Eat Healthy and Cheap
Kala Chana
Black chickpeas, kala chana, are a different bean from the tan kind: smaller, nuttier, and firm enough to stay whole in a loose gravy. The trick to a savory dish with no oil and no salt is to keep their dark cooking liquid instead of pouring it down the drain. That liquid is already seasoned by the beans, and it carries the toasted whole spices through a thin gravy that would otherwise taste flat. A long push on the onions does the rest, standing in for the fat that usually starts the pot.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Black chickpeas, soaked overnight
- 1 tsp Cumin seed
- 1 pod Black cardamom, cracked
- 1 piece cassia cinnamon, 2 inch (5 cm)
- 3 Cloves
- 1 Bay leave
- 1 Yellow onion, finely chopped
- 5 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp Ginger, grated
- 1 Indian green chile, slit lengthwise
- 2 Fresh tomatoes, grated
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric
- 2 tsp Coriander seed, ground
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chile, ground
- 1/2 tsp Black peppercorns, freshly ground
- 1 tsp no-salt vegetable bouillon
- 1 1/2 tsp Amchur
- 1 tsp Garam masala
- 3 tbsp Cilantro, chopped
Method
- Rinse the black chickpeas and soak them in plenty of cold water overnight, at least 8 hours. They are smaller and denser than tan chickpeas, so they need the long soak to cook through evenly.
- Drain, cover with 4 cups (1 L) fresh water, and bring to a boil. Skim off the foam, then simmer partly covered until a chickpea crushes easily between two fingers, 45 to 60 minutes. Do not drain them. That dark cooking liquid is the body of the gravy, so ladle out and reserve 2 cups (480 ml).
- In a wide pot over medium heat, toast the cumin seed, cracked black cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and bay leaf in the dry pot until they smell fragrant and the cumin darkens a shade, about 90 seconds. Toasting in a dry pan pulls out the oils a tarka usually needs fat to release.
- Add the onion with 3 tablespoons (45 ml) water. Sweat it, adding a splash more water whenever the pot dries, until deep golden, about 12 minutes. Push this browning further than feels natural, because the color here is the whole base of a thin gravy that has no cream to hide behind.
- Stir in the garlic, ginger, and green chile. Cook for 1 minute, until the raw smell lifts.
- Add the grated tomato, turmeric, ground coriander, ground Kashmiri chile, and black pepper. Cook, stirring, until the tomato collapses and the mixture pulls together into a rough paste, about 8 minutes. Blooming the ground spices in the wet tomato keeps them from scorching.
- Add the cooked black chickpeas, their reserved cooking liquid, and the no-salt bouillon. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes so the gravy thins and the chickpeas take on the spice. Leave them whole. Their firm skins are the texture of the dish, so resist the urge to mash.
- Off the heat, fish out the bay leaf and whole spices you can find. Stir in the amchur and garam masala. The amchur, dried green mango, stands in for the salt, so add it a pinch at a time until the gravy tastes bright rather than flat. Rest for 5 minutes, fold in the cilantro, and serve over intact brown rice or with a whole grain flatbread.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 255 calories, 13 g protein, 12 g fiber. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt.
