Sookhe Kaale Chane – Black Chickpeas Indian style

There a few things about Indian culture that are irreplaceable. One of them is the tradition of celebrating every relationship that we build and are born into, from birth until death. One such festival was celebrated this week in India and in the expat diaspora. It’s called Raksha Bandhan and more commonly Rakhi. Food, like always plays an important role. Sookhe (dry) Kaale Chane are commonly made during festivals. They are protein packed and delicious!

Celebrating Rakhi with food and love

The meaning of the festival and its symbolism is contained in the name. Raksha in Hindi means protection or the act of protecting and Bandhan stands for relation. So Raksha Bandhan is the bond between a brother and a sister where both pledge their love and devotion to each other and the brother specifically promises to protect his sister. The sister in turn prays for him and bestows him with her love and blessing for a fulfilling and successful life. And as a symbol of their bond, a sister ties a thread, decorated or plain, called Rakhi onto her brother’s right wrist.

This might sound very patriarchal; we are a largely patriarchal society with very few matriarchal or matrilineal groups; it is first and foremost a celebration of a bond only siblings can understand.

So to celebrate this bond in our new homes, faraway from our folks and country, a few friends got together to cook and eat a traditional meal served on this occasion.

Kanya Puja or Kanjak prasad of Kaale Chane, Halwa and Puri!

While rakhi is one kind of celebration, another one where these chane are often made and offered as a prasad is Kanya Pooja, also known as Kanjak. Young, pre-puberty girls are considered the incarnation of the Goddess Durga. Families invite them, wash their feet, give them an offering which often includes some cash and a vegetarian feast of halwa, chane, puri. So for me, kaale chane are a reminder of excitedly running to a neighbor’s home in Jodhpur at the anticipation of food and a cash reward plus other celebrations like Rakhi.

The meal consisted of Chhole (white chickpea curry), Sooji ka halwa (semolina pudding), Sookhe Kaale Chane (black chickpeas), Dahi Bhale (curd with dumplings) and Puri (fried bread).

I contributed the Sookhe Kaale Chane and that is what I am sharing with you today. In the days to come I will share the rest of the menu mentioned above. I was so busy eating that I forgot to take more photographs!

Prep Time for Kaale Chane: 40 minutes to 1 hour.

Active: 30 minutes, Inactive: 10- 15 minutes and overnight soak.
Serves 4-6 persons

Ingredients

• Black Chickpeas 1 1/2 cup, easily available at Indian grocery stores. Wash and soak them overnight or at least for 3 to 4 hours.
• Water
• Turmeric powder 1 tsp
• Salt 1-2 tsp, to taste

For the tempering:

• Vegetable oil/ olive oil 2-3 tbsps
• Coriander seeds 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds 1 tsp
• Green chillies 1 or 2, slit lengthwise
• Red onion 1 large, finely chopped
• Garlic cloves 2-3, finely chopped
• Ginger 1 inch piece, julienned
• Tomato 1 large, diced
• A pinch of red chilli powder
• Garam masala – 1 tsp

To serve:

• Amachoor / dry mango powder – 1-2 tsp
• Juice of one lime
• Chopped fresh coriander (optional)

Process: let’s make sookhe kaale chane

A little planning is needed. Step one is to wash and soak chickpeas in plenty of water.

Steaming in a pressure cooker

After you’ve soaked the chickpeas overnight or for a few hours, empty them along with the water into a pressure cooker. Add enough water to just about cover the chickpeas, since we aren’t making a curry we don’t need more than that. We need to steam them just enough to get them cooked. Add turmeric powder and salt. Close the lid and let it cook on high heat until you get 2 whistles. After this turn the heat to low and let it sit while you prepare ingredients for the tempering.

Make the tadka or tempering

Once you are done chopping the onions, chillies and tomatoes, turn off the heat under the pressure cooker. Take a medium-sized skillet and put it on medium heat. Add oil and let it warm up a little before adding cumin and coriander seeds. Once the seeds are crackling add in the chillies. Gently sauté the chillies. Next, add in the chopped onions and continue to cook them until they start browning. At this point throw in the garlic. I try to add garlic at a point when I am almost done because garlic burns really quickly. Burnt garlic is bitter! Cook the garlic until a golden brown. At this time add all the remaining spices and cook them for a few minutes until they bloom and become fragrant.

Now add in the ginger and cooked chickpeas. This recipe is for dry chickpeas, so if there is any water remaining in the pressure cooker let it slowly simmer with the chickpeas and the tempering. Top the chickpeas with diced tomatoes and cover the skillet, but make sure there is an outlet for the steam and reduce the heat. Let this simmer on low for a few minutes. Check in between to see if the water has completely evaporated. At this point add amachoor and mix it in. Your dish is ready to be served. Sprinkle the juice of one lime before serving. Additionally, garnish with fresh coriander.

Ready to serve!

This is a good source of proteins and the only fat is used to prepare the tempering. If you want to reduce the amount of oil used, cook on slow heat.

Serve Kaale Chane warm with some whole wheat Indian bread, chapatis also called rotis. You can also let it cool down and enjoy it as a snack with some papadum, sliced cucumber or your favourite chips.