Saturday, February 23, 2008

Chane Gashi

Chane Gashi

½ cup grated coconut, fresh or frozen
1" cube tamarind
5-8 roasted red chillies
½ cup Chana, preferably black
½ cup diced jackfruits / suran / raw banana /potatoes
4-5 nos Methi seeds, optional

for seasoning
¼ tsp mustard seeds
2 sprigs curry leaves

Soak chana in water overnight. Drain water and rinse a couple of times. Cook with enough water in the pressure cooker for 6-8 whistles till almost cooked. Use the liquid in which the chana is cooked. Do not disard this water. It has a lot of flavor.

You may use canned chickpeas instead. Rinse the chickpeas a couple of times and use instead of cooked chana. I prefer not to use canned, I find the home cooked one has more flavor and absorbs spices better.

Raw Jackfruit is the best combination for the curry. Suran is also a good choice. If you cannot find both of the these then go for potatoes or raw bananas. Bamboo shoots are also the favorites in the Konkani curries with Coconut sauce, but not a good combination with Chana. I used canned raw jack fruits. Dice the veggie of your choice, add it to the half cooked chana or the canned one and cook till the veggie is fully cooked.

Grind coconut, red chillies and tamarind into a smooth paste. You may roast some methi seeds to the coconut paste and grind a minute more to incorporate them. This paste is called masolu in Konkani.

Transfer the cooked chana to the sauce pot, add the masolu, salt and boil for 5 minutes till the coconut is cooked and all the flavors mix well.

For the seasoning, heat 1 tsp oil, splutter mustard seeds, add curry leaves. Garnish the curry.

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