Chane Gashi (Chickpeas Curry)

Chane gashi always reminds me of the Venkataramana temple in Udupi where it was served as prasadam on many occasions. This dish is usually prepared on special occasions like wedding function, festivals etc because onions and garlic are not supposed to be used on that day. Tender jackfruit is an excellent combination with chana and I just love it. I always prefer Tender jackfruit in this dish. Since it is seasonal and hard to get, I go for Suran (yam) or potatoes.

Chana or chick peas are very high in protein and hence good for health. Maybe that’s the reason for the custom in some places that this dish has to be prepared every Friday. But rarely I see people following this (including me :-))

There are broadly two types of Chana - one is black and the other is white (Kabul Chana). The white chana is slightly bigger when compared to the blacker one. But apparently it’s found that black chana is much healthier when compared to white. This is because of the high fiber content in the black chana. It’s always better to use dried chana instead of the canned ones. It’s not good to use canned chick peas regularly because it has high sodium content.

Now coming back to the recipe-

Ingredients:

• Chana/ Chick peas/Kadle (black or white) - 1 cup
• Tender Jackfruit/ potatoes/ Suran - ¾ cup
• Grated Coconut, fresh/frozen - ¾ cup
• Tamarind- a small ball - gooseberry sized
• Roasted Dried Red chillies- 4 to 5
• Oil - 2 Tbsp
• Mustard seeds - ½ Tbsp
• Jeera/Cumin- 1 tsp
• Curry leaves- few
• Salt - To taste

Procedure:

Soak Chana for 6-8 hours. Cut tender jackfruit/Suran/potatoes into medium pieces. I used frozen Suran. Then cook the soaked chanas along with the vegetable in a cooker with sufficient water. Also add salt to taste. Salt should be added during the process of cooking. Chana will not absorb salt, once it is cooked. Four whistles are enough to cook the chanas.

To prepare the masala - grind the coconut along with red chillies and tamarind. Add little water while grinding.

Now add this masala to the cooked chanas and bring it to a boil. Add water if required. Consistency of the gravy should be not too thick or watery. Once it starts boiling,            cook it further for 5-7 minutes until the rawness of the masala goes off. Turn off the heat.  

For tempering/seasoning - heat the oil and then add mustard seeds. Once it starts spluttering, add cumin/jeera and fry it for few seconds and then add curry leaves. Add this to the Curry. Mix well.

  
This dish goes well with rice, rotis, dosa.  Above measurement is for serving 3-4 people.