Chana Punjabi

By Alissa -
Last week we threw a baby shower for one of our interns who is due in a couple of weeks. She has been craving Indian food throughout her pregnancy, and is also gluten-intolerant. SO....we threw a gluten-free, vegetarian, Indian-food baby shower for her on Friday. Yum! Everything was so good and the office smelled amazing all afternoon.

Anyway, this was my contribution. I tripled the recipe, cooked it the night before, and then brought it to work in a crockpot and reheated it before the party. I think you could probably cook the whole thing in the crockpot if you wanted- just cook the sauce ingredients for awhile, puree, then add the chickpeas and cook longer. Served it with chopped cilantro on top. Adapted slightly from The Wednesday Chef.

Serves 2-4.

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 small Thai bird chili, chopped or 1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
14-ounce can of diced tomatoes, with liquid
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon salt, or as needed
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons minced cilantro
Cooked rice for serving (optional)

1. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, heat oil and add onion. Sauté until translucent and soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, ginger and chili, and sauté until soft and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes. Cover and cook until tomatoes are very soft, about 5 minutes, then remove from heat.

2. Purée mixture in blender or food processor until smooth. Return to pan and place over medium heat. Add paprika, 1 teaspoon salt, coriander, the garam masala, turmeric and lemon juice. Add chickpeas and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low.

3. Cover and simmer until sauce is thick and chickpeas are soft, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Stir pan about every 10 minutes, adding water as needed (up to 1 1/2 cups) to prevent burning. When ready to serve, sauce should be thick. If necessary, uncover pan and allow sauce to reduce for a few minutes, stirring frequently, until desired consistency. Stir in cilantro, adjust salt as needed and serve with cooked rice, if desired.

Comments

hefk said…
yum.
how very very sweet your office is to accommodate all those cravings/necessities.
10:38 PM
Alissa said…
Well, we're a small office with a total staff of 6 (plus a few others if we include the health staff, too). My supervisor and I both like to cook, so we have seen the gluten-intolerance issue as a challenge to be taken on. The vegetarianism is pretty easy to accommodate. The gluten issue is more challenging. Every year we have some food issue or another to contend with, whether it's personal choices or allergies to certain things. Since my supervisor and I both love to cook (and she's a mean baker on top of it), we do a pretty good job of accommodating everyone's needs and preferences. Plus, Indian food is delicious so there were no complaints there. :)
11:22 PM
Anonymous said…
Channa Masala one of the popular punjabi dishes.
11:42 AM
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