Chana Madra is a vegetarian dish from Himachali cuisine. Chickpeas are cooked in a mildly spiced thick & creamy yogurt gravy. Serve it with bread/rice.
I know for sure that there are more people like me out there in this universe who hate cooking the same meal over and over again! I like a variation not just in my life but also in my food. I cannot relate to those who eat the same meal every single day or cook an ingredient always the same way. I find that mundane and I feel that is why some people end up disliking cooking. I have heard my friends whine that it's so boring to cook okra or beans the same way every time. When I ask them why they don't try something new with it, they reply with a shrug that who has the time to think of new recipes! I find that so strange. Cooking a dish differently is not difficult. We just need to keep our eyes open, read more and dare to experiment. It really is not that difficult to break away from the routine and come up with something new. This has been my motto in life so far. I never look at a vegetable or a fruit and limit myself to the only way I am used to eating it. I love to experiment with the products I have at hand and in that bargain, we get to eat something we have not tasted before. I understand that for some it's a little difficult to create a recipe just like that. Well, then I have a solution for you. Today, thanks to the internet, the whole world is at your fingertips literally.
You can at the click of a button find out what an African cuisine is all about or how the North Indians cook chickpeas! Yes people, Indians not always make Chole with chickpeas. There are tons of other variations to the way we can cook chickpeas and I aim to discover all of that. Now, I love to occasionally watch regional cooking shows as well. Every time I watch it, I take away a recipe for me to try later. On one such episode where the chef was talking about Himachali cuisine, I came to know of Chana Madra. All this time, I only associated Himachal Pradesh with snow-clad mountains and the lush green valleys. It had never occurred to me to read up or know more about the kind of food they eat until I saw it on TV. This dish stood out for me because contrary to their traditional red meat dishes, this one was a vegetarian. I immediately noted down the recipe and it looked so amazing on TV that I just had to make it the soonest. Yogurt and chickpeas may sound like an unusual combination for you, but I have always mixed the two in my own ways. When I hungry in the evenings post a workout, I generally prepare Chickpeas Sundal and then mix it with a little yogurt and eat it as a light snack.
Even when I have Chana Masala with rice, I add a little yogurt to tone down the spice levels. So I had tried this combination before and hence was confident that I would like the taste of Chana Madra. In the Himachali cuisine, they like to use a lot of yogurt as a base to most of their curries as it adds a comforting depth to the dish making it smooth, creamy and rich. Since it is hard to find a variety of fresh vegetables on the hilly terrain of Himachal Pradesh, they largely use lentils, pulses and grains in the day-to-day foods. Madra is originally a delicacy that belongs to the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh. It is one of the dishes that represents the food culture of Himachal Pradesh. Every restaurant, every occasion, and the festivals will have Madra offered to you with utmost love. Ain't that cool? Chana Madra is slow cooked with a variety of spices and it has an aroma that can make you drool instantly. I instantly liked this dish because it was a welcome change to the regular Chana Masala that we all have been making since I don't know when. I liked this recipe because its to make and tastes delicious! So all those out there thinking why change my regular go-to recipe, give this dish a try, please.
Let me now walk you through the steps to make the best Chana Madra. I have compared notes to various other recipes available online, then tweaked and settled on this one based on our taste preferences. Let's make Chana Madra today! You need cooked/boiled chickpeas for this recipe. The best way is to first soak chickpeas overnight and then boil them in salt + turmeric water. Alternatively, you can also cook them in an Instant Pot where you need not soak them the night before. Simply add the dry chickpeas, cover it with 3-4 inches of water above it, then add salt and turmeric powder and cook in manual mode for 24 minutes with natural pressure release. Once the chickpeas are cooked, strain (use the water to make aquafaba) and keep them aside for now. In a bowl add yogurt, all-purpose flour or maida, chilly powder, turmeric powder, coriander and cumin powder. Whisk it all together until smooth. Heat oil in a pan and fry cumin seeds along with asafoetida for 30 seconds. Then add cinnamon, peppercorns, cloves and cardamon along with minced ginger and garlic. Continue to fry for another minute. The actual Chana Madra recipe doesn't call for any greens in the recipe but since I had some beet leaves, I decided to add that as well in my curry to make it more nutritious. You can skip this step if you wish to.
