Skip to main content

Hara Chana (Green Chickpeas) Masala

Hara Chana Masala
Fresh green chickpeas, called as Hara Chana are tender, juicy and a great snack to nibble. Back in Mumbai, these are known as Harbara. Eat them raw or steam them with kala namak (Indian rock salt). 
Here in US, the only option to get these is the frozen vegetables aisle of an Indian store. If not fresh, we relish these frozen green garbanzo beans as a simple curry with a mild coconut flavor.

Ingredients:
Hara Chana/Green Chickpeas (fresh or frozen) - 2 cups
Onion - 1 big
Tomatoes - 2 medium
Shredded Coconut (fresh or frozen) - 1/4 cup
Coriander/Cilantro/Dhaniya Leaves - few sprigs
Garlic - 2 big cloves
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Cumin/Jeera Seeds - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt

How to cook Hara Chana Masala:
  • In a big pot, add about 2 cups water and green chickpeas. Cook it covered until chickpeas turn soft. Alternately, you can steam the chickpeas in a pressure cooker as well.
  • Finely chop onions.
  • Blend roughly chopped tomatoes, coconut, cilantro, chilli powder and garlic to a smooth paste. Add little water if required.
  • Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. After few seconds, add onions.  Saute until onions turn soft. Now add the tomato coconut paste and bring it to a boil. Cook it covered for about a minute.
  • Lastly, add cooked chickpeas, garam masala and salt. You can add the water used for cooking chickpeas as well. Cook it covered at low heat for about 5 minutes or until you get the desired consistency.
Garnish with cilantro and/or onions and serve Channa Masala with roti or rice.  Sprinkle some lemon juice if you like.
Labels:

Comments

  1. Ms.ChitchatFebruary 25, 2013 at 10:58 AM

    Lovely recipe. I used to dry roast in a kadai with the peel and once they are cooked, a true delicacy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hamaree RasoiFebruary 25, 2013 at 12:13 PM

    Healthy and tasty green chana. Thanks a lot for posting this recipe.
    Deepa

    ReplyDelete
  3. chef and her kitchenFebruary 26, 2013 at 1:02 AM

    I have been using the fresh chickpeas in many recipes...looks nice..

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Comments, Suggestions and Feedback are welcome.
Any comment with a Link/URL or any kind of promotion will not be published.

Popular posts from this blog

Indian Dal / Lentils

Lentils, known as Dal are a staple in an Indian diet, especially vegetarian. For me, dal is comfort food. 5 different dal varieties - Toor, Moong, Chana, Masoor and Urad are commonly used in Indian sweet and savory delicacies. You can cook dal with just one kind or a mix of two or more. I generally cook dal with 1:1 Toor and Moong dals. But then, we like Panchmel or Panchratna Dal too, which is made of all five. Most dal recipes have Toor dal as the primary ingredient. It is also known as Toovar or Arhar dal or Split Pigeon Peas . Some of our family favorite dal recipes are Dalitoy (Konkani Dal)  Tadka Dal Among all lentils, moong dal and masoor dal take lesser time to cook. Moong dal is also known as Split Green Gram or Split Mung Bean . Moong dal is also used in making sweet dishes like Mung Dal Kheer  Mung Dal Puranpoli Chana dal is also known as Split Bengal Gram or Split Chickpeas . Chana Dal takes a little more time to cook as compared to toor dal....
Post a Comment
Read more

Naval Kol Bhaji / Kohlrabi Stir-fry

Green Kohlrabi called as Navalkol in Marathi and Navilkosu in Kannada, belongs to the cabbage family.  My Mom used to make this stir fry very often.  Just like cabbage, this vegetable in available in two colors - green and purple.  I was quite hesitant about the purple one, as I haven't seen that back in India.  Anyway, I picked the green bulbs and Navalkohl Bhaji with Chana Dal was part of our healthy vegetarian meal today.
14 comments
Read more

Ricotta Cheese Pedha / Peda

Once or twice every week, my Dad used to get some treats on his way back home. Somedays it used to Kandi Pedha or Kesar Pedha. This is my attempt of making Indian Mithai at home. I might dare say, I was pretty successful. Touch Wood! Tasted and looked great! If you are a fan of milk sweets, do try this easy home made Kesar Pedha recipe made of Ricotta Cheese and milk powder. Ingredients: Ricotta Cheese (full fat) - 15 oz (about 400 gm) Milk Powder - 3/4 cup Whole Milk - 1/2 cup Sugar - 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp Ghee/Clarified Butter - 1 tbsp Green Cardamom/Elaichi - 2 pods Saffron/Kesar - few strands Pistachios/Pista - 3 How to make Pedha using Ricotta Cheese: Crush cardamom seeds and saffron in a mortar pestle to a fine powder. Finely chop or slice the pistachios or any other nuts of your choice. Heat ghee in a heavy bottom kadhai or pan. Add ricotta cheese and stir continuously. Stir until water from the cheese is evaporated and starts forming a lump. It will take about 15 - ...
10 comments
Read more