Kabli Chana In Dahi (Chickpeas In Curd)

Chickpeas or commonly known as kabli or kavli chana in Hindi is very high in protein. Whenever I think about chickpeas curry for the dinner or lunch , the first thing that comes to my mind is...how my husband goes gaga over his grand mom's chickpeas recipe. So there was a challenge in front of me to make a better kabli chana curry for him. And guess what....he just could not stop praising it.

For the recipe you should soak the chickpeas in a bowl of water overnight. Do not forget to change the water the next day morning , or else there will be a smell in the chickpeas. I cooked them in the evening.

Ingredients :

1. Chickpeas- 1 medium bowl

2. Onion (chopped)- 1 medium

3. Tomato- 2

4. Cumin seeds (Jeera)- 1/2 tsp

5. Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

6. Coriander powder (Dhania)- 1 tsp

7. Salt to taste

8. Asafoetida (Hing)- 1/4 tsp

9. Cumin powder (Jeera powder)- 1/4 tsp

10. Dry mango powder (Aamchoor)- 1/4 tsp

11. Garlic cloves- 5 to 6

12. Green chilly- 2

13. Lemon juice- 1 tsp

14. Curd- 3 tbs

15. Oil

16. Coriander leaf- 1/4 cup

Procedure :

First cook the chickpeas in pressure cooker (add a little salt) until they are done (in my case I  cooked until 5 whistles). Let them cool down a bit otherwise when you will add them to the curry , they will tend to get mashed.

Next heat 3 to 4 tbs oil in a pan and add chopped onion and cumin seeds to it. Fry them on high flame for 4 to 5 minutes. Turn off the heat when the onion turns little brown. Now grind the onion into a smooth paste.

Add chopped garlic , few coriander leaves and green chilly (halved) in the pan and fry them for 1 minute. Add the onion paste to it and fry it till it turns dry. 

Now blend the tomatoes properly and add the puree to the pan. Mix well. Let the mixture cook for 5 minutes (or till it dries). Add turmeric , coriander powder , hing , dry mango , cumin powder to it and mix.

Mash few chickpeas and add it to the mixture. I have done this to give the curry a thick base.

Now add the curd to it and cook it for another 4 minutes. Add 1 cup water and add the remaining chickpeas to it.

Add salt and cover the pan. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes. And remove it from the gas when the oil separates from the gravy. Add few chopped onions and lemon juice to it. Decorate with coriander leaf. Sprinkle a pinch of garam masala (I use freshly roasted masala for its smell) and if you want, add a cube of butter to it. Serve your kabli chana with hot roti.

Chickpeas being a great source of protein , I am sending this to Sobha's Cook it healthy event.