Panjabi Chole/Garbanzo beans in rich onion tomato spice gravy

Punjabi Chole is one of our favorite dishes. As a newlywed, I used to make bhatura (fried bread) to go with the chole but over the years replaced the bhatura with chapatis (flat Indian bread) - the bhatura, although delicious, is a calorie and cholesterol bomb.

My chole has also come a long way. I used to make it by simply sautéing onions and tomatoes with the three basic Indian spices - turmeric powder, chili powder, and coriander powder. Although it was delicious, the chole lacked the deep brownish color that I would see in restaurant chole. I read somewhere that adding tea bags while simmering the chole could give it a brown color, but that didn't appeal to me .

So I stuck to my recipe until I discovered Anita's blog. I love her blog and the way she writes. Her recipes greatly reduce the complexity and are what most Indians make and eat at home. Her Punjabi Chole looked awesome, so I had to give it a try - and I loved it. As it was a bit spicy for me, I played around with the spices. And yes, like Anita says, when you add the spices to the chole, the whole kitchen DOES smell like heaven. While I was making the chole, my older one, who always comes to the kitchen to see what's for dinner, says, "it smells so delicious mama". Thank you Anita!

I use canned Garbanzo beans for the recipe, if the cans are unavailable then soak about 1 1/2 cups of chickpeas overnight.

Ingredients:

Adapted from A Mad Tea Party

Serves 4-6 hungry people

• 822g(the big one) of Garbanzo beans
• 2 large onions chopped
• 4 green chilies chopped
• 1" fresh ginger chopped finely
• 2 large tomatoes
• 1-2 tsp oil
• 1 tsp kashmiri chili powder
• 1/4 tsp tamarind concentrate
• 1/2 cup of water

For the masala:

• 1-2 tsp roasted coriander powder or coriander seeds
• 1 tsp anardana (pomegranate seed) powder or amchoor powder
• 1” cinnamon sick
• 2-3 cloves
• 6-8 black peppercorns
• 1 black cardamom
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 whole dry red chillies

Method:

If using dried Kabooli chana (garbanzo beans), soak them over night. Pressure cook them with salt till they are tender. If using cans, drain the can in a colander and rinse it thoroughly.

Roast all the ingredients for the masala except roasted coriander powder and anardhana powder (roast the coriander seeds, if using coriander seeds along with the other spices), in a low flame till they turn a bit brown. Be careful not to burn it, so keep tossing the pan, till the spices turn a dark brown color. Once slightly cool, grind it to a fine powder in a spice grinder/coffee grinder, you could also use a motor or pestle to powder the spices.

Heat the oil in a pot and add the chopped ginger, when it sizzles add the chopped onions and green chilies. Saute it till the onions turn a pinkish brown color. Add the chopped tomatoes and saute it further till the tomatoes break down and turn mushy. Add the round spices, chili powder, tamarind, season it with salt and saute for a minute or so. This is the point where your kitchen smells like heaven. Add around 1/2 a cup of water, let it simmer for a minute or two. Add the garbanzo beans and mix till all the spices and the gravy coats every bean. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Let it simmer for a few minutes on a medium flame. At this point if the gravy thickens add some more water. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with bhatura, puri, chapati, parathas or nans.

Also, on a different note, I am trying to organize and change the look of my blog, so please be patient with me. Thanks.

Malabar Roasted Coriander Powder/Vartha Malli podi

In the front bowl is the roasted coriander powder (vartha malli podi ) and the bowl at the back is the store bought coriander powder. I've showcased the podi with my grandma's errnanam (her belt) that I inherited from her. She wore it on her traditional kachi kupayum, a traditional outfit.

The above photo is the route that Vasco Da Gama took on his voyage - photo taken in Lisbon.

Vasco da Gama came from Lisbon to Calicut on May 21st 1498. And what did the men shout as they came ashore? "For Christ and spices!" But to their disappointment there were plenty of Christians living in the Malabar Coast. This was with the arrival of a Syrian contingent many centuries earlier. But Vasco Da Gama was right about the spice. Calicut is the world's greater pepper growing region (source - theepicentre.com).

For many generations our families have been living in Calicut. Spices are a vital part of our food and life. Without spice there are no dishes made. Since the time I got married, the one thing that I always bring along with me from Calicut is the vartha (roasted) malli (coriander) podi (powder). I remember my mother doing the same when she was living in Mumbai when we were little. The roasted coriander powder is a mix of many spices and not just coriander seeds roasted. Every time when I go to Calicut and tell my mom I need roasted coriander powder, the powder is given to me all neatly packed. Never for once have I asked her for the recipe until my last visit last summer. This was after I started blogging and started to note down dishes that were made at home that I would take along with me to savor it later. In my last visit when my mom handed me the powder, assuming that the roasted coriander powder is just what it says - coriander seeds roasted, I, out of curosity asked her - " ide verum malli varthu podichattu annu (This is just coriander seeds roasted and powdered - right? ) " My mom laughed. She then told me the whole recipe and I was amazed by the ingredients that go into the vartha (roasted) malli (coriander) podi (powder). Some of the ingredients that were used - I wouldn't in my wildest dream think of putting it in making the malli podi.

Vartha malli podi adds a lovely color to meat dishes. Just a few spoons of the podi gives the gravy the right amount of thickness, a lovely aroma and the spices are just right without making the dish too unbearably HOT. Without the varthu malli podi we find our meat to be very bland. Although, I don't have a whole lot of recipes in my blog that I have published using the roasted coriander powder, I do use it very often at home while making simple chicken or lamb or beef curries. And it is also because I thought that, what is the point in posting a recipe without posting the main ingredient? So finally, the time has arrived.

Also, the timing for posting this was right - or rather after reading the topic for this month's Monthly Mingle and Click, this was the only thing that came to my mind. Well, it was about time I posted this.

This has been passed on to me by mom and to my mom from her mom. This is one spice that I would carry with me if my house were on fire! This is to my Umma (mom) and my methamma (grand ma).

Vartha Malli Podi/Roasted Coriander Powder:

Ingredients:

• 1 kg Coriander seeds
• 250g Turmeric (whole)
• 250g Dry Red chilies
• 10 g Cinnamon
• 10 g Cloves
• 10 g Cardamom
• 5 g Nutmeg
• 5 g Shahjeera
• 5 g Javatiri
• 2 tbsps Fenugreek
• 3 tbsps Rice

Method:

Roast all the above ingredients one at a time till you get the aroma of the spice and starts to change its color. Grind to a powder.

You can store this in an air tight container for about 6 months or so.

Here are some of the recipes using the vartha malli podi - Chemeen Biryani, Erachi Pathiri, Kheema Masoor Dal Pulao, and here

To read more about the Spice trade go to this link here.