Also add half of the chopped cilantro along with the beet leaves and cook it for 2 minutes or until the leaves turn soft. Then lower the flame and add the prepared yogurt mixture to the pan. Mix it immediately. This is an important step, you have to make sure that you stir continuously and do not allow the yogurt to curdle. Cook this curry for 4-5 minutes on low flame. Then add the boiled chickpeas along with salt. Mix and continue to cook for another 3-4 minutes. To thicken the curry, make a paste of rice flour and water and add to the pan. Stir and garnish with chopped cilantro and ghee. Chana Madra is ready. Serve with any Indian bread/rice. [textendpost]
Recipe 📖
Himachali Chana Madra | Chickpeas in Yogurt Gravy
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups boiled chickpeas
- 1.5 cups yogurt
- 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 tablespoon chilly powder
- ½ tablespoon coriander cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- Pinch of asafoetida
- 4-5 cloves
- 1 teaspoon peppercorns
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 cardamon
- 5-6 cloves garlic
- 1 inch ginger
- 5-6 beet leaves optional
- 1 tablespoon rice flour
- 1 dollop ghee
- cilantro as required
- salt as required
Instructions
- You need cooked/boiled chickpeas for this recipe. The best way is to first soak chickpeas overnight and then boil them in salt + turmeric water. Alternatively, you can also cook them in an Instant Pot where you need not soak them the night before. Simply add the dry chickpeas, cover it with 3-4 inches of water above it, then add salt and turmeric powder and cook in manual mode for 24 minutes with natural pressure release. Once the chickpeas are cooked, strain (use the water to make aquafaband keep them aside for now. In a bowl add yogurt, all-purpose flour or maida, chilly powder, turmeric powder, coriander and cumin powder. Whisk it all together until smooth. Heat oil in a pan and fry cumin seeds along with asafoetida for 30 seconds. Then add cinnamon, peppercorns, cloves and cardamon along with minced ginger and garlic. Continue to fry for another minute. The actual Chana Madra recipe doesn't call for any greens in the recipe but since I had some beet leaves, I decided to add that as well in my curry to make it more nutritious. You can skip this step if you wish to.Also add half of the chopped cilantro along with the beet leaves and cook it for 2 minutes or until the leaves turn soft. Then lower the flame and add the prepared yogurt mixture to the pan. Mix it immediately. This is an important step, you have to make sure that you stir continuously and do not allow the yogurt to curdle. Cook this curry for 4-5 minutes on low flame. Then add the boiled chickpeas along with salt. Mix and continue to cook for another 3-4 minutes. To thicken the curry, make a paste of rice flour and water and add to the pan. Stir and garnish with chopped cilantro and ghee. Chana Madra is ready. Serve with any Indian bread/rice.
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This dish makes a great lunchbox recipe as well. You can also try these recipes if you looking for some inspiration in that area - Indian Style Vegan Green Beans & Potato Gravy Recipe, Thai Mutter Paneer, Vegan Mushroom Korma, Vegan Cauliflower Tikka Masala, Methi Matar Malai | Fenugreek Green Peas Gravy, Achari Dahi Bhindi | Pickled Okra in Yogurt Gravy, Indian Bharli Vaangi/Stuffed Eggplants, Khoya Mutter | Green Peas Masala, Lasooni Tendli/Ivy Gourd Garlic Masala and Moroccon Eggplant Zaalouk.
Tam Lee says
Yum! This was so good, as all your recipes I've tried have been. I did add some veggies and also ground up the whole spices in a grinder before adding them, is it OK to do that? I didn't want to try and remove cloves and bits of cinnamon stick from the dish but it might have made the dish extra spicy with it all ground up haha. Anyway it was delicious! Thank you.
Priya says
Thank you so much for the kind words. Glad you liked the recipe.
Tam Lee says
You have wonderful recipes! Could you let me know if it's OK to grind the whole spices rather than adding them whole?