chana masala UP wala : chane ki ghugni UP style ...

Chana masala generates instant interest for the both of us. And we don't like any tempering with the original recipe of this kale chane ki ghughni.

Original recipe here means the recipe which has been a family favorite for years and has traveled down generations to reach us. The sookha chana masala or sookhi ghugni made on the 8th day of navaratri is the more common in my kitchen when in a hurry. This one is called lipte masale ki ghugni, the spicy gravy almost enveloping each of the chickpea in there.

This is an eastern UP recipe as I have seen it being made almost the same way in many families belonging to that part of the country, minor variations being in the thickness of the gravy or hotness of the spice blend.

Both the chana ghugnis are very different in taste and you can feel the difference as soon as you open the lid of the pressure cooker and the aroma hits you. The presence of onion and garlic and the ginger julienne takes this recipe to another level. I like both the recipes and it actually depends on what I am serving it with when i decide which one to cook. Sookhi ghugni goes well with pooris while this one can accommodate chapatis, parathas or plain boiled rice.

This recipe takes a bit more time as peeling and chopping onion, garlic and ginger takes some 8-10 minutes more than the no chopping, 15 minutes cooking time recipe of the sookhi ghugni. The extra time and work is well worth if you are feeling like a spicy chana masala with paratha, chapati or even with plain boiled rice. A cooling bowl of raita may make you feel royal at such times ...

Make this lipte masale ki ghugni if you have 10 minutes for hand processing and about 15-20 minutes of cooking time.

ingredients....
black chickpeas soaked overnight 3 cups (soaked volume)
dry red chillies 2 nos.
one green chilly slit lengthwise (or more if you like it hot)
sliced onions 1.5 cups
garlic cloves sliced lengthwise 3-4 (small Indian variety, we prefer adding the whole bulb of garlic sometimes)) 
fresh ginger root chopped in fine julienne 1+1 tbsp
every day curry masala 1 tbsp
(a powder made with coriander,cumin,black pepper and bay leaves) 
turmeric powder 2 tsp
mustard oil 1 tbsp
whole cumin seeds 1 tsp
amchoor powder 1-2 tsp*

procedure...

This is cooked in pressure cooker for convenience and time saving. Pan cooking takes long time and only thick base round bottom pans with tight lid are suitable for this kind of recipes. Add about 3 times water than the chickpeas if cooking in a pan and cook covered for about an hour after the initial stir frying.

Heat the oil in a pressure cooker pan and throw in the cumin seeds and whole dry red chillies. Wait till they crackle and add in the garlic, 1 tbsp of ginger julienne and onions in that order .

Toss the pan a few times to coat the onions and let them get pink on margins. No browning is required as the onions are meant to get mushy slushy and coat the chickpeas when cooked. Add salt to the cooking onions to quicken the process.

Add the powdered spices and toss a few times  till the roasted aroma of the powdered spices hits your nostrils. Add the slit green chilly.

Add the soaked and drained chickpeas, pour a cup of water, cover the lid and cook over high heat till the whistle blows. Lower the heat and cook for 12-15 minutes more.

Let the pressure release while the cooker cools down. Add amchoor powder and mix well. The amount of amchoor powder will depend upon how much chilies you are using. I used my homemade amchoor powder, you may need some more or less if using the store bought ones.The sourness balance the heat of the red and green chilies being used.

Add the remaining ginger julienne in the last. This is the way I like it. The taste of some of the ginger slivers is so good in the spicy slush which coats the chana. You might like to add some more of ginger in winter months as it feels almost warming in those days.

The whole red chilies should be discarded before serving. Some people even like those red chilies wrapped into a large piece of paratha. Do not worry about the heat hitting your tongue if you try this as most of the heat of these chilies has gone to the chana masala .... It is definitely a hot dish .

Ideal for a weekend brunch, served with plain whole wheat paratha or rice ans some salad on the side. This is a respite from the usual light meals we have during most of the summer days. The much needed shock for the palate during the days of sherbets, thandais and mangoes....

Did I tell you that I don't need any paratha to enjoy this ghugni and that I can have it any time of the day? It is a meal in itself...

mung ke cheeley or mung ka cheela | UP wala paneer stuffed mung ka cheela

Food can be nostalgia inducing. Very much so. Sometimes people stop eating their favorite foods when an unpleasant experience gets attached with it. Even when the most pleasant memories are attached with a particular food you can feel like not having it again as the memories it brings can be pain inducing. This mung ka cheela has been one such recipe. 

