Aloo - Chane ki ghughni

I always stock my kitchen with dried legumes and different kinds of lentils. They come for great use when you are running out of veggies or you are not in a mood to eat the regular veg curries. Dried ones such as chickpeas, chana, rajma, whole lentiles like urad, moong, masur…..comes out as wonderful dishes that can tickle any tastebud. In north,  rainy season doesn’t have much to offer in terms of veggies and it was this season that saw all the mums and housewives using their stock of grams and lentils. Be it the famed chole, kala chane, rajma chawal, maa ki daal, daal tadka………every dish is a gem in its own perview. They are tasty, very healthy, rich source of protein and fibre and wholesome food in itself.  Though the rainy season is over, I like to eat and cook it once in a while. Here’s my mum’s typical bihari style chane ki ghughni.

aloo-chane ki ghughni

  

Ingredients:

kaale chane (whole bengal gram)

1 cup kale chane soaked overnight

 For the masala/spice paste
2 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp black pepper powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
8 cloves of garlic
1 inch ginger
1 bay leaf
For gravy
1 cup boiled and lightly crushed potatoes
2 cups of finely chopped onion
2 cups of fresh tomato paste
½ tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp amchur powder
 ½ tsp Turmeric powder
1 tbs ghee
1 tbs oil
Salt  



Method:
Heat ½ tbs oil in a kadai and fry the drained chana on medium flame till they are soft. In order to check they are done try to crush a chana grain with your fingers. It should be soft and grainy. Keep aside.
Grind together all the ingredients of the masala/spice medium thick paste using little water even if you have the spice powders. Grinding together helps them to blend into a nice paste very important for a good gravy. 
 

 For gravy: Heat remaining oil and ghee in kadai.  Add chopped onions and sauté them on medium flame till they turn golden in colour. Add the masala/spice paste, turmeric and salt. Mix well and fry on medium heat till the paste starts leaving the sides of the kadai. Stir continuously. Once the oil is separated, add the tomato paste and mix. Lower the flame, cover and leave it for 5 minutes. You will notice that the paste and the tomatoes are cooked and the oil comes out. Add the potatoes and cooked chana and amchur powder and mix. Add 2 ½  cups of water and bring it to a boil. Let it simmer for 5 minutes. Add the garam masala. Mix. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves. Serve with rice or chapatti.
I always make extra to eat the next day as chaat seasoned with raw onions and curds. Its so yummmmmmm.


Tips: You can always make a drier version of this dish. Just avoid the water for the gravy and cook it over medium flame till you get the mix is dry as per your likes. Garnish with lots of chopped onion, green coriander leaves and love of course.

Bottlegourd/lauki/doodhi Kofta

Last week had been gloomy. The cough and cold hovered over me and I hardly cooked anything properly. Just managed with rice, dal, roties and some mix curries. And it’s this small hibernation that pushes your tastebuds to crave for something hot and yummy. I checked that it was a Saturday. We do our grocery shopping on Sunday mornings and that means there would limited items in my veggie box. I looked into the fridge and my stuffy nose crinkled at the sight of the bottlegourd/lauki/doodhi. Oh not again. I didn have the heart to visit the supermarket at that moment but I was determined to eat something spicy and yummy. That is when meri dimag ki batti jal gayi. Lauki koftas....... My mouth watered and I went back to my hostel days where it used to be served as Sunday special. Oh how much I enjoyed those koftas with rice. Generally kofta gravy  don’t contain potatoes but it was used in our hostel mess back then and I loved it like that. So you will find it my recipe too. Hope you enjoy it too.

Ingredients:

For koftas

3 cups grated lauki

3 tbs finely chopped onion

1 tbs grated ginger

1 tsp finely chopped green chillies

3 tbs besan (chickpea flour)

1 tsp turmeric powder

Salt to taste

For the masala/spice paste

2 tsp cumin powder

2 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp black pepper powder

1 tsp red chilli powder

8 cloves of garlic

1 inch ginger

For tempering/chaunk

1 tbs mustard oil

1 tbs ghee

1 tsp whole cumin seeds

1-2 bay leaf

For gravy

1 cup boiled and lightly crushed potatoes

2 cups of finely chopped onion

2 cups of fresh tomato paste

½ tsp garam masala powder

Turmeric powder

Salt

Method:

For koftas: After grating the lauki/doodhi leave aside for 5 -10 min ( you can prepare the masala in the meanwhile). It will leave lot of liquid. Squeeze out the liquid as much as possible. Now add rest of the ingredients for the koftas and mix well. Heat oil in a kadai. Make medium round balls and deep fry them over medium flame till the colour is brown. Keep them aside.

Grind together all the ingredients of the masala/spice medium thick paste using little water.

For gravy: Heat oil and ghee in kadai. Add cumin seeds and let them splutter. Add bay leaves. Sauté. Add chopped onions and sauté them on medium flame till they turn golden in colour. Add the masala/spice paste, turmeric and salt. Mix well and fry on medium heat till the paste starts leaving the sides of the kadai. Stir continuously. Once the oil separated, add the tomato paste and mix. Lower the flame, cover and leave it for 5 minutes. You will notice that the paste and the tomatoes are cooked. Add the potatoes and mix. Add 2 ½  cups of water and bring it to a boil. Slowly add the fried koftas. Let it simmer for 3 minutes. Add the garam masala. Mix. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves. Serve with rice or chapatti.