“Kabuli Chana- Kooka- Ambade Gashi (Chick Peas-Chinese Potato- Hoplum Curry)” … Traditional dishes are nto only heart warming to relish but also a pleasure to share and gashi is one of them ... chane gashi is a common dish from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine prepared almost in every home to be served during meals … usually Kala Chana/ Whole Bengal Gram is used in preparation of this curry, however I have often replaced it with white chana/ kabuli chana as not only are they easy to cook, but they do turn soft unlike the kala chana and is tasty too and in my home we prefer these … prepared gashi with addition of kooka which is in season now and ambado which again I could still manage to get and it turned out delicious … do try it, it tastes scrumptious served with ukde sheetHa (kerala matta rice/ red boiled rice) or plain steamed rice too ... Yummilicious ….
** Chane Gashi ie Whole Bengal Gram Curry is one of the most common, famous and loved curry from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine, it is prepared not only in every home but also a common sight during meals at festivals/ celebrations. While most of the time it is usually prepared with black Bengal gram in my home we prefer to have the same with white whole Bengal gram also known as kabuli chana. This curry is prepared with addition of any one of the seasonal veggie available like potato, yam, raw jackfruit, Chinese potato, bamboo shoots etc. Here I have used Chinese Potato with Hogplums.
** Again, addition of any tart fruit is a matter of choice whenever available as per the season. Some of them are hogplum, sorrel tree fruit, star fruit etc. and when none of these are available especially in cities then tamarind is added on while grinding the masala to bring in the tart flavor to the curry. The recipe of this gashi/ curry remains the same except sometimes with addition of jeera or methi to the ground masala for the flavor desired by the family and this time I have included only jeera while I do include methi at times. In all either way you prepare gashi, it tastes wonderful.
** Coming to the curry Gashi, it is prepared both in Veg and Non-Veg ingredients which I have posted many times with different combinations here, so without running into more details I am sharing a common link to all gashi items at the bottom of this recipe. Just browse through them to get a fair idea about mix and matches and try them out in leisure. At times, we write recipes depending upon what is available to us forgetting that the same may not be available elsewhere, but that should not deter you from preparing and enjoying them, just replace them using your own choices and try them out.
** Here is my recipe for “Kabuli Chana- Kooka- Ambade Gashi (Chick Peas-Chinese Potato- Hoplum Curry)” … my style, do try it out …
** Ingredients :
Kabuli Chana/ Whole White Bengal Gram/ Chick Peas : 1 cup
Kooka/ Chinese Potato : 10-12 medium sized
Ambado/ Hogplum : 2-3
Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste.
** For Masala to be Ground :
Coconut/ Soyi/ Nariyal : one cup heaped freshly grated.
Kashmiri Red Chilly/ Kumte Mirsanga/ Byadgi Mirchi : 5-6
Cumin Seeds/ Jeera : 1 tsp
** For Tempering/ Seasoning/ Tadka/ Pannaka :
Mustard Seeds/ Sasam/ Rai : ½ to 1 tsp
Curry Leaves/ Kadipatta/ Karbevu : 10-12 fresh ones.
Coconut Oil/ Nariyal Tel/ Narlel Tela : 1-2 tblsp
** Wash and soak Kabuli Chana overnight or for 8-10 hours. Drain off soaked water, wash well and then add it into pressure cooker pan with water say an inch above the level of the chana and cook on medium heat to 1 whistle. Remove and keep it aside and allow to rest for 5 minutes, then with the help of tongs gently release the pressure by lifting the weight of the pressure cooker, this avoids the chana being over cooked. When able to open the lid, do so carefully and keep it aside ready.
** Note : The pressure cooking time actually depends upon the kabuli chana available in your place, some do take more time, so be careful and avoid overcooking. The one’s I buy usually cook fast, so I follow the above mentioned method of releasing the excess steam to avoid overcooking, you may chose to follow any.
** Wash, wipe dry and then slice off edge stem portion of the ambado/ hogplums. Now cut them lengthwise into four pieces if tender or crush them with a stone or weight if you want to retain whole and keep them aside. You can also slice off the sides of the hogplum and retain them altogether. Follow any step you desire.
* Note : The number addition of Ambado/ Hogplum depends on its sourness, so do check and add accordingly as they differ in taste as per region. I have added ambado/ hogplum to bring tartness as in my home we love the flavor it imparts to curry dishes. However, these are available only during monsoon or if brined, but surprisingly this year I am still finding them in market despite winter season setting in. If not available or you do not want to add the same for any given reason you can add in bimbul, karmbal or raw mangoes as is available too or else you can just skip them all and add a small marble sized ball of tamarind (chinchama/ imly) while grinding the masala.
