Channa and Allu Curry ( Chickpeas and Potato).

After adding water.

After the gound jeera has been added.

Channa and allu with boiled rice and mango acchar on the side!



Channa and Allu curry is almost similar to Cabbage and Potato curry. The only difference is the amount of water added and one needs to add a little more masala with this curry.Channa is basically bland and when added,it will absorb the flavours so one needs to add a bit more masala than with the cabbage curry. Cabbage also has its own water unlike the channa bean so with this, more water is added. If you need more gravy, add a cup more of boiling water, just at the stage before the potato is completely cooked through.

It is always better to use channa that you boiled yourself as the canned ones sometimes do not absorb the flavour of the gravy totally. I wash and soak my channa overnight then pressure cook it the next day and always do enough to freeze extras. This comes in very handy whenever I need to cook this again or make anything that needs channa. When using canned, pour it into a colander/sieve and wash under cold running water so as to get rid of the extra saltiness and the canned taste.

Trinidadians have their own special channa and allu recipe that I will share soon. The difference with Trindadian takari and our curry is that they use bandanya/shado beni which is never used in Indian Guyanese cooking.

Ingredients:

2 lbs potato, scrubbed,washed and cubed.
1 lb boiled channa.
2 TT tomato paste
1 cup chopped onions
5 pegs garlic chopped finely
2-3 TT oil
1 1/2 TT turmeric/haldi powder
4 1/2 TT garam masala
1 TT ground jeera powder
salt to taste
4 cups hot water.

Method:


1. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pot/karahi.
2. Add chopped onions and stir fry for 1 min.
3. Add chopped garlic and fry for 30 secs.
4. Add the potatoes to the pan and stir until the pieces are coated with the onion/garlic oil.
5. Add salt and stir again, turning down the heat to medium low. Allow the potatoes to fry for about 2 minutes.
6. Add the tumeric and fry for 2 mins.
7.Add the garam masala and fry for 2 minutes, the potatoes will start to stick to the bottom of the pot so stir completely.
8. Add the hot water and stir.
9. Add tomato paste and stir until completely dissolved.
10. Cover the karahi, turn the heat to medium low and allow to cook until the potatoes are 1/2 cooked.
13. Add the channa stir until it is evenly mixed.
14. Cover pot again and allow to cook until potatoes are completely cooked.
15. Sprinkle ground jeera over the the curry and allow to sit for about 2 minutes--do not cover at this stage as your curry will spoil quickly!
16. Remove from heat and serve hot with rice or rotis with some acchar on the side. Enjoy!