I am so glad to be able to share this Himachali Chana and Aloo Madra recipe on my blog today because a year ago I did not even know of any recipe by this name, that is before I became friends with my fair, slim mountain-girl room mate who shares the same interests as me, cooking and eating.
Funny thing, this former roommate of mine has the same name as me with just a little difference in the spelling. I am Apurva, she is Apoorva.
The phonetics of both are absolutely the same. Honestly, I don't know how we don't have any fun pictures together to put here coz we did spend a lot of time dancing around our flat like crazy people.
Himachali Madra is essentially a kadhi, with slightly different flavors from the kinds prepared in central India. The game changers in this recipe are mustard oil and ajwain.When Apoorva first prepared this madra, I ate like 3 drums full of it! I had been to the Himachal before but never tasted such flavors. All I ate on my trip to North India was aaloo paratha with loads of butter or gobhi paratha with loads of butter. Apoorva was born and brought up in Himachal Pradesh and this is her mom's recipe; so trust me when I say you need to follow this recipe if you want to taste authentic flavors from the Himachal mountains of India.
Ingredients:
Chickpeas-1 cup
Potato- 1 large
Tomato- 3 large
Ginger-garlic paste- 1 tbsp
Mustard oil- 3 tbsp
Ajwain- 1 tsp
Cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek seeds- 1 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder- 1 tsp
Garam masala powder- 1/2 tsp
Red Chilly powder- 1/2 tsp
Gram flour- 1 tbsp
Curd- 1 cup
Cream- 3 tbsp
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying
Recipe:
Soak chickpeas in water overnight. Pressure cook with little salt, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and 1/2 tsp ajwain.
Peel and cut potatoes in 2" pieces. Deep fry in oil and keep aside.
Puree tomatoes.
Heat mustard oil in a pan. Add fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, ajwain and remaining powdered spices. Fry for 30 seconds taking care to not burn them.
Add ginger garlic paste. Fry till fragrant, about 10 seconds.
Add tomato puree. Cook until all raw smell disappears and tomatoes turn dark red.
Meanwhile, beat together curd, cream and gram flour in a bowl, just until uniformly mixed.
When tomato masala is cooked, add this curd mixture to the pan with continuous stirring. Bring to boil.
Add boiled chickpeas and fried potatoes. Add salt. Mix well and let cook on simmer for 10 minutes.
Add 1 cup of water and bring to boil.
Remove from heat. Garnish with garam masala powder and serve hot with rice.
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