Hara chana nimona

Green garbanzo beans or hara chana are in season now. I had read about hare chane ka nimona on Sangeeta Khanna's  banaras ka khana blog.I felt, that, this nimona needed one try by me .

Ingredients : 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp  green chana, 2 medium potatoes,1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp dhania seeds, 5-6 peppercorns, 1 small bay leaf, 1 tsp grated ginger. 1-2 green chillies, 1 tbsp oil,1/2 tsp haldi, salt to taste.

Method : Pressure cook the pototoes. After they cool, peel them & cube them. Keep aside.

Grind bay leaf, peppercorns, dhania seeds, cumin seeds into a powder. Keep aside.

Make a paste of 1/tbsp green chana, chopped green chillies & grated ginger.Keep aside.

In a kadhai , take oil.Heat it. Put 1/2 tsp cumin seeds .After they crackle, add the cubed & peeled potatoes followed by green chana .Add haldi & saute all nicely.Add the ground masala powder.Fry for a minute till it gets aromatic.Add the ground paste .Fry all nicely so that masala & paste is coating the green chana & cubed potatoes.Let it fry for 3-4 minutes. Throughout the kadhai cooking, keep gas on slow mode.Add a cup of water .Add salt.Pressure cook for 1 -3 whsitles .Put off gas.

Serve hara chana  nimona with rice and rotis.

Note : This nimona turned out  watery as I added more water ( more than 1 cup, I learned after I saw that the content was watery ).I should have made paste of 1/4 cup hara chana ( & not 1 tbsp hara chana ) with ginger & green chillies .The spiciness was just fine.So , if more spice is needed, simply increase the amout of red or green chillies & pepper & ginger. Alos ,I need to have added just one boiled , peeled & cubed potato instead of two.

Red pumpkin - red lobhia curry

I have got some red lobhia or red beans at home. I have made the usual usal with that .I wanted to try something different. I had read about a pumpkin- beans curry on Saffron Trail.I googled more & came across this Kerela Erissery recipe using red beans & pumpkin. I decided to give it a try.

Ingredients : 1/2 cup peeled & diced pumpkin, 1/4 cup red lobhia beans ( soaked overnight ) , 1/4 tsp haldi, 1/4 cup fresh dessicated coconut, 1-2 green chillies, 1 tsp jeera, 1/4 tsp mustard seeds, 1 red byadgi mirchi broken into 2-3 pieces, a few curry leaves,1 tbsp oil, salt to taste.

Method : Pressure cook the lobhia & red pumpkin by adding salt & turmeric up to 1 whistle. Keep gas on slow flame for 10 minutes. Put off gas. Keep aside.

Meanwhile, grind half the fresh desiccated coconut with green chillies & cumin seeds into a paste.

Take out the pressure cooked pumpkin -red lobhia mix into a kadhai & add this ground paste to it. Mix nicely. Bring this  mix to a boil.Put off gas.

In a non stick pan or another kadhai, heat oil.Add mustard seeds, when they crackle, add the curry leaves & byadgi mirchi pieces.Add the remaining fresh desiccated coconut & roast all ingredients in kadhai till it gets aromatic & slightly browned. Put off gas. Transfer this roasted coconut mix to the kadhai containing the pumpkin red lobhia ground paste mix. Serve this erissery with rice and or rotis.