Gobi channa masala

Gobi is the Hindi word for cauliflower and channa stands for chick peas.

Its my habit to include some protein in all the meals. So while making a simple cauliflower kuruma, I added the kondai kadalai (chick peas) and it turned out awesome.

Here goes a healthy side dish for chapathi.



Ingredients:
Chick peas / white channa - 1 cup
cauliflower (chopped) - 1 cup/200 gm
tomato - 2
Red onion - 1 (medium size)
green chillies - 4
coriander leaves - a handful.
mint leaves - few
curd - 1/2 cup
red chilli powder - 1 tbsp
turmeric powder - a pich
MTR channa masala powder - 1 tsp (optional)
(We can use any garam masala too)
salt - to taste
olive oil - 1 tbsp
bay leaf - 1
cinnamon - 1 inch

Method:
Soak channa dal overnight and cook it to tender in a pressure cooker for 5 whistles.
After getting the first whistle ,I reduce the flame to the minimum and heat the cooker for another 10 minutes to cook this dal.

(But in this curry I used 1 cup cooked channa from can).

Grind ginger and garlic together.

Chop and cook the tomatoes. saute the onion in 1 tsp oil and let them cool.
Grind cooked tomato, curd and onion together. keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan. Fry some cinnamon and bay leaf.

Add the green chillies, cilantro and mint leaves. Then put the ginger garlic paste and saute till raw smell goes. Then add all the powders mentioned above along with the ground masala and cook till oil starts showing up.

Next add the chopped cauliflower , salt and cook covered.

After the cauliflower gets cooked put the cooked channa and stir well.

Gobi channa is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Garnish with minced cilantro, freshly chopped onion and a few drops of lemon juice on top.
Goes well with parathas ,poori , roti and naan .
Makes 3-4 cups of gravy.