Chana Ghashi
Soaked black garbanzo beans are pressure cooked and then simmered in a spicy and tangy coconut gravy. This is best served with steamed rice.How about trying this Konkani special today?
Ingredients
- ½ cup about 100 grams kala chana/black garbanzo beans; washed & soaked overnight
- 1 can tender jack fruit in water; washed and drained see recipe notes
Coconut Masala Paste
- Few drops of oil
- 2-3 whole red chilies adjust to your taste
- 1 teaspoon paprika optional
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- 4-5 methi seeds/fenugreek seeds
- 1 cup about 250 grams grated coconut (fresh or frozen & thawed)
- 1 teaspoon tamarind pulp see recipe notes
- Salt to taste
Tadka/Tempering
- 1 tablespoon oil
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- 10-12 curry leaves
Instructions
Preparation
- Get your ingredients ready.
- Pressure cook the soaked chana (see recipe notes).
- Cut the tender jack fruit into bite-sized pieces.
Grinding the coconut masala paste
- Heat a few drops of oil in a small pan and splutter the mustard seeds. When it starts spluttering, add the methi seeds and whole red chillies. Remove from heat when the methi seeds and red chillies change color and the mix becomes aromatic.
- Grind coconut with this mix along with tamarind pulp with about ½ cup of water (add a little more if required)
Cook
- Add the tender jackfruit pieces, salt, and about ¾ cup of water to the cooked chana and bring to a boil.
- Add the ground coconut paste to the chana. Bring to boil.
- Adjust the consistency, salt, and other seasonings.
Tempering
- Prepare the tempering – heat the oil in a small pan. Add the mustard seeds and when it splutters, add the curry leaves. Pour the seasoned oil along with the mustard seeds and curry leaves into the boiling gravy.
- Serve hot with steamed rice.
Notes
1. Cooking chana on a stovetop without a pressure cooker.
I never cook dried beans directly over a stovetop. If you do not have a pressure cooker, you can cook it on the stovetop, but it will take a really long time to cook perfectly. I guess they would take anywhere from 1 to 1 ½ hrs (maybe more). After soaking, drain the water and add fresh water. Bring the water and beans to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook the beans till they are tender. Check for doneness by smashing the beans between your thumb and index finger - When it easily smashes it is done.
2. Pressure cook chana
Drain the soaked chana and add it to the pressure cooker with 2 cups of water. Close the cooker and put the whistle on. Cook on high heat till the cooker lets out one whistle. Lower the heat to medium and pressure cook for another 20-25 minutes. Turn off the heat. Let the steam escape on its own ( about 5-8 minutes).
3. Tamarind Pulp - I use tamarind pulp which is quite tangy. Instead of tamarind pulp, you can use tamarind soaked in water to soften it up. I would recommend using about cherry-sized (or gooseberry-sized) tamarind in this recipe.
4. If possible, try to use Byadagi Chillies, they impart a beautiful red hue to the dish without adding too much heat.
5. Instead of tender jack fruit, you can also use suran (yam).1 can of tender jack fruit contains about 250g of jack fruit pieces. The best is to use fresh tender jack fruit instead of canned ones. If using fresh, cook the jack fruit or suran pieces separately before adding them to the chana.
5. I add paprika for color and not for the heat.
6. 1 cup = 250ml.