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Thursday, April 10, 2014

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. 




Comments

17 comments:

Hamaree Rasoi said...

Excellent and mouthwatering to look at Madra. Excellent preparation.
Deepa

Varada's Kitchen said...

Used the same source and had the same problem with the recipe. It was too mild so I went with something else. Glad your daughter liked it.

vaishali sabnani said...

Enjoyed reading your post..yes I remember kali daal to be one of the top daals..and this madra looks awesome too.

The Pumpkin Farm said...

i have an issue with yellow colored dishes except when they are in curd based curries and thats y this one has caught my fancy..but i will take your suggestion and add red chilli powder to spice it up when i make

jayanthi said...

I'll use the tip to add extra chilli powder while I try the madra

Priya Suresh said...

I can channa madra everywhere, now am so tempted to give a try to this beautiful dish.

nandoos kitchen said...

channa madra looks yumm..nice and healthy

Unknown said...

channa madra all place!!! so healthy and delicious...

Gayathri Kumar said...

Yes Suma, it is so mild and I added some red chilly powder to add heat. Yours looks very creamy...

Saraswathi Ganeshan said...

Creamy and tempting Madra..

Srivalli said...

Lovely colour Suma..guess all of us had an unexpected jolt with the spiceless gravy, though I must confess we loved it with poori..though I will be adding red chili pwd next time I make this..

Harini R said...

Yes I agree that the younger kids at home will love the non-spicy version of this tempting Madra. Interesting tidbit about curry leaves in Himachal!

Archana said...

Love your version of madra. you ar eright the kids loved it.

Chef Mireille said...

love all the gravy in your version

Pavani said...

Chana madra looks creamy and delicious.

Usha said...

Looks like it was chana madra day! Yes, it was quite mild and the next day I spiced up the left over madra with some chili powder and garam masala.

Your curry looks creamy and delicious

Padmajha said...

I too made something similar but with potatoes.And yes, it is so mild that I would have loved to add some kick to it...