Recipe - Channa Masala

2 cup Chick peas (garbanzo beans;
not the canned kind)
Water
2 tablespoon Anaardaana (dried
pomegranate seeds)
2 teaspoon Salt
4 tablespoon Oil
5 (up to)
6 Whole cloves
5 (up to)
6 Largesized bay leaves
(called "tej pattha")
7 (up to)
8 Whole black peppercorns
1 One half teaspoon Minced garlic
1 One half teaspoon Minced ginger
2 Very large finely chopped
(or better; grated) onions
1 cn (34 oz) tomato paste
1 Fresh chopped tomato
One half teaspoon Garam masala
Garnish: onion (cut into
rings and plenty of finely
chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon "red chilli powder"
(optional)

The recipe I'm posting will have some Indian names for spices, as I don't
know the English equivalent for some Indian spices. But, you could get
these spices from any Indian grocery store.

Channa masala takes a while to prepare.

1. Soak two cups chick peas (garbanzo beans, not the canned kind)
overnight in water. By morning, they will have bloated upto twice their
original size.

2. Also soak 2 tablespoons "anaardaana"(dried pomegranate seeds) in water,
overnight. In the morning, drain out the water, grind them to a fine pulp.

3. In a pressure cooker, cook the chick peas with two teaspoons salt
added, for about 20 minutes. I have a cooker that I bought in India. Indian
cookers give a shrill loud whistle to indicate that now its time to turn
the heat to lowmedium. So, basically, I cook the chick peas for 20 minutes
on low medium heat after the first whistle.

4. In a large frying pan or widebottom pot, heat 4 tablespoons oil. Add
cloves, Bay leaves, whole black peppercorns, minced garlic, and minced
ginger, and fry for a minute or less on lowmedium heat.

5. Add two very large finely chopped (or better, grated) onions. Turn the
heat to mediumhigh and fry for some more time, till onions are slightly
browned.

6. Add a 34 ounce can of tomato paste, and one fresh chopped tomato.

7. Cook till oil starts appearing on the sides of the pan.

8. You may also have to add about a cup of the chick pea water (from the
pressure cooker) so that the oniontomato sauce in not too thick but has
the consistency of gravy.

9. Mash about half a cup of the boiled chick peas and add to the onion
tomato sauce, cook for a minute more and then add the "anaardaana" paste.
This paste is responsible for imparting a dark color to the sauce.

10. Add the boiled chick peas along with some more of the water, depending
on how "dry" or "liquidy" you like your Channa Masala. Remember, when this
cools down, its always going to lose some of the water and become more
thick.

11. In the end, add One half teaspoon garam masala, mix well. Turn off the
heat.

12. Garnish with onion (cut into rings) and plenty of finely chopped
cilantro.

If you like your Channa Masala hot, you may add a teaspoon of "red chilli
powder" just before adding the tomato paste.

PRAKASH@SERVER.UWINDSOR.CA

(SUJATA PRAKASH)

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