Channa Sundal/Chickpea Sundal

Navarathri starts tomorrow. Most houses would be abuzz with preparations for the upcoming 10 days. My mom never arranged golu, – (the tradition of arranging dolls) but Mil does, and after marriage, navarathri was a whole new experience to me. MIL has been keeping Golu for many years now. I started this tradition the year my daughter was born, i.e. 7 years back. We arrange dolls, recite lalitha Sahastranamam, invite ladies and children home, and visit other homes. So basically it is 10 days of fun and happiness.

But last year I had not arranged golu as my second daughter is very mischievous and I was sure there wouldn’t be even a single doll intact in the arrangement. Due to the same reasons, we decided not to go for elaborate arrangement this year tooL. But that doesn’t prevent from performing poojas and making prasadams.

So here is a simple and very common sundal.

What you’ll need

1. Kabuli Channa – 1 cup
2. Scraped Fresh Coconut – 2 or 3 tbsp
3. Green Chillies – 1
4. Ginger – 1 inch piece
5. Salt to taste
6. Oil – 2 tsp
7. Mustard Seeds – 1 tsp
8. Split Urad Dal – 1 tsp
9. Dry Red Chillies - 2
10. Asafoetida – a generous pinch
11. Curry Leaves – few sprigs

Method

1. Soak the Channa overnight or for minimum 6 to 7 hours.
2. Discard the soaked water, rinse in 2 to 3 exchanges of water and pressure cook for 3 to 4 whistles. Let the cooker cool naturally.
3. Once cool, remove the channa and keep aside.
4. Grind the ginger, green chilly and coconut coarsely without adding any water.
5. Heat a kadai, with oil. Add mustard seeds, as they start spluttering, add the urad dal.
6. Once the dal starts browning add asafoetida and dried red chillies. Finally add the curry leaves.
7. Now add the cooked channa, salt and fry for a minute.
8. Add the ground coconut, ginger and green chilly. Mix well and fry for another 3 to 4 minutes.

That’s it healthy and tasty sundal is ready.

Note:

1. Adjust the spice level according to your taste. I omitted the green chillies totally for my children.
2. Instead of grinding the green chilly and ginger you can chop them and add just before adding the channa. And add only the scraped coconut at the end.

Linking this to Let's Cook - Protein Rich Food