Kala Chana Upkari/Black Chickpeas Stir Fry

Kala chana upkari or black chickpeas stir fry is a simple south Indian dry curry (totally vegan) using mild spices like hing/asafoetida and mustard seeds, along with coconut, ginger and green chilies and some aromatic curry leaves.

Hailing from the Konkani community of Mangalore (from Karnataka, a state in south India), we traditionally serve this simple stir fry called chana upkari along with poha chutney (spiced flattened rice with coconut) and sometimes with rice and dal!! People from Tamilnadu (another state in south India), call it sundal!

All legumes are full of proteins, dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals etc. So we try to have a variety of them in our diet everyday and black chana upkari is normally prepared every Friday as a staple along with rice, saaru (using the broth in which the black chana was cooked) and a salad along with it to make a complete nutritious meal.

I love this simple, subtly flavored dish so much, sometimes you will find me eating this as a mid morning snack whenever there are leftovers!! I am sure, once you try making this simple yet tasty upkari, you will love it too!! Other upkaris you can try are:

arbi upkari, midke sange upkari, beans upkari etc.

Kala Chana Upkari/Black Chickpeas Stir Fry (Indian Style):

Ingredients:

1 cup black chana/black chickpeas

½ cup grated coconut

2 green chillies

1 inch piece ginger

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

½ teaspoon hing/asafoetida

Few curry leaves

2 teaspoons oil

Salt to taste

Method of Preparation:

Wash the black chana well and soak overnight or for at least 6 to 7 hours.

Next day, drain the water, wash again and place in a pressure cooker.

Add 3 to 4 cups of water.

Close the lid with the weight on and bring to a full pressure on high heat.

After the first whistle, reduce the heat and cook for about 20 to 30 minutes, till the chana is well cooked and soft.

Drain and keep aside. You can use the drained nutritious liquid to make a saaru or spiced broth which goes well with rice!!

In a small blender jar, add the coconut, green chillies and ginger.

Blend to a coarse dry paste.

Heat a saucepan on medium high heat and add 2 teaspoons of oil. Once the oil gets hot, add the mustard seeds.

When the seeds start crackling, add the hing and sauté for a few seconds.

Stir in the coconut mixture and fry about a minute or two till you get a good aroma.

Add the cooked chana, half a cup of water (you can use the same water in which it was cooked) salt to taste and the curry leaves; give it a quick stir. Close the saucepan with a lid and cook further for about 5 to 7 minutes on medium low heat, stirring in between.

Once the chana upkari is fully heated through and all the spices are well blended in the mixture, turn the heat off and serve this nutritious kala chana upkari with rice and saaru or dal.