Achari Chana(Chole) | Chick Peas cooked in Pickled Spices (Step by Step Pics) & Saturday Snapshots !!

Achari Chana (Chick peas in Pickled spices) is a self explainatory dish.This is a well spiced,tangy curry that can evoke our minds and lip smacking good.This is the first time I tried a dish cooked in pickled spices.I should say kids also loved the blend so well that they fished their dinner early unlike other days.I have posted a simple chole curry recipe earlier but this is quite different from the previous one.Thanx Pari for the recipe.Hope you all like it and try at home.Enjoy !!!

This week Saturday Snapshots # week 4 theme was spices.I opted to click fennel seeds as I love this spices very much.Do let me know if you like the shot :)

Adapted Foodelicious
Ingredients
cooked chickpeas/garbanzo beans 3 1/2 cups
onion 2 medium sized
tomato 3
ginger 3 cloves
garlic 2" piece
yogurt 1tbsp(optional)
baby potatoes(boiled) 8-10 (optional)
cilantro /coriander leaves 1 handful
green chillies;vertical slit 6-8
turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
red chilly powder 1/4 tsp(optional)
dry mango powder 1/2 tsp (optional)
salt to taste 
oil nearly 1/2 cup

for pickle spices
fennel seeds 1 1/2 tsp
*onion seeds (kalonji) 1tsp
cumin seeds 1 tsp
fenugreek seeds 3/4 tsp
mustard seeds 3/4 tsp

Method

• Wash and soak the chana or chick peas overnight or 6 hours or 4 hours in hot water.Drain the water and add fresh water.Pressure cook in a cooker with salt for 3-4 whistles on medium flame.
• Dry roast the spices in a pan and grind them coarsely or smoothly in  powder form.Keep aside.
• Heat oil in a kadai /wok and add the green chillies vertical slit.Saute for a minute or two till its wilted nicely.

• In the meantime,add in a blender the roughly chopped onion,ginger and garlic.Grind it smooth and add to the kadai.Saute until the raw smell disappears and the oil separates on top.
• Also,blend the tomatoes and handful of cilantro/coriander leaves until smooth.Keep aside.
• Add the ground pickle spices,turmeric powder,chilli powder (if using) and saute till raw smell of spices disappears.

• Add the tomato cilantro blend,yogurt(if using) and saute until the oil separates on top and is reduced considerably.Add the amchur powder and add salt.
• Add the cooked chick peas alone without stock and saute with the mixture.
• Add the stock about 2 cups and cook for 15 minutes until the chick peas gets coated well with spices.Add salt if required.The cooking time may vary as per your desire to have a thick consistency gravy or thin.

Servings 5-6

NOTES
* The original recipe calls for 4 tomatoes and I used 3 tomatoes and a tbsp of yogurt.You can use yogurt alone too instead of tomatoes or use half of each.
* Use green chillies as per tolerance as this is the only spice in this recipe.
* I have not used onion seeds in the recipe as I didn't have it.If you have it,please use.
* I have omitted dry amchur powder as I added yogurt and the yogurt was sour enough.

Sending this to Saturday Snapshots hosted by Shweta @ Merry Tummy & Sireesha @ Siris Food