Mamta's Kitchen - A Family Cookbook





Chana dal

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On 06/12/2010 05:12pm, azelias kitchen wrote:

Hi all

I've been reading up on chana dal trying to find out if it is chickpea or a legume similar to chickpea?

I have read reference that it's similar to chickpea meaning is not the same and I have read people referring to it as a young chickpea outer skin removed and then split and dried.

So is it chickpea, but younger?

In wiki it comes up as chickpea with a photo of chana masala on their entry for chickpea...! Sometimes searching can confuse you more than when you started out :(

I went through my books again and noticed under Madhur Jaffery's flavours of India she does not mention chana dal is chickpea but in her Ultimate Curry Bible she refers to chana dal as a small very yellow chickpea that is also used to make chickpea flour and in South of India used as a spice. So from this I assume that there are more than one variety of chickpeas rather than the chana dal being a young version of chickpea...just like you have different varieties of clementines, but all called clementines.

azelias kitchen

On 06/12/2010 06:12pm, Mamta wrote:

Chana dal is not chick peas, it is split Bengal Gram or Kala Chana, minus the brown skin.

See here; http://www.flickr.com/photos/mamta1/?saved=1

The confusion arises from their name in Hindi; both are called Chana. Chickpeas are known as Kabuli chana or white chana and Bengal Gram is known as kala (black) chana.

On 06/12/2010 06:12pm, azelias kitchen wrote:

thanks Mamta - interesting to see them with the skin on.

They look like different creatures skinned!

On 06/12/2010 09:12pm, Lapis wrote:

well, they are the same species, but different varieties of the same thing. The smaller desi channa is the one that grows in India, because it is more suited to the climate, whereas the larger chickpea has difficulty in growing there, but grows well in more temperate climes. Besan flour is made from desi chana.

On 06/12/2010 10:12pm, azelias kitchen wrote:

that was me asking the last questions...!

On 07/12/2010 06:12am, Mamta wrote:

Azelia, the word 'desi' mean grown locally, within one's country, in this case India.

Besan is flour made from 'desi' chana or Bengal Gram, though often described as chickpea flour, even in some recipe here, by me! I shouldn't worry too much about it, use the word that gets your meaning across.

Mamta

On 07/12/2010 11:12am, Lapis wrote:

I find that 'local' produce, by that I mean Indian ingredients, go together much better than ingredients from different parts of the world. I am lucky in East London having so much produced sourced from India or for Indians. For example, saag for many means spinach, although it actually implies 'greens', as in cabbage greens, not the colour. If you use spinach (palak) you will get a slightly astringent result in some dishes, whereas, in India saag can mean any leafy green vegetable (I have used cauliflower leaves, even those of the kohl rabi or turnip) and in India the tops of turnips and mustard greens are used. They seem, to me, to give a better product. Shop for saag in East London, and you will not get spinach!

So it is with chana, I much prefer the desi chana (kala chana or Bengal chana) to the Mediterranean chickpea in Indian dishes, as the latter seem too strong in flavour and can end up like pistol shot (not that I've tried!). Since I discovered kala chana in tins, I have been using a couple tins a week, and because they have a lot of fibre, are very low on the GI. I much prefer them in chana masala type dishes, lovely on these winter days (and nights).

Other ingredients which seem to work a lot better is local yoghurt, Indian onions, Pakistani carrots, finger chillies, yellow brinjal, papri and fresh turmeric. But I wouldn't swap colacassia/arvi for potatoes!!

On 07/12/2010 06:12pm, Mamta wrote:

Funny you mention it Lapis, I bought some 'sarson ka saag' (mustard greens) today. I will cook it with corn meal roties in a day or two.

Kala chana is rich in proteins too. Soaked chana it is fed to the mare as a special treat at weddings, when it come to take the groom to his bride?s place for marriage ceremony. This is only a ceremonial role these days, but still an important one :-)!

On 08/12/2010 10:12am, Rajneesh wrote:

Oh those corn roties are getting rare, last year i had it only once if i remember correctly.

There seem to a a hybrid of bengal gram(kala chana) in India. It is almost the size of chick peas, with brown coloured skin (but not as dark as kala chana)and it tastes just like kala chana but not as strong.

On 08/12/2010 11:12am, azelias kitchen wrote:

thank you for all your help and it's something that I will come back to read again because I find really interesting but easily forget names!

The greens thing is the same back home. We have Caldo Verde which is like a national soup but mainly from the North which is potato & green cabbage soup cooked with some chourico in (pork sausage).

The potato is cooked and then whizzed so it thickens the soup and then greens leaves are place one on top of another rolled up like cigar tightly and then shredded very very finely to add to the pot.

The thing is these green leaves are specific to the cabbage that grow there and you can't buy them here...so you adapt...not the same.

Also we have "grelos" which is a bitter winter greens but adored by many, fried in olive oil and garlic until water is removed and left with wilted down mush tasting lovely for those who like bitter.

On 08/12/2010 11:12am, Mamta wrote:

Rajneesh, cornmeal roti (Makka Roti) are easy to cook, why not make some of your own. Not many of my friends make them and they are very much liked whenever I make them. But you do have to make some sort of Saag to go with them.

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