Monday, April 13, 2009

Methi Chole

 

Methi Chole = a protein packed, mouth watering side dish. Give it a try, if you haven't already. When I came across this recipe thru other blogs, I had to try it because of my methi - love. I am glad that I did. It seems to be a Rajasthani dish. Though I am not sure, I am assuming a Marwari connection because of the absence of onion & garlic and usage of ghee in the recipe. Of course, I have tweaked the recipe to suit my taste buds.  

Ingredients:  
1 cup Kabuli chana / garbanzo beans 
1 bunch of methi leaves / fenugreek greens - leaves plucked and chopped roughly 
One each: tomato & onion - chopped 
2 tbsp. besan / chick pea powder  
1 tsp chili powder 
1 & 1/2 tsp salt 
1 tsp chana masala powder 
1/4 tsp turmeric powder 
For tadka /popu: 
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
 a little asafoetida (hing)  

The 'how' part:  
* Soak the chana overnight and cook it with enough water in a pressure cooker.  
* Heat oil in a wok/saute pan and add cumin seeds. When they start to sizzle and turn brown, add asafoetda and turmeric powder. Then add onion and fry till it turns translucent. 
* Next add tomato and saute for a couple of minutes. Then add methi leaves. Keep frying till the tomato turns mushy.  
* Unlike other chole recipes, the besan (not the ground chole) takes care of the gravy part in this version. Add 3-4 Tbsp of water to the besan and make a paste. Pass this through a sieve and add it to the veggies. 
* Then add the cooked chana, chili powder, salt, chana masala powder and a cup of water. Let it simmer for about ten minutes and turn off the stove.  
* Serve warm with rotis. Post a Comment