** For Masala to be Ground : Add the freshly grated coconut along with red chilly and cumin seeds into a mixer grinder and grind to a very fine paste adding only that much water necessary for grinding. You can use the pressure cooked chana water for grinding of the masala which is what I do. A little bit of hot water always grinds the masala to a smooth texture, prepare and keep this ready aside.
** Note : If not adding tart veggie like ambado/ hoplum, bimbul/ tree sorrel fruit, karmbala/ star fruit etc. then remember to add a small marble sized piece of chinchama/ imly/ tamarind to the masala while grinding to bring in the tart taste to curry.
** About preparing Kooka/ Chinese Potato : Cleaning kooka/ chinese potato is the biggest task. I have changed my method of cleaning, but you can prepare it anyway that is suitable to you. Having said this, cleaning also depends upon the quality of the kooka available to you. In Mumbai, sometimes we get really good ones, that peel off easily while sometimes we do not. So I will add in a few methods of peeling of the skin and you may follow as per the variety you get using trial and error method.
** Method 1 : One way of peeling the outer skin is, You can either just use the potato peeler and peel the kookas using it.
** The Traditional Method : The other traditional way is to put kooka in a gunny bag (Ghoni) and tightly packing it and then banging/ hitting it on to a stone firmly while rotating the bag all round as you go through the method. This loosen the skin and most of it comes off. Just scrub it with both hands retaining it within the gunny bag to loosen it more. This method is not used much now as it is difficult to access gunny bag. Even rice have been started to come in plastic type bags. If you have one, you can sure try this out. My mother used to make it this way and during childhood we used to loved doing it for her. We really did enjoying banging around the gunny bag to loosen the outer skin of kooka.
** My Method : I soak the required amount of kooka in plenty of water for about 5-10 mins, changing them a few times if they are too muddy. This loosens the dry mud that is sticking to the kooka. Then I try loosening the mud right there in the water by rubbing them between finger. Some kooka are well behaved and peel off easily, while some are stubborn and just don't listen making it difficult. So use the potato peeler and zap it comes out faster than when you run it on the drier one mentioned first.
** Important step of soaking in water once its peeled : It is very important to drop the skin peeled kooka/ chinese potato into water to prevent it getting discolored. So keep a bowl with plenty of water ready and drop the peeled kookas immediately into them. Once done, wash them in plenty of water, rinsing many times in fresh water and remember to keep it soaked in water till the preparation/ cooking time.
** Addition of Kooka/ Chinese Potato to this curry : After peeling the skin in any of the above mentioned method, wash it well in plenty of water and then cut it into 1 inch sized pieces depending upon the size of the kooka as they come in small and medium sizes. If large cut them into 2-3 pieces and if small you can retain them whole as it is. Just follow your judgment and keep the cut pieces even sized.
** In a thick bottomed vessel add in the cut kooka pieces along with enough water to cook them. I always strain and use the pulse- pressure cooked water for cooking and here too I have used the chana cooked water for the same. Cook on medium heat until 80% done, now add cooked chana, ambado, ground masala, salt to taste and mix well. Add required amount of water to bring to a thick gravy consistency and cook on medium heat stirring often to avoid masala being burnt. When you see bubbles appearing on surface, lower the heat and allow the curry to simmer for 10 minutes.
** For Tempering/ Seasoning/ Tadka/ Pannaka : Heat Coconut Oil in a small pan, when hot add mustard seeds, when it begins to splutter, lower the heat and add fresh Curry Leaves, fry for a few seconds and then pour it over the simmering curry. Remove curry from fire, cover and keep it aside to rest for about 15- 20 minutes for flavors to be well infused well and then it is ready to be served. If you find the curry too thick after resting, just add in some hot water, check salt, add if necessary, mix well and its ready.
** “Kabuli Chana- Kooka- Ambade Gashi (Chick Peas-Chinese Potato- Hoplum Curry)” is done and ready to be served. Tastes best served hot with rice along with some side dishes like salad and upkari of your choice during lunch/ dinner time. If not fond of rice, no issues, you can serve it with roti/ parathas/ Idly/ dosa etc. too in which case do remember to keep the gravy texture slightly thicker, tastes wonderful. Try out this recipe and enjoy with family and friends and give me feedback if possible.
** Veggies that can be Included in preparing of Gashi: Any vegetables like Suran (Yam), Kooka (Chinese Potato), Raw Jackfruit, Jeevi Kadgi (Breadfruit), keerlu (Bamboo Shoots), batato (potato) can be added to the curry along with Sprouted Moong/ Veggies. You can add Bimbul (tree fruit sorrel), Karmbal (Star Fruit) or ambado (hogplum) for sourness or just plain tamarind while grinding the masala too. I have shared the same curry with different veggies elsewhere which you will find on browsing.
** Sharing common links below to “Gashi” recipes and recipes that include “Ambado/ Hogplum, Chana (Black and White) and Kooka/ Chinese Potato” for easy access, you can also use search option with key words/ label section … Thank You.
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