Himachal Pradesh Cuisine ~ Chana Madra

This time my husband came to my rescue a little in the recipe hunt, compared to my Bihari post. He is somewhat acquainted with the state of Himachal pradesh as his first job was in the Mandi region. Instead of saying straight away that he doesn't remember anything, he was able to recall some recipe names of the pahari region. He even mentioned that kaali dal is the most commonly prepared dal there. Surprisingly even provided me a tid-bit that curry leaf trees used to grow wildly on the road sides in the region he lived and local people had no idea what to do with those leaves. 
I went searching for recipes based on the names my husband threw at me and landed here and decided to go with chana madra as my kids and I love chana based dishes. Chana madra can be loosely translated as a tasty, chana/garbanzo beans based kadhi. One that is very very mild in my world. It was so mild that my daughter who can't stand spicy curries was the one who enjoyed it the most with her rotis. Next time I prepare it, I would prefer to add some red chili powder into it. 

Ingredients: (4 servings)
1.5 cups chickpeas, soaked overnight and cooked (or use 3 cups canned chickpeas)
2 tbsp raw white rice

1 pod of green cardamom
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 cloves 
1/2 inch cinnamon stick
1 black cardamom 
A pinch of asafoetida
1 tsp. coriander powder
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
1 cup yogurt (Whisk well until smooth.)
1-2 tbsp ghee 

Method:
* Soak rice and green cardamom in about a quarter cup of water for at least 30 minutes.
* Drain and grind the rice - cardamom mixture adding just enough water to grind. Keep it aside.

* Heat oil in a deep pot preferably a non-stick one, to smoking point on medium heat. Add cumin seeds, cloves, cinnamon, black cardamom and asafoetida.
* When cumin seeds start to brown, add coriander powder and turmeric powder. Stir for 20 to 30 seconds without burning.
* Add the cooked chickpeas and the yogurt to pot. Keep stirring continuously to avoid yogurt from curdling. Do not worry even if it curdles a little. 
* When the mixture comes to a boil, add the ground rice mixture, salt and about 1.5 cups of water. The rice mixture tends to thicken the gravy very quickly and end up being lumpy if you don't add the water.
* Let it cook for about 20 minutes while stirring the mixture frequently. Add the ghee and turn off the stove. Serve with rotis / steamed rice.

The original recipe mentioned to cook madra further on a slow flame for about 30 minutes. I skipped the step since the madra was already cooked well. 

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