Channa(Chickpeas) Curry:

My mom always made Channa curry with Bathuras, and most often only when she took classes. So the day she taught Channa Bathura, we had the same dish for lunch/dinner too. My brother and I used to look forward to this combo for two reasons; one, the Bathuras (form of Pooris) were huge and second, the Channa curry tasted different from anything we had eaten elsewhere. Back then it didn’t matter to me what went into the curry as long as it tasted good.But once I began to cook myself, I realized why mom’s curry was so unique and delicious at the same time. It's definitely different from the channa made with the MDH Channa Masala (which I like too by the way). Here’s why.

You will need:

2 Cups Channa/Chickpeas

4 Onions chopped

6 large tomatoes

1 tbsp Ginger Garlic paste

1 tsp Anardana (Dried Pomegranate seeds)

1 tsp Cumin seeds

1 tsp Garam Masala powder

1 tsp Red chilli powder

½ tsp Turmeri powder

1 tsp Lime juice

1 tbsp Jaggery

1 Tea bag (regular flavour)

1/3 Cup Oil

Salt to taste

Soak channa/chickpeas overnight. Pressure cook with a pinch of cooking soda till done(usually 3 whistles). Strain and reserve.

Puree 4 tomatoes and keep aside. Chop the remaining. Powder the cumin seeds and anardana. Then add a fistful of boiled channa, onions, jaggery and red chilli powder. Grind to a smooth paste, add water as required.

Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan. Add the ginger garlic paste and sauté for a minute. Add the ground paste and sauté for 5 minutes on low flame till the paste thickens and the oil begins to float on top. Now add the tomato puree, boiled channa, chopped tomatoes and 1 cup water. Stir and bring to a boil on medium heat, simmer for 10 minutes. Now insert a tea bag and let the string hang on the side of the pan. Add garam masala powder, salt and lime juice. Let simmer for 4-5 minutes. Do not over boil as you don’t want an overpowering taste of tea in the dish. Discard tea bag,garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot.