Whole Bengal gram or kala chana is a variety of chickpeas that is used in many cuisines all over the world but it is most popular in India. They are small, dark brown in color and very rich in protein. Sprouted Chane (Bengal Gram) can be used in salads, curries as well as snacks. When roasted professionally, they puff up and make a great dry snack. Flour of these chane is called besan and is very commonly used in Indian cuisine. It is widely regarded as an important pulse, owing to its nutritional properties. It contains a good amount of iron, sodium and selenium in addition to small doses of manganese, copper and zinc. A handful of Bengal gram is a very good source of fibre and folic acid. Chana is the richest source of proteins in legumes and hence helps fuel the body. Kale Chane Curry is most popular in Punjab and in Bengal.
| Preparation Time: | 45 minutes |
| Servings: | 6 |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
Ingredients
| Kale Chane (soaked overnight) | 2 cups |
| Finely chopped red onion | 1 medium (chopped 1 cup) |
| Pureed Tomato | 1 cup |
| Green chillies chopped (optional) | 2-3 |
| Coriander leaves chopped | 1/4 cup |
| Ginger Garlic Paste | 1 tbsp |
| Oil | 1 tbsp |
| Jeera (cumin) Powder | 1 tsp |
| Haldi (turmeric) powder | 1/2 tsp |
| Red Chilli Powder | 1 tsp |
| Roasted and ground dhaniya or coriander seeds | 1 1/2 tbsp |
| Roasted and ground Saunf (fennel) seeds | 1/2 tbsp |
| Amchur (dried mango powder) | 1 tsp |
| Salt | 1 1/2 tsp |
| Long (cloves) | 2 |
| Badi Elaichi (big cardamom) | 1 |
| Tejpatta (bay leaves) | 2 |
| Baking Soda | 1/8 tsp |
| Black salt | 1/2 tsp |
| Garam Masala | 1/2 tsp |
Method
- Soak kale chane overnight.
- Cook in pressure cooker with 4 cups of water, baking soda, salt and turmeric powder.
- Once the cooker starts whistling, reduce heat and let it cook for 30 minutes. Turn off the heat.
- Chop onions, ginger, garlic and green chillies finely. Heat oil in a pan and add ginger, garlic and onions. Saute till onions become translucent.
- Add tejpatta, elaichi, long, jeera powder, chili powder, dhaniya powder, saunf powder and amchur powder. Saute till fragrant.
- Add freshly blended tomatoes and chopped green chilies.
- Saute till oil starts showing. Turn off the heat.
- Add black salt.
- Open the pressure cooker after the steam dies completely. Chane should be fairly soft. If not, cook some more.
- Mix chane into the tomato mixture and cook for 10 minutes on low heat.
- Mash about 1/2 cup of chane to make the gravy thicker. Turn off the heat. Kale Chane Curry is ready.
- Serve it hot with Steamed Rice, Flat bread and Mashed Eggplant.
Notes:
- Don’t try to boil chane if they are not soaked for at least 8-10 hours. It will take a long time to make them soft.
- You may have to fine tune the duration of pressure cooking because it depends on your pressure cooker. Basically chane should be pretty soft after they are cooked.
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