Chickpeas, aka garbanzo beans, aka chana aka kondakadalai, aka known as Egyptian pea, is one of the favorite legumes used in nearly all the world cuisines. It’s a versatile legume, and it can be added to any stew or curry or salad or spread/hummus. Today I will break the vegan rule and share a yummy and creamy yogurt-based recipe with chickpeas. It is the Channa Madra – A Himachali / Pahari Cuisine special – a no onion no garlic recipe prepared with Chickpeas simmered in creamy & thick yogurt gravy. Check out the detailed recipe and a short video recipe of the same.
The Origins
I have mentioned about the tele series “Raja Rasoi Aur Anya Kahaniyaan” on the blog before. It is my favorite show, and I have watched season 1 multiple times. I got to know about this channa madra and the Pahari cuisine only through that show. I wrote down quite a few recipes to try from that show, and one among them is the channa madra. When I searched for the recipe, I landed upon this blog and tried it right away with my variations. We loved it a lot, surprisingly with rice instead of roti. Vaandu loves roti with chole and this channa madra with rice. :-) All this happened in March, and from then on, I have tried it multiple times. But like olan, I kept this recipe for this month.
Channa Madra
The original recipe calls for soaking the rice and grinding the same for thickening the gravy, but I went with rice flour. We usually thicken our sambar/Kuzhambu with rice flour water mix, and I followed the same procedure. The dish is very mild, and with cardamom and raisins, it has that tinge of sweetness. And oh yeah, yogurt adds that creamy richness. I want to insist on constant stirring after adding yogurt, which is mainly done to prevent the yogurt from curdling. I kept me IP in the “Keep warm” mode while adding the yogurt. Please refer to my notes section for both the stovetop and Instant Pot methods. If you are looking for vegan substitutes, I would recommend dairy-free soy yogurt or even silken tofu puree. Chickpeas Cooking Time – Every single bag of beans is different. Some are tender, and some are hard. I soaked it for 6 hours with 5 minutes of cooking; I got soft and tender beans. The time might vary depending upon the quality and variety. I made a short video recipe for this Channa Madra. Check it out below and please subscribe to my YouTube channel and stay tuned for new recipes.
Recap:
2015 | Day 10 – Jhalmuri 2016 | Day 10 – Dhokla
Instant Pot Chana Madra | Pahari Cuisine Special Channa Madra
A Himachali / Pahari Cuisine special – Channa Madra, a no onion no garlic recipe prepared with Chickpeas simmered in creamy & thick yogurt gravy.
Ingredients:
Oil – 2 tsps Bay leaf – 1 Cinnamon – 1-inch piece Cloves – 4 Green Cardamom – 2 Black Cardamom – 1 Cumin Seeds – 1 tsp Hing – ½ tsp Coriander Powder – 1 tsp Red Chili Powder – ½ tsp Turmeric Powder – ½ tsp Salt – 1 tsp Yogurt – ½ cup Chick Peas – ½ cup Rice Flour – 1 tsp Raisins – 2 tsps Water – 1.5 cup + ¼ cup
Prep – Work:
Wash and soak the chickpeas for at least 6 hours.
Steps:
Instant Pot Method:
Set the IP in saute mode and add two tsps of oil. Once the oil is hot, add cumin seeds, hing, green and black cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, and bay leaf. Saute for a minute, and then add the soaked chickpeas. Add the dry masalas, turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chili powder, and salt. Combine them all. Now add 1.5 cups of water and mix again. Set the IP in manual mode and cook for 5 minutes and let the pressure release naturally. Then carefully open the lid and mix it all once. Mix one tsp of rice flour in ¼ cup of water and add this to the chickpeas gravy. This rice flour mix thickens the sauce. Add two tsps of raisins at this time and mix all the ingredients. Set the IP to “keep warm” mode and add ½ cup of yogurt and keep stirring. Make sure you keep stirring, and this prevents the yogurt from curdling. Once the yogurt is completely blended, set the IP in saute mode and simmer the gravy for 2 minutes. That’s it. Channa Madra is ready.
Serve hot with rice or roti.
Also…
Pressure Cooker Method:
Pressure cook the chickpeas with 1.5 cups of water for up to 3 whistles. Do not drain the water. Heat a kadai or pan and add oil. Once the oil is hot, add cumin seeds, hing, green and black cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, and bay leaf. Saute for a minute, and then add the cooked chickpeas. Add the dry masalas, turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chili powder, and salt. Combine them all. Let this simmer for 5 minutes. Mix one tsp of rice flour in ¼ cup of water and add this to the chickpeas gravy. This thickens the sauce. Add two tsps of raisins at this time and mix all the ingredients. Reduce the heat and Add ½ cup of yogurt and keep stirring. Make sure you keep stirring, and this prevents the yogurt from curdling. Once the yogurt is completely blended, simmer the gravy over low flame for 2 minutes. That’s it. Channa Madra is ready. Serve hot with rice or roti.
Notes:
This channa madra is a very mild gravy, so the spice amount is comparatively less. Instead of red chili powder, you can either add green chili or red chili. You can use golden raisins instead of black ones. Rice flour mix helps to thicken the gravy. If you prefer thin consistency, skip this step. When you add yogurt if using IP, make sure it is “Keep warm” mode and if using the stovetop method, make sure the heat is lowered. Keep stirring the yogurt so that it doesn’t curdle. Adjust the salt and spice as per your preference.
📖 Recipe
