Divali will be celebrated on Friday and already roti shops have been flooded with requests for paratha roti and channa. It is a time when these dishes are very much in demand. Cooking channa and potatoes is quite easy though it takes a little time to prepare. Making roti on the other hand is quite a task. Preparing these dishes at home can save you money and you can end up with enough food for three for four meals during a three-day period.
Channa also called chickpeas or garbanzo beans are extremely low in fat and are a great source of protein. They also provide an excellent source of molybdenum, a trace mineral that is needed for the body's mechanism to detoxify sulfites. Sulfites are a preservative commonly found in wine, luncheon meats, dried fruits and dried potato products.
As a good source of fibre, channa can help lower cholesterol and improve blood sugar levels. This makes them a great food especially for diabetics and insulin-resistant individuals. Like other beans, it is rich in both soluble and insoluble dietary fibre.
When served with high quality grains, channa is an extremely-low-fat, complete protein food. Channa is also a good source of folic acid, manganese, and minerals such as iron, copper, zinc, and magnesium.
Ground channa makes many tasty dishes like hummus, falafels (Middle Eastern) and curried chole (Indian). Here are two recipes for channa dishes and paratha or buss up shot.
Curry Channa and Aloo
1/2 lb dried channa or
1 tin of channa (garbanzo bean)
4 potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 pimento peppers, finely chopped
2 tbsp curry powder
1/2 tsp geera
1/2 tsp masala
1/2 tsp salt or salt to taste
3-4 leaves chadon beni, chopped finely
If dried channa is used, pressure cook in salted water (1 tsp salt) until tender. Drain and set aside. Don’t throw away the water. Wash and peel and chop the potatoes. Heat oil and add onion and garlic.
Add the curry and cook until almost dry. Add potato and green seasoning. Stir until coated with curry. Add channa and mix.
Then add the pimento and chadon beni. Add the “channa water”, just enough to almost cover the channa and aloo.(about 2 cups).
Cook until potatoes are tender and mixture is thick. Season with salt, geera, masala. Add pepper to taste.
Pindi (Rawalpindi)
Chole (Channa)
2 cup dried channa (white chickpeas)
2 heaping teaspoons of black tea, coarsely powdered
2 badi/moti/kala elaichi (available in TT)
5 cloves, ground
3 small sticks of cinnamon
3 tsp ghee and/or peanut oil
4 green chilles
1/2 inch of fresh ginger
1 tbsp whole cumin
1 1/2 tsp coriander seeds, ground
1 tsp amchar
1 1/2 tsp black pepper, ground
salt to taste
1-2 tsp garam masala
Coriander leaves
Sliced onions
Soak the channa for 24 hours; drain, rinse once and drain again; place these, along with the tea, kala elaichi, cloves, cinnamon, and water to cover 1-2 inches in a pressure-cooker; cook for 12 minutes at 15 PSI; remove from heat and allow to cool and pressure to fall (or cook in a large saucepan until tender). Drain, reserving liquid. Remove and discard kala elaichi and cinnamon.
Meanwhile: halve the chilles, de-seed, then quarter lengthwise; cut across into 1/8 inch strips. Peel the ginger, then slice into thin rounds; stack the rounds and cut into fine shreds.
Dry-roast, separately, the cumin and coriander seeds; grind and combine with the other dried spices, reserving the garam masala alone in another bowl.
Heat the oil to smoking, then add green chiles and ginger; stir once and add the ground spices; stir once again and add the reserved liquid from channa; keep at a slow boil, stirring frequently as it reduces and lowering heat as you go, until thick enough to coat the stirring-spoon.
Add the drained channa and salt to taste; stir carefully over gentle heat until fully-hot. Remove from heat and stir in the garam masala.
Serve topped with sliced raw onions and coriander leaves.
Paratha Roti (Buss-up shot)
4 cups flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 oz margarine, butter or ghee
1 3/4 cups water
Knead flour with baking powder and salt in a large bowl for mixing. Leave for about 1/2 hour, covered with a damp cloth. Divide dough into 4 balls.
Spread liberally, margarine/butter/ghee over dough and sprinkle w/ flour. Cut dough from the centre to edge.
Roll dough tightly into a cone shape, then press peak of cone into centre and flatten. Sprinkle flour on kneading area and roll out till very thin.
Place it on a moderately hot tawah (large skillet if you don't have one), coating dough on both sides with oil as it cooks.
Turn on both sides and cook about 1 1/2 minutes on each side Remove from tawah and hit with wooden palette until flaky.
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