A cheela is a savory crepe to make you acquainted with this term.

A couple of weeks back I was at a wedding party (In Lucknow) and mung ka cheela was being served as a part of a huge range of appetizers. I told an Oriya friend of mine to take her kids to that counter as kids like it very much. They were tasting mung ka cheela for the first time and this friend was intrigued enough to ask me how did I know that her kids would love it more than the other fancier and exotic looking things around. I chuckled in my mind.

The reason why I knew it was, Mithi loved it too. I remembered the time when other kids used to play with Mithi and this mung ka cheela used to be a hot favorite with all of them whenever they were together in my home. Probably it is the mildly favored slightly chewy nature of this cheela that kids find great to munch on, not that we adults find it like baby food.

It is a great breakfast dish but more popular as an appetizer in wedding parties I guess. The rolled up cheela sliced in 2 - 3 small portions seems to be very popular as I have witnessed. I am talking about the wedding parties in UP .

So I didn't make this particular cheela for a long time. Some 8 years to be precise, the time since Mithi stopped taking solid food. And I never felt like cooking her favorite foods ever again.

When I saw these small kids enjoying this cheela I realy felt good and when we came back home I soaked mung daal and made cheelas with freshly made paneer. Nostalgic I was but in a good way.  Now that her proud momma has learned to remember her good healthy days with a smile the nostalgia is good.

The cheela feels complex by it's looks but actually gets ready within 30 minutes at leisurely pace...when you start from soaked mung daal and cold skimmed milk from the fridge ...enjoying the process while making it.

ingredients...

skimmed milk 500 ml
2-3 tsp of white synthetic vinegar or lemon juice to curdle the milk
soaked mung daal withou skin 2 cups
turmeric powder (optional) 1 tsp
chopped onions 3/4 cup
chopped green chillies as per taste
salt to taste
black pepper powder 1 tsp for the stuffing
ghee to make the cheelas 1 tsp per cheela

preparation....

Heat the milk in a saucepan and grind the soaked mung daal while the milk comes to boiling temperature.

Mung daal paste is quick to make as the daal is quite soft. Add salt to taste and turmeric if using, adjust consistency to make thin pancakes or crepes.

Add the vinegar or lemon juice as soon as the milk reaches boiling temperature. Slowly adding the curdling agent helps in getting softer paneer or chhenna as it is called in some parts of UP. Strain the curdled milk as soon as you see the clear whey separating from the curdled milk.The solid part is panner also called cottage cheese. The whey can be used to knead chapati dough .

Add chopped onions, green chillies, salt and pepper to the paneer and mash to make a soft crumbly mixture .
Make thin crepes on hot griddle using very little ghee, it is usually cooked on one side as mung daal cooks quickly. Other side can be cooked if you feel like.

Spread the mixture over the crepe then fold the sides overlapping each other, pressing to flatten the rolled up cheela so the paneer stuffing sticks well to the moist inner layer of cheela.

Serve hot with any chutney of your choice, it can be served with a raita of your choice if you are having it for a meal.

A green coriander chutney goes well with it when it is served as a snack. The cheela can be roasted deep brown or light brown.

The browning has little difference on the final taste, browned ones are crispier though. But both get soft when cool and taste equally good at room temperature too and that makes it a good tiffin box option too. Those who are avoiding or minimizing carbohydrates in their diet  will find this recipe great.

 Mithi used to like this cheela any time of the day and it was a great distraction for her too. I could keep her occupied by giving her this cheela broken into small bits ( sometimes little paneer with just salt as a stuffing and sometimes plain cheela) as she used to pick up every bit with care using her thumb and index finger, popping the bits in her mouth immaculately, neatly. Those are happy memories ...

Make this cheela if you haven't had it already and let me know if it becomes your favorite....I made another version with tofu and i am sure you would like that too...

Note : some readers have indicated that this mung ka cheela could be similar to Andhra pesarettu. I have posted pesarttu earlier. The only similarity between this cheela (crepe) and pesarettu is the ingredient mung daal but the similarity ends there. This is an interesting example of how an ingredient behaves differently in it's different forms. In pesarettu the mung daal used is with skin and the texture and taste of the dosa is very different. Here the husked mung results into a mild flavor and an almost glutinous texture. I have indicated that the roll sticks by itself and stays in shape, that is because if the slightly sticky nature of the mung crepe here. The flavor of the yellow mung is so delicate that another version of mung ka cheela , which includes some seasoning in the batter, tastes very different from this one.