Himachali Chana Madra

 Growing up we only had the desi brown Indian channa, kabuli channa was introduced very late into our lives. So much so that I even remember when I had it for the first time. I had it plain boiled with salt and it was at my tuition teachers’s house, she was a Christian and in the Christmas vacations all her children who were close to her were called to help with the making of the Christmas goodies and while we were making the kalkals (a labour intensive task), we were handed out a handful of boiled kabuli channa and that was my first taste of it. I was enamoured by the taste. Such beautiful days and beautiful memories.

Anyways a few years hence I was introduced to chole bhature and rest as I may say is history. Chole is one of the most famous recipes which uses kabuli channa from the Indian subcontinent. Today I am sharing a lesser known recipe which uses kabuli channa as its main ingredient. This is a recipe from the state of Himachal Pradesh - Channa Madra. A mildly spiced dish with a yoghurt base.

Ingredients

250 grams kabuli channa,

10-12 black peppercorns,

2 black cardamoms,

3 green cardamoms,

1 tbsp whole dhania seeds,

1 ½ cup of dahi or yoghurt,

1 ½ tbsp of powdered coriander seeds,

1 tbsp mild red chilli powder,

½ tsp of turmeric,

1 tsp roasted cumin powder,

2 tbsps ghee,

2 small bay leaves,

2 whole red chillies (halved),

1 inch piece cinnamon,

3 cloves,

1 star anise,

1 tsp cumin seeds,

Salt to taste

Method

Wash the kabuli channa and soak the kabuli channa in sufficient water for about 8 hours. If you don’t add sufficient amount of water, they will not soak properly and consequently not cook well. I normally soak them overnight.

Cook the kabuli channa with salt till done. I generally use the pressure cooker for this task. Drain the excess water.

Crush the black pepper, black cardamom, green cardamom, whole coriander seeds together.

Whisk the curds well so there are no lumps. Then mix in all the powdered spices and whisk well together.

Heat the ghee in a pan and add the whole spices, once they crackle add the crushed spices and fry for about a minute till aromatic. Switch off the flame and let it cool for a while. Once it is cooled add the curd mixture and heat it on a very low flame till the the mixture is heated through. Take care that it shouldn’t boil or else it will curdle.

Once it is heated through add the boiled and drained channa. Cook it together for about 5-7 minutes on a low flame. Add more salt if required. You can even add the water remaining from cooking the channa at this stage and cook it further for ten minutes on a low flame. After this you can switch off the flame and serve it.

It is best paired with rice or puris.

Notes:

• You can crush a few of the channas to thicken the gravy.
• If the gravy tastes a little tart due to the yoghurt add a pinch of sugar.