Mango-Chickpeas Salad

I like chickpeas, so the other day I cooked some chickpeas for evening tea and wanted to do something other than the usual Chickpeas sundal. As I was gazing through my refrigerator looking for inspiration to add to my chickpeas, a bag of frozen mangoes caught my eyes. The poor thing has been sitting in the freezer since last summer and I decided to give it a try with my chickpeas. The result was great. Hope you like this simple, healthy and refreshing salad. 

Ingredients:

• Mango - 1 cup, diced. (Fresh or frozen. Thaw frozen mango before using)
• Chickpeas - 1 1/2 cups cooked (Add a little salt while cooking the chickpeas)
• Onion - 1/2, diced
• Red pepper (capsicum) - 1/2 diced
• lemon juice - from 1/2
• Salt -1/2 tsp or to taste. 
• Dry red chili flakes - to taste

Steps:

• Combine all the ingredients together.
• Add salt carefully as the cooked chickpeas has salt already added. 
• Refrigerate for a while before serving.
• You can always add more or less of each ingredient to your liking.

Quick Channa (Chickpeas) Masala

This is a quick take on the traditional Channa masala recipe. I always have 3 kinds of store bought spice powder/mix at home, biriyani masala, chicken masala and tandoori chicken masala. The one I mostly use is the chicken masala, any curry (gravy) I make and I toss a spoonful (or sometimes more) in it. On my son's birthday I was making so many things and  in a hurry instead of adding chicken masala I ended up adding tandoori chicken masala and it turned out better than usual :) and I have stuck with it ever since. You just need few ingredients and 1 pressure cooker for fast results.  

Ingredients:

• Channa / Chickpeas - 1 or 2 cups (Soak in water for couple of hours)
• Onion - 1 chopped
• Tomato purée / crushed tomato - 3/4 cup
• Ginger garlic paste - 1 tblspn
• Tandoori chicken masala - 1 1/2 tblpsn
• Coriander powder - 2 tspn
• Water - 2 Cups
• Salt - To taste
• Lime - 1/2
• Oil - 2 tblspn
• Fennel seeds - 1/2 tspn
• Cinnamon stick - 1

Steps:

 
• In a pressure cooker, heat oil, when hot add fennel seeds, cinnamon stick and onions and sauté.
• When the onion changes colour slightly add the ginger garlic paste and sauté. 
• Add the tandoori chicken masala, salt, Coriander powder and Tandori chicken masala and sauté, add the tomato purée and sauté for 3 mins.
• Drain the soaking channa and add to the mixture in the pressure cooker. Stir.
• Add water. (water should cover the channa and be 1 or 2 cms above it. Add more or less water depending on this measurement)
• Add more salt if needed. Close and put the weight on the pressure cooker. 
• Cook for 15- 20 mins. 
• Release pressure and open. Squeeze lime in. Randomly mash the channa with a potato masher to make a thick consistency of your choice, or take some channa out, blend it in a blender and add it back to the mixture. 

Okra - Chickpeas Stir fry (Vendakai - Kondai kadalai poriyal)

This is a simple and tasty dish. My MIL saw it on a cooking show aired in India and shared it with me couple of years a go. I have not made for a long time now, so the other day I had made some cooked chickpeas left over from making Sundal, and thought this is the chance to make it finally. Hope you like it.

Ingredients:

• Chick peas (cooked) - 1 Cup
• Okra (Ladies finger) - 400 to 500 gms chopped.
• Onion - 1, finely chopped
• Dry red chillis - 2
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Urad dal - 1 tsp
• Coriander powder - 2 1/2 tsp
• Salt - To taste
• Chilli powder - To taste
• Oil - 1 or 2 Tblsp
• Grated coconut - 1 Tblspn

Steps:

• Add oil to a pan and when hot add mustard seeds. When seeds crackle, add dry red chillies and Urad dal.
• Add chopped onions and saute. When slightly cooked add coriander powder and saute. Add little oil if too dry.
• Add chopped okra and saute well, so that the coriander sticks to all the pieces of okra.
• Add salt and Chilli powder to taste.
• Slightly reduce the heat, cover the pan with a lid and cook for 5 mins. Add a dash of water if you feel the dish is drying up too fast.
• Once the okra is 3/4th cooked. Add the cooked chickpeas and stir well. Cover and cook okra fully.
• Then open lid and add grated coconut and saute till all the moisture is evaporated. 

 

Chickpeas Sundal

Chickpeas, kondai kadalai, channa... Call it what you want, on a rainy spring day, hot sundal and ginger tea is enough to relax in the evening. Sundal can be made with peas, chickpeas, green gram etc. It means simply tempering with mustard seeds.

Ingredients:

• Dry chickpeas - 1 Cup
• Water - enough to cover the chickpeas, around 2 cups
• Salt - 1 tsp
• asafoetida powder - 1/2 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

For tempering:

• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Oil - 2 tsp.
• Urad dal - 1 tsp
• Dry red chilies - 2 
• Ginger - grated 1 tsp
• Coconut - grated 2 tsp 

Steps:

• Soak chickpeas for 2-3 hours.
• In a pressure cooker add soaked chickpeas, water, salt, cumin seeds and asafoetifa powder and cook for 10 - 15 mins.
• After the chickpeas are cooked, heat a pan. Add oil. when oil is hot add mustard seeds, let it crackle. 
• Then add urad dal, red chilies and ginger.
•  Add chickpeas and coconut, turn off heat and stir well.