Chole / Rajma ( North Indian curry )

Well thought of sharing a recipe that I like myself and everyone at home too. Am no fancy top shot cook, is a disclaimer I would like to make. But well this is one dish that goes flawless even if I have to make it in a hurry or say not in a mood to cook and gets devoured as well. So here it is:
Ingredients (For a family of 3 - 4 adults )
Kabuli chana (chick peas) or rajma (red kidney beans) 150 gms
Onion 1 big and 1 small
Green chilly 2 to 3 (or more if one wants it spicy)
Ginger 3/4 inch, medium sized
Garlic 5 to 6 pods, medium sized
Fennel (aniseed) 3/4 teaspoon
Tomatoes 2 medium sized
Coriander leaves chopped, 4 tablespoon ( 2 tbsp for masala and 2 tbsp for garnishing)
Cinnamon stick 1 inch
Black pepper seeds 10
Cloves 4
Brown cardamom 1
Caraway seeds less than a 1/4 teaspoon
Dagad ful ( find that out what's in english) 1/4 inch
Bay leaf 2
Salt and sugar to taste ( 1 tsp heap salt and a pinch sugar )
Turmeric powder 1 tsp
Red chilli powder 1/4 tsp
Coriander powder 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala powder 1/2 tsp
Cummin seeds powder 1/4 tsp
3 tbsp oil
400 ml water
Method
Soak either of the two ( kabuli chana or rajma ) overnight in water. Drain the water and cook it in a pressure cooker in about 700 ml water till it is soft ( 3 whistles then 10 mins on medium flame should do ).
Chop onion, garlic, coriander, ginger, chilli and grind them raw along with the spices except for bay leaf (not the powders mentioned in last). Chop tomatoes finely. Heat oil in a pan and add turmeric powder, bay leaves and chopped tomatoes, stirring till the tomatoes are well cooked in oil. Now add the ground spices and keep stirring till the masala changes colour, leaving oil on sides and of course till your nostrils get bathed in the spicy aroma. Add the cooked chick peas or red kidney beans to the pan, mix well with the masala, add 400 ml water, stir, sprinkle all the powdered spices, salt- sugar and cover the pan with a lid. Let it cook for about 15 mins. Stir once or twice so that the masala doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. When done, sprinkle fresh chopped coriander leaves and serve with hot rotis/chapatis/naan/kulcha or just plain cooked rice.

Chole / Rajma ( North Indian curry )

Well thought of sharing a recipe that I like myself and everyone at home too. Am no fancy top shot cook, is a disclaimer I would like to make. But well this is one dish that goes flawless even if I have to make it in a hurry or say not in a mood to cook and gets devoured as well. So here it is:
Ingredients (For a family of 3 - 4 adults )
Kabuli chana (chick peas) or rajma (red kidney beans) 150 gms
Onion 1 big and 1 small
Green chilly 2 to 3 (or more if one wants it spicy)
Ginger 3/4 inch, medium sized
Garlic 5 to 6 pods, medium sized
Fennel (aniseed) 3/4 teaspoon
Tomatoes 2 medium sized
Coriander leaves chopped, 4 tablespoon ( 2 tbsp for masala and 2 tbsp for garnishing)
Cinnamon stick 1 inch
Black pepper seeds 10
Cloves 4
Brown cardamom 1
Caraway seeds less than a 1/4 teaspoon
Dagad ful ( find that out what's in english) 1/4 inch
Bay leaf 2
Salt and sugar to taste ( 1 tsp heap salt and a pinch sugar )
Turmeric powder 1 tsp
Red chilli powder 1/4 tsp
Coriander powder 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala powder 1/2 tsp
Cummin seeds powder 1/4 tsp
3 tbsp oil
400 ml water
Method
Soak either of the two ( kabuli chana or rajma ) overnight in water. Drain the water and cook it in a pressure cooker in about 700 ml water till it is soft ( 3 whistles then 10 mins on medium flame should do ).
Chop onion, garlic, coriander, ginger, chilli and grind them raw along with the spices except for bay leaf (not the powders mentioned in last). Chop tomatoes finely. Heat oil in a pan and add turmeric powder, bay leaves and chopped tomatoes, stirring till the tomatoes are well cooked in oil. Now add the ground spices and keep stirring till the masala changes colour, leaving oil on sides and of course till your nostrils get bathed in the spicy aroma. Add the cooked chick peas or red kidney beans to the pan, mix well with the masala, add 400 ml water, stir, sprinkle all the powdered spices, salt- sugar and cover the pan with a lid. Let it cook for about 15 mins. Stir once or twice so that the masala doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. When done, sprinkle fresh chopped coriander leaves and serve with hot rotis/chapatis/naan/kulcha or just plain cooked rice.

