Kala Chana Tofu Curry

BOOKMARK

DELICIOUS

Description

Our 17year old teenage son is always looking for high-protein meals after his strenuous workouts. Well, what can be better than Beans and Greens to nourish and satiate his voracious appetite?

I made this curry using Indian chickpeas also known as Kala Chana. They are smaller and darker than regular chickpeas.

Since he loves tofu, I combined both of them to make this dish.

Method:

1. Soak chickpeas overnight. Rinse and wash.

2. Pressure cook the chickpeas with 5 cups of water, one teaspoon of salt, two cloves and two bay leaves for 20 minutes in the instant pot or any pressure cooker. Alternatively, chickpeas can be cooked on the stovetop for 40 minutes.

3. I used MDH chana masala. If you do not have access to it or want to make your own here’s the recipe

To make the powder: In a pan dry roast 4 dried red chilies, 1 teaspoon of cumin, 4 black cardamoms, 1 tablespoon of coriander seeds, 1/2 teaspoon of peppercorns, 1/2 teaspoon of fennel for 4-5 minutes. Grind these into a fine powder and keep this spice powder aside.

4. Let off the steam from the pressure cooker. Take out the bay leaves

5. In a cooking pot, dry roast the cumin, two cloves, cinnamon stick, star anise, mace, and cardamon for 30 to 60 seconds. Add chopped onion, ginger, garlic paste and let them cook for 1 minute,

6. Add chopped tomatoes, green pepper, chili powder and turmeric powder. Let them cook for 3 minutes.

7. Add the cooked chana with 2 cups of its liquid.

8. Add two tablespoons of chana masala powder, black salt. Stir well and let it cook for 5 minutes.

9. Take one-fourth of chickpea content and blend it with some liquid from the pot.

10. Transfer this gravy to the pot and let it cook for another few minutes. Add cubed tofu. Let it cook for 5 to 7 mins and then turn off the stove.

11. Garnish with some chopped Cilantro

Transfer to a serving bowl.

Enjoy!!!

Ingredients

2 cups of dried Indian chickpeas (Kala chana)

2 bay leaves

4 cloves

1/4 teaspoon of cumin

2 cinnamon stick

1 star anise

1 mace

2 green cardamons

4 tomatoes chopped

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 green pepper chopped (capsicum)

2-inch of ginger, mashed

5 garlic cloves, mashed

Salt to taste (1/2 to 1 teaspoon)

1 teaspoon of chili powder (adjust according to your preference)

1/4 teaspoon of turmeric

1/2 teaspoon of black salt (kala namak), optional

1 pack extra firm tofu cubed

2 Tablespoons Chana Masala or make your own

For Chana Masala Powder:

4 dried chillies

1 teaspoon of cumin (jeera)

4 black cardamom (elaichi)

4 cloves

1 tablespoon of coriander seeds

1/2 teaspoon of peppercorns

1/2 teaspoon of fennel seeds (saunf)

1/2 tsp dried mango powder (amchur) optional

Garnishing:

1/2 to 1 cup Chopped Cilantro