Deliciously quick & easy vegetarian/
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 Punjabi Chole served with Cumin Basmati Rice with Peas and Cucumber Raita. Sliced onions and Lemon quarters are always served as an accompaniment. Following in the footsteps of my earlier post of Spicy Garbanzo Curry 1 , this is another version of using garbanzo beans to cook a mouth watering Indian curry. Punjabi Chole originated in Punjab, a state located in the northwestern part of India, but it is now cooked in many parts of India and across many continents. It is characterized by a strong brown color in the curry, owing to the boiling of tea bags or amla (indian gooseberries) together with the garbanzo beans. What results is a tempting delicious curry best enjoyed with puris (deep fried puffed indian bread) or wholewheat flatbreads (chapathis). It goes well with Basmati Rice, too. Ingredients (serves 4) 2 cups of dried garbanzo beans, soaked overnight in ample water 6 dried amla pieces (See Note 1) 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp ginger garlic paste 1 medium onion, chopped finely 2 tomatoes, chopped finely 1/2 green chilli, chopped finely 2tbsp chole/chana masala (See Note 2) 1/2 tsp garam Masala 1/2 tsp turmeric powder 1/2 tsp chilli powder 1/2 tsp pomegranate powder (See Note 3) 2 cups of the water the garbanzo beans was cooked in Salt Coriander leaves for garnishing Method Drain the water and boil the garbanzo beans in pressure cooker till cooked. This should take around 10-15 mins. Remove the amla pieces and drain but keep the water the beans were cooked in. If you are not using a pressure cooker, place the soaked garbanzo beans in a pot with 6 cups of water, salt, 1/2 tsp of baking soda and the amla pieces and let it boil on medium heat till the beans become soft. Do add in more water as and when necessary. Take a medium sized pot and heat the oil. Fry the ginger garlic paste and then the onion till golden brown. Add in the chopped tomato and the green chilli. When the tomatoes have become pulpy, add in all the spice powders and let it cook for 5 mins. Add in 1/2 cup of the beans water. You can now either blend the curry (so as not to see the tomato and onion bits) or leave it as it is as I have done in the photo above. Now, add in the garbanzo beans and 1 and 1/2 cup of beans water . Let the whole curry cook for 15 minutes on medium heat. If anytime, it gets too dry pour in 1/2 cup of the beans water. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot. Note : 1) Dried amla (indian gooseberry) is added to give a little sourness and that dark brown color to the beans (See Picture 1). 2) Chole or Chana Masala is an all round spice mix for Indian garbanzo beans. There are many different brands out there but I personally like this brand MTR. It is not too spicy so that I can adjust the heat according to whom I am preparing this curry for (See Picture 2). you can make your own spice mix for 3) Pomegranate Seed powder is used to add sourness to complete the flavor of this curry (See Picture 3). Alternatively, you can also use Dried Mango powder or squeeze a bit of lemon at the end. All these food items are readily available in any Indian grocery stores.
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 Coconut Chutney is a favorite accompaniment to many Indian dishes namely rice and Lentil Crepes (Dosa) or Steamed Rice Cakes (Idlis) or Fried Indian Savory Doughnuts (Medhu Vadais).
