Amchur Chana

Actual Monday Menu – Amchur Chana, Stir Fried Beets and Turnips, Naan

Amchur Chana is chickpeas with mango powder. This dish would make a great appetizer served with pieces of Naan or pita. It would be great for a potluck, which is where my friend had great success with the dish. They were delicious! The dish just wasn’t right as a meal for us – too many chick peas all at once. I was going to make Chole, a chickpea curry, but my friend with the wonderful spice cabinet brought me some of the amchur powder. The Chole will keep for another day. The beets and turnips were from the farmer’s market and prepared with the method from the stir fry I posted on Feb. 6 minus the lo mein noodles.

Amchur ChanaClosely
adapted from 660 Curries, Raghavan Iyer
From http://thespicedlife.blogspot.com/

2 T vegetable oil
1 t cumin seeds
2 green cardamom pods
3 cinnamon sticks (3 inches long)
1 cup crushed tomatoes
2 T amchur powder (mango powder available at Indian grocery stores)
1 scant T ground coriander
1 t ground cuminsalt to taste
1/2 t paprika or cayenne
1/4 t turmeric
3 cups cooked chickpeas
2 T chopped cilantro, divided in half
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

Heat the oil in a medium sized saucepan over medium high heat. Add the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods and roast until fragrant. Add the cumin seeds and continue to roast until the seeds are fragrant and browning--but do not burn. This will be a matter of seconds. Add the tomatoes, mango powder, coriander, ground cumin, cayenne/paprika and turmeric. Sprinkle a pinch of salt in to taste as well. Bring the sauce to a simmer and lower the heat to medium or medium low. Continue to simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until the oil starts to separate from the sauce. This will take 5-10 minutes.

Stir in the chickpeas, 1 cup of water and half of the cilantro. Cover the pan and simmer the curry, stirring occasionally, until the flavors blend and the sauce thickens, about 20-25 minutes. Before serving, sprinkle with remaining cilantro and chopped red onion, and taste for salt.