hara chana, green gram or tender green garbanzo beans | a subzi, a salad and a tea time snack with hara hana

4 ways with green garbanzo beans or hara chana

Harey chane or green garbanzo beans are a seasonal pleasure. Tender kernels of green gram, sweetish in taste and a fresh crunch in the texture. How much I dig for season's fresh produce and this one is really a prized catch whenever we get them fresh.

The tender green legumes are available in the winters, in abundance in rural areas and small towns across India, the legumes mostly still attached to the whole plant. Yes, the whole plant is uprooted and sold in markets for a reason. The chana plant gets almost dry and woody when the beans ripe, the rural folk fire up the whole plants in bundles during winter evenings, sitting in their veranda or in the open. A good campfire that results in fire roasted tender green chana which is shelled out of the charred legumes and had with either jaggery or chilly garlic chutney. I see this as a very clever and practical way to spend evenings outdoors in foggy winters of Hindi heartland with a warm nourishing snack being prepared on the spot. It has been ages we did that, it was an occasional thing that we did as kids. Banaras still gets some hara chana horha as the whole plant with green gram is called.

We get these tender harey chane shelled here in Delhi and I buy a bag of it whenever I spot it. I remember how we used to make harey chane ka nimona, ghugni and even desserts (harey chane ka halwa) with it. We are having our fill of harey chane ki subzi with potatoes for spicy winter meals right now. This subzi is also called as ghugni but harey chane ki ghugni will be more dry if made the traditional way.

We mostly have this subzi or ghugni as it is for breakfast, some crackers are had with it sometimes and Arvind wants a crisp flaky paratha with it sometimes. This is something you can even have with rice for a lunch or dinner. Truly versatile as my grandmother used to say..chane ke kayee khaney (many foods with gram), green gram of hara chana is something you wait for the whole year. Small little things to make you happy.

This subzi is more like a quick ghugni that is made with minimal oil and powdered spices. Winter morning are so hassled we want quick and tasty food, something that cooks in a pressure cooker with minimal seasoning and powdered spices from masale ka dabba. Yes, I am reminded of the masala dabba in my mom's kitchen, I don't use any masala dabba now as there just too many spices and powders to keep.

ingredients

hara chana 250 gm

one large potato scrubbed and cubed

everyday curry powder 2 tsp

turmeric powder 1 tsp

chopped coriander greens and stems 2-3 tbsp each

red chilly powder or chopped green chillies to taste

salt to taste

mustard oil 1 tsp or a bit more

sometimes I chuck in a few roughly chopped garlic too

amchoor 1 tsp

procedure

Heat mustard oil in pressure cooker pan and make a paste of all the powdered spices with 2 tbsp water. Tip in the spice paste into the hot oil and stir for a few seconds till the spices get aromatic. 

Add the potato cubes and toss well to coat. Add salt and chopped garlic if using. Add the chopped coriander stems as well, sometimes I add 2-3 tbsp of green chutney to this subzi and get a nice tangy green hued subzi. Add that if you have some chutney in the fridge.

Now add the hara chana, toss to coat well. Add a cup of water and pressure cook till the first whistle blows. Take off the flame, let the pressure get normal, open the lid and add the amchoor powder. 

Mix the subzi well so some of the potatoes get mushed up and make the subzi a mish mash or potatoes and harey chane. Serve hot or at room temperature. This subzi is meant for a rustic meal, a favourite with kachori and poori lovers but we rarely had this with pooris.

Since the subzi tastes so good even at room temperature, Arvind loves it in his lunch box as well. The spicing can be adjusted if you like some aromatic garam masala but we never made this curry with any garam maslaa added. The everyday curry powder works really good for it.

We like a simple salad with harey chane too. A tomato salsa is mixed with rinsed green garbanzo beans and had like a salad or as a tea time snack with added puffed rice to it.

To make the tomato salsa, just chop 2 large tomatoes, microwave them for a minute and mash them with the back of a fork. Add chopped garlic, chopped green chillies to taste, salt and a little mustard oil and mix well. Add a little vinegar if you want to keep the salsa for a day or two in the fridge. Add chopped onions or spring onions and mix with the harey chane or use otherwise. Ass much hara chana for as much tomato salsa you want. Make it to your taste and enjoy.

