Tag: breakfast

Simple Chana (chickpeas) Masala

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Chickpeas are a delicious and nutritious protein to add to your meals.

You can use dried chickpeas which I do often, or use the ones from a can – either is fine really as long as you cook with them.

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Last weekend I had the yen for a traditional Indian breakfast which included these chickpeas, potato curry indianculinarycenternyc.wordpress.com/2017/01/18/quick-spicy-potato-curry/ and Kulchas (a bread which I will post the recipe for another time).

For the chickpeas:

2 cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 Tbs. vegetable oil

1/8 tsp. ajwain**seeds (optional)

1/4 tsp. Nigella seeds

2 Tbs. Tamarind Paste or the Juice of 2 lemons/limes

2 green chilies, sliced (or 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper)

Salt to taste

2Tbs. ground coriander powder

1Tbs. cumin powder

Thinly sliced ginger and scallions for garnish

Heat the oil in a pan and add the nigella and ajwain seeds. Cook for about 20 seconds or until you smell their aroma and then add the washed and drained chickpeas. Add salt, cayenne or green chilies, cumin and coriander powder. Stir on high heat.  Add the tamarind paste and a splash of water if the chickpeas are sticking.

Stir well and taste for seasoning. Add the lemon/lime juice in the end if not using the tamarind paste.

Garnish with sliced ginger and scallions.

Serve hot.

 

(Ajwain, ajowan (/ˈædʒəwɒn/) Trachyspermum ammi, also known as Ajwain caraway, bishop’s weed or carom, is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae. It originated in India.

Until I cook again!

 

 

Chickpea Pancakes

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I love chickpea flour – it is so flavorful and versatile as I will show you in this post.

For the pancakes:

2 cups chickpea flour (found in Indian stores called Besan)

3/4 cup water or as needed to get a consistency of batter.

salt to taste

1/4 tsp. cayenne or to taste

1/2 tsp. baking pwd.

chopped herbs (anything like cilantro, parsley, chives or a tiny bit of thyme or rosemary)

1/2 cup of freshly grated parmesan

Nonstick pan and oil to coat it

Make the batter with the flour and water and get it to the consistency of pancake batter you may make for breakfast.

Add the rest of the ingredients except the cheese and let rest for 20 minutes.

This is what the batter should look like – I know it is not the best picture but I hope that you get the idea.

Heat a nonstick pan, add a tiny bit of oil to coat the bottom and pour a ladle full of the batter and cook on medium high heat for 2-3 minutes or until lightly golden.  Flip and add the cheese.on the cooked side.  I like to do this because when I flip it again, the cheese browns – a flavor I love.

Flip the pancake again after a couple of minutes and continue till all the batter has been used.

This past weekend I served the pancakes with a simple arugula salad that I dressed simply with balsamic vinegar – no oil needed.

IMG_1991At other times. I have added leftovers to these pancakes – in this case leftover shredded chicken, chopped tomatoes, scallions and parsley.

The toppings are really limitless.

I hope that you try to find this flour and experiment with different flavors.

Just think of it like topping a pizza.

I promise you will love it.IMG_5771

Until I cook again!