Ingredients
1/2 cup red lentils (washed)
2 fresh tomatoes chopped
1 green finger chilli, sliced
1 1/2 cups water
Add all together and bring to boil, then simmer until lentils cooked ~ 20 mins.
Then heat 1Tbs oil in saucepan, add dried red chilli (cut in half), 1 minced garlic clove, 1/4 tsp black mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds -cook for few mins until garlic turns golden. Take off heat and add 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1/4 tsp red chilli powder and pinch of hing, garam masala and pinch of ground fenugreek. Salt to taste. Add to lentil mix.
Chana Masala:
1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight in cold water
1 teabag
4 cups water
- drain chickpeas and add everything to pressure cooker and cook for 15 mins at high pressure until chickpea is soft enough to squash between finger. Reserve cooking liquid as will be used to make the gravy later.
Meanwhile, make a powder by dry roasting the following in a small pan then grinding them using mortar/ pestle or coffee grinder : 1inch piece cinnamon stick, 3 black peppercorns, 1 clove, 1/4 tsp carom seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1tsp fennel seeds, 1tsp coriander seeds, 1 dried red chilli, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika.
Then, heat 1.5 Tbs oil in a pan add minced garlic/ ginger ( I used 2 gloves garlic and inch piece of ginger). Cook for few seconds then add one finely chopped onion and cook until onion soft/ translucent. Then add a chopped fresh tomato, stir and cook a few minutes until tomato has completely broken down. Take off heat and add the above spice mix which was freshly made, 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp hot chilli powder (I like it hot but add less if you prefer) and 1/4 tsp Garamond masala. Mix well, add some fresh sliced green chillis, the cooked chickpeas and a couple of cups minimum of the liquid from the cooked chickpeas. Mix and salt to taste. Simmer on low heat for 20 mins, you can mash a little of the mix to make it thicker, or more liquid if too thick. Add 1tsp amchur powder and before serving add squeeze of lemon juice and some fresh chopped coriander.
