often. A hearty rice dish that was a one dish meal, enriched with her black cardamoms and complete with a generous dose of butter. It might be argued that you might add clarified butter to this, but back then in a graduate school setting that might be a novelty. She added chunks of fish (canned sardines) to this recipe, it is still my go to comfort food. If I am in a real rush I use canned sardines. I have also added Vidalia onions as a finishing touch, and through in the diced potatoes that my mother adds to her fish pilaf.

Comfort One Dish Fish Pilaf

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Comfort Chickpea and Fish Pilaf – Memories of Black Cardamom
Author: 
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

Serves: 6-8
 

Ingredients
  • cup oil
  • 1 and ½ teaspoons turmeric
  • 1 large potato, peeled and diced
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 onions, thinly sliced
  • 1 teaspoon grated ginger
  • 11/2 cup basmati rice, washed and dried
  • 1 cup cooked chickpeas
  • 1 eggplant cut into small pieces
  • 1 teaspoon cumin powder
  • 1 teaspoon coriander powder
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 2 black cardamoms
  • 1 teaspoon black peppercorns, coarsely ground
  • 2 and ½ cups broth
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 sweet Vidalia onion, sliced
  • 2 tomatoes, chopped
  • 2 cans of oil packed sardines, drained and cut into pieces
  • 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Instructions
  1. Heat half the oil on medium heat, in a large cooking pot.
  2. Rub the potatoes with ½ teaspoon of turmeric.
  3. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of salt and set aside.
  4. Add in the remaining oil and add the onions and sauté for about 6 to 7 minutes, until the onions soften and begin to turn golden on the edges.
  5. Add in the ginger and the basmati rice and fry the rice for 3-4 minutes.
  6. Add in the chickpeas and eggplant and mix well.
  7. Add in the cumin powder, coriander powder, bay leaves, cardamom and black peppercorns.
  8. Add in the broth with the remaining turmeric and bring it to a simmer.
  9. Cover and cook on medium heat for 20 minutes.
  10. In the meantime, heat the butter and sauté the Vidalia onion, until soft and beginning to turn golden.
  11. Remove the cover of the pot and add in the fried potatoes, onions and the tomatoes and stir well but gently so as to not break the rice grains.
  12. Lower the temperature and cook for 3 more minutes.
  13. Turn off the heat and mix the sardines.
  14. Keep the dish covered for 10 minutes before serving.
  15. Garnish with the cilantro and serve.

Prep Time: 20-25 minutes

Cook Time: 25-30 minutes

Serves 6-8

 

Ingredients

 

½ cup oil

1 and ½ teaspoons turmeric

1 large potato, peeled and diced

Salt to taste

2 onions, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon grated ginger

11/2 cup basmati rice, washed and dried

1 cup cooked chickpeas

1 eggplant cut into small pieces

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon coriander powder

3 bay leaves

2 black cardamoms

1 teaspoon black peppercorns, coarsely ground

2 and 1/2 cups broth

2 tablespoons butter

1 sweet Vidalia onion, sliced

2 tomatoes, chopped

2 cans of oil packed sardines, drained and cut into pieces

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

 

Method of Preparation

 

1. Heat half the oil on medium heat, in a large cooking pot.

2. Rub the potatoes with ½ teaspoon of turmeric.

3. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of salt and set aside.

4. Add in the remaining oil and add the onions and sauté for about 6 to 7 minutes, until the onions soften and begin to turn golden on the edges.

5. Add in the ginger and the basmati rice and fry the rice for 3-4 minutes.

6. Add in the chickpeas and eggplant and mix well.

7. Add in the cumin powder, coriander powder, bay leaves, cardamom and black peppercorns.

8. Add in the broth with the remaining turmeric and bring it to a simmer.

9. Cover and cook on medium heat for 20 minutes.

10. In the meantime, heat the butter and sauté the Vidalia onion, until soft and beginning to turn golden.

11. Remove the cover of the pot and add in the fried potatoes, onions and the tomatoes and stir well but gently so as to not break the rice grains.

