Spicy Chana Kuruma

Chanas according to me, are messengers of  heaven.I love to have chana ,frequently.Today my Hubby gave me a challenge ,like he wanted to have a spicy chana kurma .He gave the rules as the gravy shud be colourful, thick,tangy and juicy...He told me that , if I do it as the way ,we have it in the hotels, then he will accept me as a good blogger.Hmmm ,a challenge to my blogging- Interesting .I took a oath that I shud never ever fail.As u all know me as a healthy food blogger, this challenge made me to relax some rules like ,usage of ghee.
So I planned to add plain red chilli pwdr for - color,purees of onion,tomato - for thickness ,sugar -to enhance the tangyness of the gravy.The outcome was extraordinary.My husband will never say good for any fine dish ( Errrrrrrr).He will say ok (this is his maximum appreciation).But for this dish he gave me A-class.Wow....so it means I won the challenge....Appadi, I pat it myself.With a open heart and full stomach, I am giving  u my version of chana kuruma...

Ingredients:
1.Chana                   -        1 cup
2.Onion                   -         1 (big)
3.Tomato                -          1 (big)

4.Green chillies      -          2
5.G&G paste           -          1 tsp
6.Red chilli pwdr    -          1 tsp
7.Coconut                -           3 pieces
8.Curry leaves         
9.Cilantro.
10.sugar                   -            1 tsp

For Tempering:
1.Cinnamon              -           1 inch
2.Cloves                  -            3 to 4
3.Fennel seeds          -           1 tsp
4.Oil                         -            4  tbsp
5.Ghee                       -            1 tbsp (optional)

Method:
* Wash and soak chana overnight.
* Pressure cook it for 3 whistles.
* Chop half the onion and 1 chilli.Grind the other half with the remaining chilli and coriander leaves.
* Grind tomato to a puree.
* Grind coconut with half spoon of fennel seeds.
* Take a hand ful of cooked chana and grind it into a paste. ( This will give thickness to the kurma.)
* Now take a pan,add oil, ghee and splutter with whole garam masalas.
* saute the chopped onion and slit green chilli ,sprinkling some salt.
* When onion is half cooked,dump in the grinded ( Onion-green chilli-coriander) paste.
* Saute till it oozes out oil.
* Now add tomato puree and sprinkle some salt.
* Add G&G paste and saute well.
* When the tomatoes are cooked, add turmeric pwdr,chilli pwdr and giv it a toss.
* Wait till the raw smell goes off, now add the cooked chana and mix well.
* when chana gets a blend with the masala, add grinded chana paste and giv it a mix.
* Let the curry comes to a boil , and let it thicken to some extent.
* Now pour the coconut paste and turn off the stove within 3 minutes.Adjust salt to taste.
* Sprinkle sugar and mix well  .( This gives the dish a unique taste).
* Garnish with cilantro and serve with hot chapathis,pooris,parottas.....

This dish was a super duper hit in my family.I prepared a huge amount ,aiming to have the next day,but in vain.We both emptied the bowl so quickly...ha ha ha...Happy eating..
Channa Masala

Parotta Kuruma

My husband was keep on asking me to prepare the same white kuruma , which we had in chennai hotels. After some research, I ended up with this recipe.It's a vegetarian delight and goes very well with Parotta.

Ingredients:
1.Carrots                           -   4
2.Beans                             -   5 to 6
3.Potato                             -   1
4.Onion                              -  1 ( medium)
5.Green chillies                 -   6
6.Ginger garlic paste          -  1/2 tbsp
7.Whole garam masala       -  (cinnamon,cloves,bay leaves)
8.Coconut                           -   3 to 4 pieces
9.Cashews                          -   6 to 7  ( optional )
10.Cilantro

Method:
* Wash and cut all the vegetables into cubes.
* Chop the onion and slit the green chillies.

* Grind 4 green chillies,coconut and cashews into fine paste.

* In a pan add some oil and splutter  whole garam masalas and add the onion.
* When the onion gets sauted, add the remaining green chillies.
* Add the ginger garlic paste and saute, till it looses its raw smell.
* Dump in all the vegetables and saute it, till it becomes soft.
* Now add the grinded coconut mixture into the pan .
* Bring it to a boil as shown.

* Garnish it with cilantro and serve with hot parottas.

Korma

Vegetable Kuruma

Veg kuruma is a North indian delicacy and often served with chapathi/naan/poori/parata. My husband likes peas and potato for the kuruma.So lets see the process.
Ingredients:
1. Peas - 1 cup
2.Potato - 1
3.Onions - 1 1/2
4.Tomatoes - 1 1/2
5.Green chillies - 10
6.Curd - 1 tbsp
7.Whole garam masalas
8.Curry leaves
9.Cilantro
10.Coconut - 3 to 4 pieces


Method:
* boil the peas and potato as shown.
Take 1 onion,1 tomato ,6 chillies and fry it in pan of little oil. Once they are cooled, throw it in a food processor and grind it into a fine paste.
In another pan add oil and splatter some whole garam masalas ( cinnamon,cloves, fenugreek seeds ). Saute the remaining onions ,chillies and tomato. sprinkle some salt to the mixture.
Now add the grinded masalas into the pan and bring it to a boil.Add the peas and potato and let it blend into the gravy.Grind the coconut with some fennel seeds and make it into a fine paste.Add it into the gravy and let it cook for a minute.
Then garnish with cilantro and curry leaves. Its a very good dish for kids as peas is rich in fibre.
Korma