Ashram News Ashram News - Hacienda de Guru Ram Das
Ashram News Ashram News - Hacienda de Guru Ram Das
Ashram News Ashram News - Hacienda de Guru Ram Das
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<strong>Hacienda</strong> De <strong>Guru</strong> <strong>Ram</strong> <strong>Das</strong><br />
Food for Health<br />
Punjabi Chhole: Chickpeas, the Punjabi way!<br />
by A MAD TEA PARTY<br />
http://www.sikhchic.com/article-<strong>de</strong>tail.php<br />
id=527&cat=7<br />
Serves 6<br />
3 C chickpeas/garbanzo beans, soaked overnight (or<br />
soak for 3-4 hours in hot water)<br />
½ t baking soda<br />
1" piece of ginger, peeled and grated<br />
2 C chopped onion<br />
1 C chopped tomatoes<br />
2-3 T oil<br />
2 t red chili pow<strong>de</strong>r<br />
1 t garam masala (optional)<br />
salt<br />
for the masala:<br />
2 T (heaped) corian<strong>de</strong>r seeds<br />
1 T anardana (seeds of wild pomegranate), omit if not<br />
available<br />
1" cinnamon stick<br />
4-5 cloves<br />
1 t black peppercorns<br />
3-4 black cardamom<br />
2 t cumin seeds<br />
1 or 2 whole dry red chilies (optional)<br />
to garnish:<br />
green chilies, slit down the middle<br />
tomatoes, cut into thick wedges<br />
lime, sectioned<br />
Drain the chhole; some of what makes these beans<br />
hard to digest is water soluble and you will get rid of<br />
some of that this way. Rinse them out once more to<br />
make sure. Put them in a pressure cooker with enough<br />
water to cover them (by about an inch). If you like<br />
your chhole a bit on the softer si<strong>de</strong>, add half a teaspoon<br />
of baking soda (more will make them mush) to<br />
the chhole. No salt at this point. Cook un<strong>de</strong>r pressure<br />
for 20 minutes, or cook covered in a heavy pan till<br />
ten<strong>de</strong>r.<br />
grind to a pow<strong>de</strong>r.<br />
Heat oil in a heavy pan (or karahi). Add ginger and stir<br />
till just fragrant. Add chopped onions and cook till<br />
pink, when they are just getting tinged at the edges.<br />
Now add the tomatoes and fry (bhunno), stirring all the<br />
time, till the oil separates. There isn't much oil to separate<br />
here, so it has to be done on medium heat and takes<br />
a long time (20-30 minutes).<br />
When cooking a larger quantity (or when short on<br />
time), I would suggest you increase the amount oil (one<br />
and half times or double) since you don't want to be in<br />
the kitchen for the good part of a day.<br />
Once the ginger-onion-tomato is fried well and almost<br />
dry, add the fresh ground spice blend, garam masala<br />
(optional), and red chili pow<strong>de</strong>r. Add the slit green<br />
chilies and stir for a few minutes till your kitchen<br />
smells like heaven (Remove the green chilies and add<br />
this fragrant paste to the cooked chhole, and salt.<br />
Adjust water to your liking - I like mine really thick.<br />
Mix and cook (simmer) for 20 minutes, stirring every<br />
now and then, or cook in the pressure cooker for 10<br />
minutes.<br />
Serve hot with poori, bhature, or naan, garnished with<br />
the green chilies you have set asi<strong>de</strong>, wedges of tomatoes<br />
(drizzled with oil and swirled around in a hot pan<br />
for a minute or two, if you like), and lime.<br />
While the chickpeas are cooking, heat a pan to roast<br />
your whole spices - I use my cast iron pan. On medium<br />
heat roast the spices, all together, shaking and<br />
tossing, till they have almost blackened. Cool and<br />
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