12. Lower the temperature and cook for 3 more minutes.

13. Turn off the heat and mix the sardines.

14. Keep the dish covered for 10 minutes before serving.

15. Garnish with the cilantro and serve.

 

Filed Under Fish and Seafood, Regional Indian, Slow Cooking, Uncategorized Tagged With Chickpeas, Eggplant, North Indian, One Dish Meals, Pliafs, Rice and Pasta, Rice Dishes, Sardines

Roasted Sweet Potato and Chickpea Salad

March 23, 2012 Leave a Comment

In our attempt to attribute flavors to the mundane, we have assigned the days of the weeks various characters. Monday is the dark one, since it usually hails the start of routine, school or work and sometimes both. The quiet one is Tuesday, that finds its place between Monday and Wednesday, with Wednesday helping us move far enough from Monday to be of a nice and neutral flavors. Thursdays is the active one, when we are bracing and trying to get ready for the weekend and Fridays, well they are the laid back one because most people are ready to forgive and wait for Saturday which is the balanced one. It is the weekend day after the week and before Sunday. As for Sundays, I think they are the reflective day, since they tend to reflect the mood of the weekend or the week that is approaching.

 

Well, having just said that there is really nothing laid back about today, despite the fact that it is a Monday. We begin the kick of for the kid’s school fundraiser. Since, I am drafted with the money I shall be spending the evening counting $10 bills for the registration. However, all things considered it could be worse. I also love the idea of the event. In an age where we are all paying just a little bit of attention to our eating habits and health initiatives I think a kid fundraiser that encourages activity is a great idea.

 This recipe was something that I cooked earlier last week and we loved the sparkling flavors of the sweet potato with the tangy lime.

Roasted Sweet Potato and Chickpea Salad with Indian Spices

 This recipe is a lightly seasoned variation of an Indian styled road side salad. Now, to be fair I have not tasted the salad, but it has been vividly described to me by my sister-in-law Hema.

 As with everything in life, I have added my embellishments, the biggest change here is to lightly roast the sweet potatoes rather than to fry them. I like the fact, that this allows the sweetness of the sweet potatoes to mellow into a nice dense perfection, but avoids the oil and darkness of color that deep frying does to these recipes. While I like to serve the salad right away, it can actually be made ahead and kept for a day and served later, in fact this allows the flavors to deepen.

 Prep Time: 20-25 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes (mostly unattended)

Serves 6

 Ingredients

 2 large sweet potatoes (about 11/2 pounds)

5 tablespoon oil (Preferably an EVOO)

2 teaspoons whole cumin

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

½ cup cooked chickpeas

1 red onion, cut into a fine dice

1-2 lemons (about 5 tablespoons juice)

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

 Method of Preparation

 1. Peel and cube the sweet potatoes.

2. Heat the oven to 350 degrees

3. Spread the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and drizzle with 3 tablespoons of the oil.

4. Cook the potatoes in the oven for about 20 minutes, until soft and lightly crisped but not too brown.

5. In the meantime, place the cumin and the black pepper on a small skillet and roast until it darkens and then grind to a smooth powder in a spice or coffee grinder.

6. Remove the sweet potatoes and place in a mixing bowl.

7. Add in the chickpeas, red onions and the powdered spices and toss well.

8. Add in the remaining oil and lemon juice and mix well.

9. Mix in the cilantro and serve immediately

 

 

 

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Roasted Sweet Potato and Chickpea Salad
Author: 
Recipe type: Salad
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

Serves: 6
 

A simple and healty chaat style salad that is perfect for the upcoming warmer weather.
Ingredients
  • 2 large sweet potatoes (about 11/2 pounds)
  • 5 tablespoon oil (Preferably an EVOO)
  • 2 teaspoons whole cumin
  • teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • cup cooked chickpeas
  • 1 red onion, cut into a fine dice
  • 1-2 lemons (about 5 tablespoons juice)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Instructions
  1. Peel and cube the sweet potatoes.
  2. Heat the oven to 350 degrees
  3. Spread the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and drizzle with 3 tablespoons of the oil.
  4. Cook the potatoes in the oven for about 20 minutes, until soft and lightly crisped but not too brown.
  5. In the meantime, place the cumin and the black pepper on a small skillet and roast until it darkens and then grind to a smooth powder in a spice or coffee grinder.
  6. Remove the sweet potatoes and place in a mixing bowl.
  7. Add in the chickpeas, red onions and the powdered spices and toss well.
  8. Add in the remaining oil and lemon juice and mix well.
  9. Mix in the cilantro and serve immediately

Filed Under Grains and Lentils, Regional Indian Tagged With Black Pepper, Chickpeas, Cumin, Indian Food, North India, Salads, Sweet Potatoes

Channa Masala – Classic Indian Chickpeas

January 20, 2012 Leave a Comment

 During these winter evenings, right alongside soups and chillis, I often make a classic chickpea curry – Channa Masala. Interestingly enough, this traditional North Indian recipe, is one of the first Indian dishes that I learnt to make. My recipe has adaptations and most the addition of scallions and sumac (yes, sumac) to the recipe.