I haven't met him Mom, so how can I be sad....

Said my son to me. We lost a family member in one of the unfortunate fire incident, in Bangalore. We were discussing about it as it was too shocking to absorb what had happened. He, a fourteen year old, was listening and observing us. I tried to help him recollect. He couldn't and felt bad. It pains when the things going on in the News in the Television or the Newspapers which we follow sort of mechanically, happens to us, or in the vicinity. When we watch or read or hear about people dying in natural calamities or terrorist attacks etc, there are emotions, empathy involved but then like the son said, we don't know them so we don't know how to feel strong enough.
We did not know the young students who died in the German bakery blast in the Oxford of the East, on personal front. How can we be sad ? And more than that what can we do about it ? The School children are being taught 'Disaster Management' as a subject to sensitise them. The fire emergency exits in the Carlton Towers in Bangalore where the fire broke out were locked !! making the rescue impossible. How can this disaster be managed ? Death being rampant all around, we adults can get desensitised at times. It calls for a step ahead in the area of 'Feelings'. Just feeling sad is not enough Son, I wanted to say. What can we do with the pain we feel ? How can we avert such things ? How can we reach the people who have lost their loved ones ? Can we pray ? Can we create a movement ? How long will we sit and watch things going around in the world, taking hundreds and hundreds of life ? How can we contribute..Now ? Life is short...to leave things to do later....till someone in the family dies. I am yet thinking of the solution my son and the younger generation needs to know when the question pops in their mind, 'I don't know him so how can I feel sad?'

I haven't met him Mom, so how can I be sad....

Said my son to me. We lost a family member in one of the unfortunate fire incident, in Bangalore. We were discussing about it as it was too shocking to absorb what had happened. He, a fourteen year old, was listening and observing us. I tried to help him recollect. He couldn't and felt bad. It pains when the things going on in the News in the Television or the Newspapers which we follow sort of mechanically, happens to us, or in the vicinity. When we watch or read or hear about people dying in natural calamities or terrorist attacks etc, there are emotions, empathy involved but then like the son said, we don't know them so we don't know how to feel strong enough.
We did not know the young students who died in the German bakery blast in the Oxford of the East, on personal front. How can we be sad ? And more than that what can we do about it ? The School children are being taught 'Disaster Management' as a subject to sensitise them. The fire emergency exits in the Carlton Towers in Bangalore where the fire broke out were locked !! making the rescue impossible. How can this disaster be managed ? Death being rampant all around, we adults can get desensitised at times. It calls for a step ahead in the area of 'Feelings'. Just feeling sad is not enough Son, I wanted to say. What can we do with the pain we feel ? How can we avert such things ? How can we reach the people who have lost their loved ones ? Can we pray ? Can we create a movement ? How long will we sit and watch things going around in the world, taking hundreds and hundreds of life ? How can we contribute..Now ? Life is short...to leave things to do later....till someone in the family dies. I am yet thinking of the solution my son and the younger generation needs to know when the question pops in their mind, 'I don't know him so how can I feel sad?'