Another harey chane snack is a quick stir fry in mustard oil and cumin seasoning for us. 

This one is a really nice namkeen type snack with our evening tea. Just heat 1 tsp of mustard oil, chuck in a tsp of whole cumin seeds and may be one broken dry red chilly. Add about 200 gm hara chana and salt to taste, mix well to coat and cover the pan and let it cook for 3-5 minutes on low flame. I do it till the milky ginger tea boils on the other side of the stove. You might need to stir it once or twice in between. Squeeze lime or sprinkle amchoor powder if you wish and have warm with tea.

I know you make some equally yummy snacks with harey chane as well. Share them with me and other readers here. Sharing is a great way to learn more.

I am dreaming of the harey chane ka horha with some hot lasun mirch ki chutney till then. May be I get a chance to taste that smoky goodness this season.

Lasun mirch wala keema | a mutton mince curry with chilly and garlic

Lasun mirch wala keema is not as intensely garlicky or intensely hot as the name suggests. So relax. This a creamy curry with pleasant notes of garlic and green chilly peppers where you get sweeter taste of chillies more than the heat. This mutton mince curry with loads of garlic and green chillies is soul satisfying type of food if you believe me. It replaces our soup dinners in winters many times and we fall for kadak mixed grains roti with it, although we eat more of the curry and less roti, the curry is so addictive good.

Green chillies come in all shapes and sizes, with different heat levels and we use them for differently in our food. We are spoiled for the chilly peppers varieties now a days, Jalapenos, Anaheim, Serrano, Poblanos and Cayenne are some of the varieties visible in the markets. I usually get a small bag of all of them and keep using them to make pickles, stuffed chillies etc. But I mostly like them to be used in my soups or stir fries depending on how hot they are and how much flavour they pack for the recipe. So when I need the rich chilly flavours and lesser heat I use the Anahiem or Jalapenos or a mix of these two.

Go for the larger and wider chillies if you want the sweet flavours of chillies in your recipes, especially if you live in India and the chillies are not labeled by their names in the local markets.

This lasun mirch wala keema recipe I was planning to cook this winter and yet something or the other kept distracting me from this keema recipe. I make a nice mirchi gosht too but this lasun mirch wala keema is a totally different bouquet of flavours. Just a few spices are used and a nut paste makes this dish a rich meal without many side dishes. You wont need much when this lasum mirch wala keema is in the menu.

ingredients
(2-4 servings depending on side dishes)

keema (mutton mince) 300 gm
garlic cloves 50 gm
mild variety of green chillies 80-100 gm
melon seeds 50 gm
cashew nuts 20 gm
whole coriander seeds 1 tsp
cinnamon stick 1 inch piece
green cardamoms 2
chopped coriander greens and stems 100 gm
ghee 1 tbsp or 15 gm
salt to taste ; 1 tsp will be good enough

procedure

Soak the melon seeds and cashews in hot water for 10 minutes and make a fine paste. Keep aside.

Mince the garlic and slice the green chillies. Keep aside.

Heat ghee in a thick base pan, preferably a handi and tip in the whole spices in it. Wait till the spices get lightly aromatic, taking care not to brown them. Add the minced garlic and sliced chillies at once and keep stirring till it all looks translucent. Do not brown the garlic or chillies, we want them to be just a bit translucent.

Add the keema and the chopped stems of coriander greens. Save the chopped coriander leaves to be added in the last phase of finishing the dish. Stir fry for a minute and add 2 cups of water, bring to a soft boil and then simmer for about half an hour, preferably covered but take care not to let it spill.

Add the nut paste and coriander leaves. Adjust the gravy consistency by adding some water if required, or simmer without the lid to reduce if you feel like.

Simmer again after adding the nut paste till the fats float on the surface. This is the time the dish is ready. Serve hot with any Indian style bread, roti or naan.

We generally don't need any accompaniments with this lasun mirch wala keema. It is an indulgence to be enjoyed in singularity.