Yields 2 cups Ingredients for Grinding 3/4 cup Grated White Coconut 1/2 cup Roasted Gram 1/2 inch ginger 1 green chilli (add more if you prefer hotter ) 5 curry leaves, washed 4-5 stalks of coriander leaves, washed and chopped (stem included) 1 cup water Salt per preference Ingredients For Tempering 1 tbsp. Sesame Oil 5 curry leaves, washed 1/2 tsp mustard seeds 1/2 tsp Split Husked Black Gram Lentil (Urad Dal) Method Grind all the ingredients to a smooth paste and pour into a small serving bowl. If need be, pour a bit of water to the blender to wash the extra chutney to this bowl. Take another small pot and heat the sesame oil. Add in the mustard seeds and urad dal and when the seeds start to crackle, add in the curry leaves. Be careful as the water in the curry leaves will make the oil splutter a great deal. Pour this tempering mix with the oil over the chutney and serve. Another delicious chutney to be served with many Indian snacks. Ingredients (Yields 2 cups) 3 tbsp. grated white coconut, roasted till golden brown 2 tbsp. canola oil 1 tsp mustard seeds 1 tbsp. split chickpeas (chana dal) 2 medium onion, chopped big 5-6 curry leaves, washed 3 stalks of coriander leaves, chopped big 1 inch ginger, minced 1 green chilli , chopped (reduce to 1/2 if you prefer less spicier) 3 medium ripe tomatoes, chopped medium sized Salt per preference Extra coriander leaves for garnishing Method Take a medium sized pot and heat the canola oil. Fry the mustard seeds and chana dal for a few minutes till the dal turns light brown. Add in the onion, curry leaves, coriander leaves, ginger and green chilli and fry for 3-5 minutes. Add in the salt. Then, add in the chopped tomatoes and roasted coconut and fry for a further 3-5 minutes on medium heat. Do not over fry the chutney. Leave it to cool and grind to form a smooth paste. Serve garnished with extra coriander leaves.   What better way to incorporate our favorite Pasta Marinara with a warm soup? Make a delicious comforting Pasta Soup of course! I had just made fresh vegetable stock yesterday and decided that it would be ideal to cook this for dinner. You can use any type of pasta but Angel Hair Pasta is thin enough to go well with his soup. And to give that protein power, I added a can of kidney beans. Cannellini Beans or Small Red Beans do work as well too. Ingredients (for 2 as a main meal or for 4 as a side dish) 2 tbsp. EVOO 1 medium yellow onion, chopped 4 cloves of garlic, minced 1/2 green zucchini, cubed 1/4 red/yellow bell pepper, cubed 1 cup Marinara sauce (See Note) 1 tsp Italian seasoning 5 cups of Veg stock 200gm Angel Hair pasta, cooked according to instructions 1 can (15oz) Kidney Beans/Small Red Bans/Cannellini Beans, drained Salt and Ground Pepper Red chilli flakes/Parsley flakes Method Cook the pasta, al dente, according to instructions and keep aside. Take a medium sized pot and fry the onions in EVOO till translucent. Fry the minced garlic next, again only till translucent and the garlic aroma fills the air. Add in the zucchini and bell pepper cubes and cook till they are half done. Add in the Italian, other seasonings and the marinara sauce and let it start bubbling for a few minutes. Do remember that marinara sauce comes with its own sodium hence watch out for the salt. Pour in the veg stock and the kidney beans and boil for 2-3 minutes. Lastly add in the cooked pasta and let the whole soup boil for 5 mins. Serve warm immediately with any bread sides eg Garlic Bites, Bruschetta Bites, Avocado Bites, Gourmet Boscaiola Pizza. Keep red chilli flakes and parsley flakes on the side as accompaniments. Note : I like Rinaldi Traditional Marinara sauce as it is light and not loaded with seasonings.   Homemade Garlic Bread or Bites beat the store bought ones because you can use a healthier bread as your base and you can use fresh garlic in olive oil instead of frozen herbed garlic butter loaded with preservatives and salt! These bites make great accompaniment to soups or they can be served as party appetizers. I have used a lot of garlic, an entire bulb to be precise, but if you are not a fan of this pungent but health miracle, reduce to your preference. The same goes for the scallions. And if you are a garlic fan like me, then would you agree that there is nothing more heavenly than the beautiful aroma of fried garlic? Here is the recipe for my last post (for the time being) in my series of Bites : Ingredients ( for 6 Garlic Bites) 2 tbsp EVOO 10 garlic cloves, pounded or ground 6 slices of multigrain baguette 2 stalks of scallions, sliced thinly or 1 tsp dried chives A pinch of sea salt Method Heat a pot with EVOO and fry the pounded garlic till very light golden brown. Add in the scallions and toss in the pinch of sea salt. Not too much because the baguette usually comes with sufficient sodium. Switch off the fire after a minute and spread this garlic scallion mix over the baguette evenly. Grill in the toaster for 5 minutes or till golden brown around the baguette slices and on the top. If you grilling large quantities, you can use the oven at 350 deg F or 180 deg C for 5-10 mins. Do keep an eye so that baguette slices don't burn.  |
Hi guys! I'm Nilofar Iyer and I have shared my dishes here for you to cook for your own family and friends with love and most importantly with their long term good health in mind.
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