Easy Chick peas/ Chana / Kadala Curry without Coconut

Being the kind of lazy person I am, I really dont like spending time grating, roasting and grinding coconut and to add to that, my husband doesn’t like coconut in any currys. So always I will be looking for gravies which does not require coconut.

Once for breakfast, my friend made a chana curry without adding coconut. Usually Keralites like to make varutharacha kadala curry i.e chick peas using roasted coconut curry along with puttu. So when my dear friend made this easy kadala curry and also that it tasted exactly like the one which we make by adding coconut, I thought that this is my kind of dish and I noted down the ingredients and when I got a chance, I made this for breakfast along with puttu. This is not at all time consuming and can be made easily.

The flavours in this dish is really enhanced when the crushed garlic along with onions and tomatoes are roasted and added to the cooked chick peas. The thickness in the gravy is obtained by adding ground chick peas.

Just try this out and you will never forget the taste.

Ingredients:

1. Chana / Kadala- 1 Cup
2. Cinnamon- 1 small stick
3. Cloves- 3 nos
4. Cardamom- 3 nos
5. Onions( chopped)- 2 nos
6. Tomatoes (chopped)- 1 no
7. Garlic (crushed)- 2 tbsp
8. Curry Leaves- few
9. Oil- 2 tbsp
10. Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
11. Red Chilli Powder- 2 tbsp
12. Coriander Powder- 2 tbsp
13. Turmeric Powder- 1 tsp
14. Fenugreek powder- ½ tsp

Method:

1. Soak the chana overnight and pressure cook the next morning until it is done.
2. Heat a pan with oil. Add mustard seeds, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom pods and curry leaves. Stir well.
3. Add the chopped onions and crushed garlic, stir till it turns translucent.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes and mix till it turns mushy.
5. Meanwhile from the cooked chickpeas take about a handful and grind coarsely. Keep this aside.
6. In the above onion, tomato mixture add the powders one after the other, mix well till the raw smell disappears.
7. Add the cooked chick peas along with water and the ground chick peas, mix well. Boil well and let it simmer. Serve along with hot with puttu.