Channa Masala

Hi All,

I am back with another recipe - Channa Masala.

It was a long time since I made this. Usually, I make sundal with channa to pack to school for snacks and with whatever remains, I make a kurma. Since it was vacation time, I didn't get a chance to make anything with channa at all. So, decided to make this channa masala.

So, here goes the recipe for Channa Masala. This time I tried it with the ready-made channa masala instead of the different spices I usually add. It gave a slightly sweetish taste to the gravy.

Channa Masala

Ingredients











Channa: 2 cups
Channa masala: 1tbsp
Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds (Jeera): 1tsp
Salt: To taste
Coriander leaves: To garnish
Oil

To grind
Onions: 2
Tomatoes: 2
Green chillies: 2
Ginger Garlic paste: 1tbsp

Preparation

1. Soak 2 cups of channa in water overnight and pressure cook for 3-4 whistles. 

 

I forgot to soak channa overnight. So, I poured boiling water in a hot pack, put the channa in it, and kept it closed for 2 hours. Then, I pressure cooked the channa with salt for 4-5 whistles. 

2. Grind the ingredients under To Grind to a fine paste.
3. Heat oil in a kadai and add cumin seeds and turmeric powder.
4. Add the ground paste and fry till the raw smell goes.
5. Add channa masala and fry for some time.
6. Add the boiled channa to the gravy.

7. Add salt to taste. You can add little water now if the gravy is very thick.
8. Let the gravy come to a boil. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve. 

Channa masala is ready!! Serve with puri, roti, or rice.

Tips:

• Instead of channa masala powder, you can add coriander powder, chilli powder, and garam masala powder.
• If the gravy is very thin, I usually take a handful of the boiled channa and grind it to a paste and add it back to the gravy. This gives the gravy enough volume.
• To make it kurma style, grind coconut, green chilli, and cumin seeds and add to the onion tomato paste.

So, how do you make channa masala? Do you use the readymade masala or put in your own spices?

Cheers!!!

My Birthday Gifts

Hi Everyone!!

I wanted to do this post end of May, but somehow it got pushed to June :)

May was the month of birthdays in our family. My husband, three of my BILs, SIL celebrate their birthdays in May. And, then it is my birthday also in May. So it is a lineup of birthdays. My kids have a gala time wishing their parents, uncles, and aunt on their birthdays :)

I just wanted to share a couple of jewelry sets that I received as gifts on my birthday.

The first one is a jewelry set from the brand Mystic. This was gifted by my close friend. It is a beautiful set with white stones and pearls.

  

The next is a gift from mom and sister. It is a lovely ethnic set. I love the beads that finish off the thread at the back, instead of leaving it bare.

My SIL gifted me these silver (polished with gold) earrings. This will also go well with ethnic outfits. She got this from GRT, T.Nagar.

I got a chance to spend a weekend at mom's place during the kids' summer vacation. So, this is how I whiled away my time - mehandi on my daughter's hands and mine :)

I don't have much creativity when it comes to drawing mehandi designs. So, please don't laugh :)

So, do you have any memorable gifts that you received on any special occasion? Let me know in the comments.

See you soon with another post!

Stay blessed!!!

Soya Fry

Hi Everyone,

This time I am back with a quick and easy evening snack. I was going through the net thinking of what to make for my kids and suddenly chanced upon this soya chunks fry. My kids love soya chunks. I usually make Soya Biryani and they carefully pick out the soya bits to eat. I had a full packet of soya chunks so I thought I would make a snack instead of the usual biryani.

Without further ado, here is the recipe for Soya Fry.

Soya Fry

Ingredients
Soya chunks: 2 cups (Nobody can stop with a few, so make sure you make a large portion) :)
Chicken masala: As required to coat all soya chunks. As an alternate, you can use chilli powder, salt, coriander powder.
Rice flour: 1tbsp

Preparation

1. Boil soya chunks in water for 10 minutes.

2. Drain the water from the soya chunks and run them under cold water. Squeeze out all water from soya.

3. Cut the soya chunks into smaller pieces.
4. Take the soya chunks in a basin and mix sufficient chicken masala to coat all the soya pieces. I used Sakthi Chicken Masala.

5. Let it marinate for 15-20 minutes.
6. If you want crispy soya fry, mix 1tbsp rice flour to the soya chunks. This step is optional.
7. Deep fry in hot oil in batches.

8. When they turn brown and crispy, drain on a tissue paper. Soya fry is ready to serve.

I kept popping soya fry as I was making them. It tastes delicious. So, ensure you make sufficient quantity to fill everyone's tummy :)

Do you have a different recipe for soya fry? Do let me know in the comments.