Channa Masala in the Fagor Pressure Cooker Chickpeas

If you have a pressure cooker, it is really easy and convenient to make channa masala. The beauty of this recipe is you can use the pressure cooker for everything!

You can find my recipe for Channa Masala here.

Ingredients
1 cup chickpeas
1 tea bag
6 cups water
2 tablespoons, vegetable oil
2 medium onions, diced (yellow onions preferred, white onions in a pinch)
2 tablespoons minced ginger
2 green chilies, sliced (if you like it spicy, add more!)
2 teaspoons crushed garlic
3 medium tomatoes, diced
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1.5 teaspoons ground cumin
.5 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons minced coriander leaves
1/4 teaspoon Garam Masala
Shredded Ginger (for garnish)

Add 5 cups of water and 1 tea bag to the pressure cooker with 1cup uncooked, un-soaked chickpeas.  

Cover and lock lid (Don’t bring the tea to boil beforehand). Place pressure cooker on setting 1. Bring to pressure over high heat for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, bring pressure down to ambient pressure. Remove the lid, reserve 1 cup of the liquid and drain the rest of the chickpeas in a colander. Add a little oil to the pressure cooker.

Add onions and stir fry till golden. Add ginger and chilies, continue to stir fry until their aroma is released. Last, add the garlic and stir fry a few seconds until golden.

Add coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder and red pepper powder. Stir fry for 5-10 minutes.

Add tomatoes, reserved tea liquid and chickpeas.  

Cover and lock lid of the pressure cooker. Place on setting 1. Turn gas to high. Cook for 10 minutes on HIGH pressure.

After 10 minutes, bring pressure down to ambient pressure.

Idly

Idly with Coconut Chutney

Idly are a steamed cake made out of fermented rice and black lentils (which have been dehusked).
I grew up eating Idly. I remember as a kid, we would have them on the weekend. I had (have?) a sweet tooth, so I would dip them in sugar. I don't crave them sweet much more, I rather prefer them with a nice curry or coconut chutney.

Making Idly is relatively simple, but you need some equipment.

First and foremost, you need an idly mold. You can find them at south Indian stores, but they can be a little difficult to come buy. Basically, it is a small metal plate with four round molds in it, with holes at the bottom. Usually, you can buy an idly "tree", with four or five of these metal plates stacked one on top of the other.

Second, you need idly batter. Making idly batter from scratch can be a real pain if you don't have the right equipment, so I opt to purchase pre-made batter.

If you want to make it from scratch, you will need a really powerful electrical blender, a stone grinder and depending on your local climate, a warming oven. You will need de-husked black lentils, which can be purchased at an Indian store. Next, you will need to ferment the lentils and rice, usually accomplished by soaking them in water overnight. The next day, you need to grind the rice and lentil into a paste. Traditionally, this is accomplished by a purchasing an electric stone grinder (imagine you Kitchen aid with a massive stone grinder as an attachment). Needless to say, I have not found any of those here in the US. My aunt shipped one over from Kerala when she was there one summer. My mom found a massive powerful blender, the BlendTec, which works wonderful! Next, you have to let the batter ferment overnight. In a tropical climate like south India, that is easily accomplished by placing a cloth over the batter and leaving it out overnight. If you are in a colder environment, you will have to put the batter in an oven or a warming oven for a few hours at extremely low heat.

Third, a large 16 quart stock pot, preferably with a glass or clear lid. My fiancee went to India, and found an idly mold, which came with its own pressure cooker pot. The problem with it was that the lid was on so tight after steaming, that it really was a pain to take the lid off. Also, it was difficult to check when the idlys were done. I found that adding water to a stock pot and placing the idly molds in them is a better way to go, as you can check to see if the idly are done, and add water as necessary.

Again, try your local Indian store, but most will have pre-made batter that comes in yogurt sized tubs. It works really good! You could also try some dry idly powder mixes, where you simply add water and then steam. These work okay.

I find the magic number is to fill a large stock pot with 6 cups of water. Grease the molds. Traditionally, you would use a bit of ghee, but if you don't have ghee, a little bit of vegetable oil works fine (or even PAM in a pinch). Place the idly batter in the molds, place the molds in the stock pot with the water, making sure that the water doesn't enter into the filled molds and steam for 11 minutes. After 11 minutes, you can check on the idly by pressing your finger into it. If it appears spongy, then your idly is done!

I usually have my idly with coconut chutney.

Potato Masala

Potato Masala is boiled potatoes with a delicious "masala"-a mixture of exotic spices. It is a classic South Indian dish, usually used as a filling for Dosa.

I grew up eating these for breakfast on Sundays. Its real comfort food, and quite delicious!

You can also eat potato masala with Idly, Dosa or just with rice and yogurt!

Ingredients
3 red potatoes
Mustard seeds  1 to 2 teaspoons
2 white onions, Julienne
1 inch piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, finely minced (any thin green chili will do)
Turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon
Salt,  1/2 to 1 teaspoon
Fresh coriander leaves for garnish


Directions
1. Boil potatoes, unpeeled for 20 minutes, or until cooked. You can tell when the potatoes are done by pricking them with a fork. When you can easily insert a fork into the potato, it is done. By this time, most of the skin of the potato will have fallen off.

2. Drain potatoes and soak or run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Peel off the remaining skin (usually you can just do this with your hands, but use a pairing knife if you have to). Dice the potatoes into an even dice (this will insure an even cooking time). Set aside.

3. Make the Masala
Add a swig of vegetable oil to a wok, enough to lightly coat the wok. Heat just until the oil starts to shimmer. Reduce the heat and add mustard seeds. Stir fry for 1 minute. Next add onions and stir fry for 2 minutes, or until the onions are translucent. Add ginger and jalapeno pepper and stir fry for 1 more minute. Lastly, add the Turmeric and salt.

4. Add the potatoes and gently mix the potatoes and the masala.

5. Add approximately 1 cup of water to the potatoes, and cook on low heat for 20-30 minutes, or until the potatoes are really soft, but not falling apart. As they cook, the potatoes will loose their structural integrity, so it is important to stir them softly. You also do not want the potatoes to burn, which could happen if you do not add enough water.








6. Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves!