Chana Masala in Coriander Sauce / Hara Chana

I don't know about you. But I can never tire myself out trying different dishes using legumes. One main reason being their protein richness, other one being I can skip chopping lot of vegetables. If there is something that I do not like in cooking process, it is chopping vegetables. I make the regular Chickpea curry/ Chana Masala which is great for any occasion but involves quite a few steps in making it. I wanted to have another version of the chick peas curry which would be totally different from it but at the same time easy to make and delicious. This is what I came up with. It is easy to make, has no onions or garlic so people who don't eat them have no issues with it and is just delicious.

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Ingredients:  (This makes a huge pot, scale it down as per your requirement)
Dry Chickpeas / Kabuli Chana - 3 cups
Tomatoes - 1 large or two small chopped
Oil - 5 -6 TBSP
Cumin - 1 tsp
Coriander Cumin Powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Amchoor powder / Dry Mango Powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste

To grind:
Cilantro - 1 bunch cleaned stalk part included (about 2 cups roughly)
Ginger - 1 1/2" piece peeled and chopped roughly
Cashews - 1/3 cup
Green chillies - 10 - 12 or as per taste
Coconut - 1/2 cup grated

Method:
Soak chickpeas in enough water for 8 hours or overnight. Drain and add clean water. Add a pinch of salt and pressure cook till soft. When the pressure is released, drain reserving water. Grind all the ingredients given in 'To Grind' section above using enough water to make a smooth paste. In a pan, heat oil. When hot, add cumin seeds. When they splutter add the ground paste and mix. Add salt, coriander cumin powder, amchoor powder and mix. Stir frequently to avoid burning and let it come to a full boil. If the paste is too thick, you can add a little bit of reserved water from cooking the chickpeas. When it comes to a full boil, add tomatoes and mix. From the drained chickpeas, take about 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups of the cooked chickpeas. Add enough reserved water and grind them in a mixie or food processor. Add the remaining whole chickpeas to the pot and mix. Add the ground chickpeas and mix well. Use the reserved water to get the correct consistency. It should be a bit liquidy since it thickens as it cools. Bring the entire pot to a boil and check for the salt. Adjust if needed and turn off the heat. Serve with rice or roti.

Notes:
If you like your curries to be rich, you could use heavy cream instead of reserved water. I am very sure it would be awesome and creamy. If you are cooking this for a crowd or for a party, try adding about 2 large potatoes cubed into 1/2" pieces. It will not only be great but also you can stretch the buck longer by using potatoes. You could leave out tomatoes if you don't have it. It still will be fine.

Enjoy.

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