Both these variations started more out of necessity than choice. It was a multi-cultural pot luck in graduate school and I volunteered to make chickpeas. I was using canned chickpeas and figured from chatting with my mother the rest of the recipe was a cinch. This was until I realized that I did not have cilantro( two decades ago, cilantro was not such a regular in standard grocery stores and forget about getting dried crushed pommegranate seeds that added an extra layer of flavor and tang to this dish.

I remember the powdery stuff one of my persian classmate sprinkled on his food and I asked him if I could borrow some. Sumac, is not as sharp as dried pommegranate seeds, but usually sold in large quantities. It does have a tangy taste, which worked to a degree that evening and has worked ever since.

The scallions, filled in for the cilantro, not the same in taste but certainly added the green that I was used to seeing. We also add chopped onions as a garnish, so I like to use chopped green onions with the red. 

This recipe is however best made by cooking your own chickpeas, I realize that I say this so many times about chickpeas and beans, one might think that I have a partnership with the dried bean sellers. However, if you have to use the canned variety use a good organic variety and rinse the chickpeas out thoroughly.

Channa Masala – Curried Punjabi Chickpeas with an Accent

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30-35 minutes (does not include time for cooking the chickpeas)

Serves 6

Ingredients

3 tablespoons oil

1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds

1 red onion, cut into a fine dice

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

3 pods green cardamoms

1 large (about 3 inches) stick cinnamon

1-2 dried bay leaves

3 cloves

2 cups of cooked chickpeas, drained

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon salt

3 tomatoes, finely chopped to a dice

1 teaspoon red chili powder

1 teaspoon sumac

For the finish/Garnish

½ cup chopped fresh scallions

2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro

1 lime

Few red onion, rings (optional)

Method of Preparation

1. Heat the oil on medium heat for about 1 minute and add in the whole cumin seeds, they should begin to sizzle right away.

2. Add in the chopped onion and the ginger paste and cook for about 5 minutes, until the onions soften and turn a pale toffee color.

3. Add in the cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and bay leaves and sauté lightly.

4. Add in the chickpeas and the ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, salt and cook for another minute, stirring well to allow the spices to coat the chickpeas.

5. Add in the tomatoes, red chili powder and the sumac to let the mixture cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to allow the tomatoes to break down into a nice soft pulpy sauce that coats the chickpeas.

6. Add in the scallions and cook for another minute.

7. Garnish with the cilantro, and squeeze in the lime juice over the chickpeas and toss red onion rings if using.

This will make a nutritious dinner, with store bought flatbreads.

 

Filed Under Grains and Lentils, Uncategorized Tagged With Channa Masala, Chickpeas, Lime, Onions, Sumac, Vegan, Vegetarian Main Dishes

Hummus with Chives and Cracked Black Pepper

January 13, 2012 Leave a Comment

Last night, I went to bed feeling rather out of it. This rainy morning was different. I like the rain, not icy and frigid, warmer rain that I can walk through, stop and click the flowers.

Today, I did not take too many photographs, just simply wandered and walked down crisscrossing the streets on the morning walk.

Among, other things, I have decided I am going to share the spam comment from that week’s hall of fame. This one from designer sunglasses, on my Peanut Cilantro Chicken Curry, it said,  

Your content certainly isnt boring! Look at the number comments you’re getting.

Well, over the winter break, I finally made humus. I have long since loved the humus at one of my favorite persian restaurants. Over the holidays, I finally took the plunge. I added a little extra tahini, little less olive oil and cooked my own chickpeas. The result was a very flavorful humus. I will tell you that making this with cooking the chickpeas, offers the softness and texture that I found made a world of difference. I soaked the chickpeas overnight and pressure cooked them for 45 minutes.

