Simple Sprouted Kala Chana Curry – no onion, no garlic

It has been a while since I posted a recipe.  We lost a dear friend – a great soul, who has touched so many lives in a positive way, a guy with a great sense of humor, a fantastic writer, a guy who brought so many people together, and opened his home to anyone who needed it.

A few of us who knew him well met last weekend and were able to share a few stories and reminisce about old times. It was good to talk about how Ramesh was instrumental in bringing us together over 20 years ago.  And not surprisingly, when we talked about Ramesh and our memories of him, we ended up laughing, even though our reminiscing started off with tears.  RIP Ramesh

Now here is the post:

With so many things that were going on, I have been relying on simple, easy to cook dinners. I found this recipe on Tarla Dalal’s website and love the way it turned out.

I keep sprouting some kind of bean or the other regularly.  Since I had some sprouted kala chana at home,  I looked for a recipe that was easier than the one I posted earlier and found it on Tarla Dalal’s site. 

Here is the recipe with some minor modifications to suit our palate.

Here is what you need:

• 2 cups sprouted kala chana
• salt to taste
• a pinch of asafetida
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 2  - 3 cloves
• ¼ tsp. asafetida
• few curry leaves
• 2 green chilies, minced
• 1” piece ginger, minced
• ¼ tsp. turmeric
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• salt to taste
• ½ tsp. jaggery
• chopped cilantro for garnish

Here is how I made it:

 

1. Cook sprouted chana in the pressure cooker with enough water, salt, and asafetida.  I cook it on high heat till the first whistle and then on low for about 10 minutes.
2. Heat oil in a pot.  Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, cloves, and asafetida.  When the mustard seeds sputter, add curry leaves.  After about 20 seconds, add minced green chilies and ginger.
3. Fry this for a minute or two.  Now add turmeric powder and chili powder.  Fry for a few seconds.  Add the cooked kala chana with some of the cooking liquid.   Add more salt if necessary.
4. Let this simmer for about 10 – 15 minutes.  Add jaggery and cilantro.  Mix well and turn off the heat.

Serve with rice or rotis.