Indian Chickpeas is a typical North India recipe that is easy to make, delicious and spicy. This is a very flavorful recipe usually eaten with fried Indian breads like bhatura or puri. This combination of bhatura and cholay is appetizing and stomach filling. Indian chickpeas curry is also known as chole or channa masala. It is a very popular Indian curry that is available in almost all restaurants all over the country.
Chickpeas are good and are part of comfort foods. The Indian chickpeas can be served with roti, naan or any other bread. This excellent and yummy dish can be eaten during breakfast, lunch or dinner and tea time or snack time too. Indian chickpeas curry is made with the white big sized dry chickpeas also known as garbanzo beans or kabuli chana. The Indian chickpeas curry is a popular vegetable dish in Indian cuisine and Pakistani cuisine.
The main ingredient in this dish is the chickpeas and is fairly dry and spicy with a tangy or sour citrus taste which is found throughout South Asia and is particularly popular in northern India and Pakistan. This dish is either made with a tomato gravy base or cooked dry with spices.
Like most Indian curries, you can adjust the spices depending on your taste. The Indian curry is made with chickpeas cooked in a tomato gravy which typically includes chopped onion, tomatoes, ginger and garlic, coriander powder, chili powder, turmeric powder and garam masala.
In India, it is often eaten with a type of fried bread and is known as chole bhatura. It is commonly sold by street vendors but also can be found in restaurants whereas in Pakistan, Aloo Chole (chickpeas and potatoes) are available as a street snack in major cities, like Karachi and Lahore.
Garbanzo beans (also known as chickpeas, Bengal grams, and Egyptian peas) have a delicious nutlike taste and buttery texture, yet somewhat starchy and pasty. A very versatile legume, they are a noted ingredient in many Middle Eastern and Indian dishes such as hummus, falafels and curries.
There are two basic types of garbanzo beans, one is the cream colored or sometimes whitish color which is fairly uniform and rounded in shape and the other is the desi type which is much smaller and darker (light tan to black in color) and more irregular in shape.
To prepare this delicious Indian chickpeas curry, soak chickpeas overnight and rinse and cook in water until tender. Drain and keep the cooking liquid. In a fry pan, heat some vegetable oil and fry chopped onions until golden brown. Add cinnamon and cloves and fry for a few seconds.
Add garlic, ginger, chili pepper, ground coriander and cook for 5 minutes stirring continuously. Add chopped tomatoes with the juice and cook until all the liquid has evaporated. Add the boiled chickpeas to the pan and mix well and cook for 5 minutes.
Pour the cooking liquid of the chickpeas and simmer for 25 minutes until all the liquid is gone. Sprinkle with garam masala and freshly chopped coriander leaves.
Do try this recipe and enjoy with wonderful hot bhaturas and puris.
Click on the below link for detailed recipe:
https://www.vahrehvah.com/indian-chickpeas-recipe
Apart from being exceptionally delicious, chickpeas are a good source of protein. Combined with a whole grain such as whole-wheat protein, they provide amount of protein comparable to that of meat or dairy foods without the high calories or saturated fats. Like other beans, Chickpeas, are rich in both soluble and insoluble dietary fiber. Garbanzos can boost your energy because of their high iron content.
This is particularly important for menstruating women, pregnant or lactating women and growing children. Iron is an integral component of hemoglobin, which transports oxygen from the lungs to all body cells, and is part of key enzyme systems for energy production and metabolism. Due to high fiber content and low GI, chickpeas are excellent for weight loss diets. Salad with chickpeas is tasty and can keep you full longer, controlling the appetite.