Humus with Chives and Cracked Black Pepper

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Makes 1 and 1/2 cup

Ingredients

1 cup of cooked chickpeas

1/3 cup tahini

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 lime

Salt to taste

1/4 cup dried chives

Several grinds of fresh black pepper

 Method of Preparation

1. Place the chickpeas, with some of the cooking liquid (about 1/4 cup) and pulse several times.

2. Add in the tahini, olive oil and salt and blend till smooth. Since, I cooked the chickpeas, the skins added just the right touch of texture to this rich and creamy dip.

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Humus with Chives and Cracked Black Pepper
Author: 
Recipe type: Appetizer
Prep time: 
Total time: 

Serves: 10
 

A rich and creamy vegan chickpea dip.
Ingredients
  • 1 cup of cooked chickpeas
  • ⅓ cup tahini
  • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 lime
  • Salt to taste
  • ¼ cup dried chives
  • Several grinds of fresh black pepper

Instructions
  1. Place the chickpeas, with some of the cooking liquid (about ¼ cup) and pulse several times.
  2. Add in the tahini, olive oil and salt and blend till smooth. Since, I cooked the chickpeas, the skins added just the right touch of texture to this rich and creamy dip.
  3. Remove from the blender and stir in the chives and black pepper. We enjoyed this rich and creamy humus as a meal with some warm toasted whole grain bread.

3. Remove from the blender and stir in the chives and black pepper. We enjoyed this rich and creamy humus as a meal with some warm toasted whole grain bread.

 

 

Filed Under Black Pepper, Grains and Lentils, Slow Cooking, Uncategorized Tagged With Appetisers, Black Pepper, Chickpeas, Chives, Dips, Lime, Mediterranean, Meze, Pressure Cooker, Vegan, Vegetarian

Falafel and all the trimmings

July 4, 2010 2 Comments
 
I am waiting for the resolution of a few things next week, all of this waiting has been making me rather anxious. This of course, means that I end up cooking a lot more. Some of my forays have been rather good, in fact, I have cooked up so many things I need to make time to write about all my experiments.
 
Well, my first surprise was cooking falafel. Well, according to the link some experts feel that this addictive chickpea snack considered Israel’s national food actually hails from India or Pakistan.
 
It would be the kind of food that would definitely fit in well with sub-continental cuisine.Actually I used this recipe of the Epicuriouswebsite.Actually, either the pepper recommended in the recipe was a milder variation, or what I ended up with was a pretty spicy concoction.

 
FalafelAdapted from Jean Nathan’s
The foods of Israel today

Ingredients

1 cup dried chickpeas
1/2 large onion, roughly chopped (about 1 cup)
1/3 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon salt
1.5 teaspoons red chili powder
4 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon cumin
3-4 tablespoons whole wheat flour
Oil for frying

Method of Preparation

1. Soak the chickpeas overnight.
2. Place the chickpeas in the bowl of a food processor, add the onion, cilantro, salt, red chili powder and cumin and process till the texture resembles smooth most breadcrumbs.
3. Remove from the blender and mix in the flour.
4. Heat the oil and shape the patties into small balls (I like to flatten them a little) and gently lower into the oil.
5. Cook for about 6-7 minutes on each side till the the patties are nice and crisp and cooked through.

Note: I found the flavors of this variation really addictive, we had three to four of them left over that I shamelessly finished for breakfast.

To serve with the falafel, I actually made Pita bread, following this recipe. I used 50% whole wheat flour and about 50% while flour. I did not actually get the light fluffy looking loafs shown here, but they were nice and good for a change. I made a fresh green salad, chopping up fresh lettuce, tomatoes, and red onions and tossing them with sumac, olive oil and a little salt.

Lastly I tried this garlic sauce, I modified it a little and it ended up becoming a nice, garlic parley sauce, this really is a mayonnaise, made with whites rather than the yolk.

Parsley garlic mayonnaise (Arabic style)

Adapted from Ria’s Collection

Ingredients:

4 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup parsley
Juice of 2 fresh lemons
1 egg white
3/4 cup olive oil

Method of Preparation

1. Place the garlic, salt and parsley in a food processor and pulse till very finely chopped.
2. Add the lemon juice and process again.
3. Add the oil in very small batches while the food processor is running, letting the mixture get completely mixed before adding more, until you get a nice creamy sauce.

Enjoy this with the falafels.

Filed Under Grains and Lentils Tagged With Chickpeas, Fallafel, Mediterranean, Vegetarian

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