Gur Chana, an easy winter snack

One of the best things about winters is, well actually scratch that. Two things good about winters are winter clothes – large, comfy and cozy, and the food that comes with this season. Staying warm requires a highly caloric diet. Granted air conditioning has eased the burden on our bodies. Even so, old habits die hard and seasonal food traditions carry on. I cannot go through winter without its customary bakes, hot chocolate, besan ka sheera, halwas, saag and makki di roti and the easiest of all snacks – Gur Chana. There are articles touting the protein rich nature of a cooked version of this snack. I love it just for what it is – quick, easy, delicious, nutritious and addictive. Really addictive.

Good for horses and humans alike

Besides it being a common snack in Punjabi homes especially those from the countryside, the combination of chickpeas and jaggery is a great way to make friends with your horse. True thing. As middle schoolers my brother and I had the opportunity to learn horseback riding. We lived in the cantonment in Jodhpur and as fauji kids aka army brats we were able to get lessons at the stables of the only cavalry regiment there. Our father is a former cavalier himself. So off we’d trek from our home inside the gated officers’ colony across to the stables every afternoon after school, lunch and some homework. This continued for a season or two. We never achieved enough proficiency to aspire to equestrian success but enough to not be scared of these elegant mammals. Tall and majestic in stature, their artistic features – long, sinuous neck, sharp nose, deep set large eyes – are an allure for artists.

Nuzzle and feed your horse gur chana for a friendly ride

While in Jodhpur we rode horses – cold or warm blooded, I do not know – in another cantonment town, Wellington, Tamil Nadu, a few years prior we rode ponies. We’d be accompanied by a handler who’d keep the pace as we trotted around the rolling hills of our neighborhood. But the Gur-Chana diktat was handed down only in Jodhpur. Our trainers repeatedly reminded us to carry a bag of gur and chana as a reward and thank you at the end of the session. Horses love to nuzzle. We’d take out a handful of the chickpeas and broken pieces of jaggery in the palm of our hand and offer it to our horse. With their nose puffing air and tickling the wrist, they’d quickly lick it all up. It was a funny, warm and ticklish feeling! A great way to bond with the horse.

Ingredients for Gur chana:

• Kaale Chane/Roasted black chickpeas ~ 1 cup (easily available at Indian grocery stores)
• Gur/Jaggery ~ 1/2 cup (block that’s been broken, not powdered jaggery)
• Salt if needed
• Spices, as you desire!

You’ll need a good knife, or a heavy mortar (from a mortar pestle) or rolling pin to break up the jaggery.

Prepare Gur-Chana

1. Take out chana in a large bowl or storage container.
2. Next, break up jaggery/gur into small pieces. If the gur is fresh – as is often the case in winter months in northern India – it will be really pliable and easy to cut. For harder blocks, pierce it with a knife. Do this gently and try to break it open into halves. This is similar to the way hard cheeses are pried open with a sharp knife. Be careful! As kids we were often tasked with breaking Gur by hammering it with a belan/rolling pin. That’s another method, especially if you don’t mind the noise and want to hammer out some frustrations.
3. Then, mix the two and you are done! Store in an airtight container at room temperature in the pantry. Consume within a few weeks, if it even lasts that long.

Add salt and spices to taste

If you want to salt the mix use large flaky salt like sea salt. Fine table salt will settle at the bottom. Add small amounts of chili, amchoor or any other spices you’d like for extra flavor.

I prefer my gur-chana as is. The crunch of Chana complements soft bites of Gur. Each helping of Gur-Chana should have multiple pearls of chickpea with one or two pieces of Gur. Keep the Gur in your mouth, letting it melt slowly as you munch on the chana. It is really addictive!

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