One year later... - Chole (Chick Pea Curry)

Wisdom

Exactly a year later from when my journey started, I stand here, having achieved all I wanted and much more. I could not have imagined last year on this day that my life would pan out like this at all. I do own my own small little restaurant. I cook food, along with advice and a spice for everyone's need. All my customers come and tell me their story and I cook for them according to what they need. Most of these people are travellers and my place acts as a space they can come and share their love and stories. We are all friends and I love that people keep coming back.

I am still single as in not married, but I have a lovely British boy, Sam who I am dating. He's a wonder, someone who enjoys cooking as much as me and takes me out to so many places. It really feels like I belong in the movies. Unlike what I thought, my family is actually very happy and proud of me. They never thought their daughter would ever be able to do something like this. They often call me the twinkle of their eyes and repeat my story to anyone who would hear it at all the social gatherings. They aren't very sure of Sam though, but I think they will get over it, specially when they start understanding his accent.

I travelled almost all of India and saw sights which still don't fail to amaze me. I could not visit anywhere outside the country but soon. I need to earn a lot of money first. I am still in touvh with all the wonderful people I met. Warren is even getting married. Maybe I'll be able to go to Australia for his wedding after all.

I love my life and through this blog I want to tell every Indian girl out there, There are no compulsions. If you chose it, you can do everything you want in life. It's a fight and nothing is easy but everything is achievable. Believe in yourself and make your dreams come true. You do not need a man to do that!

Love and Peace, I hope you enjoyed my story and maybe you will visit my cafe one day and we shall meet. So long, friends!

Sabina.

Oh yeah, a last recipe, a tough one - CHOLE

Add some mint leaves to it for wisdom galore.

Ingredients

• 1 cup chickpeas (garbanzo beans, white chickpeas, kabuli chana or chole

• 2.5 to 3 cups water for pressure cooking the chickpeas

• 2 to 3 dried amla or indian gooseberry (optional) or 1 black tea bag

• ½ tsp salt

• 1 medium sized onion, finely chopped

• 1 medium sized tomato, finely chopped

• 2 to 3 small garlic cloves + ½ inch ginger, crushed to a paste in a mortar-pestle or ½ tsp ginger-garlic paste

• ¼ tsp turmeric powder/haldi

• ½ tsp red chili powder/lal mirch powder

• ¼ tsp garam masala powder (optional)

• ¾ to 1 tsp amchur powder/dry mango powder - optional

• 2 to 3 green chilies, slit

• 1 to 1.25 cups water or the stock in which the chickpeas were cooked.

• 1.5 to 2 tbsp oil

• salt as required

• 2 black cardamoms/elaichi

• 1 inch cinnamon/dalchini

• 3 to 4 peppercorns/sabut kali mirch

• 2 cloves/lavang

• 1 medium indian bay leaf/tej patta or 2 small tej patta

• ¼ tsp carom seeds/ajwain

• 1 tsp cumin seeds/jeera

• 1 tsp coriander seeds/dhania

• 1 tsp fennel seeds/saunf

• ½ tsp dry pomegranate seeds/anardana

• 1 or 2 dry red chilies

Method

• rinse and soak the chole (chickpeas) in enough water overnight. add enough amount of water as the chole increase in size after soaking it. rinse the soaked chickpeas.

• to give a dark color to the chana, traditionally dried amla (indian gooseberries) are added. these also give a faint sourness to the stock. if you do not have dried amla, then add 1 black tea bag.

• in a pressure cooker add the chole along with the 3 to 4 dried amla pieces or a tea bag. taj tea bags work very well. then add water

• season with salt and pressure cook the chana for 18 to 20 whistles. the chana should be cooked well an softened. the chole should be soft when you mash it with a spoon. the chana should not give you a bite when you eat it.

• In a pan, take all the whole spices for the chole masala mentioned above and on a low heat begin to roast them.

• stir often and roast the spices till they get extra browned. don't burn them. you have to go beyond a point roasting them even after they become fragrant and they get more browned than what is the norm usually.

• let theses roasted spices cool and then grind them finely in a coffee grinder or in a dry grinder.

• by now the chana will be cooked. you will see a darker brown shade in the safed (white chana). remove the amla pieces which would have softened by now or the tea bag from the stock.

• heat oil in a pan or kadai.add ginger-garlic paste and saute till their raw aroma goes away.

• then add chopped onions and saute till the onions turn translucent or light brown.

• add tomatoes & saute them till they soften and the oil starts to leave the sides of the masala.

• then add the powdered chole masala that we ground, along with the red chili powder, turmeric powder & garam masala powder (optional).

• stir the dry masala and then add slit green chilies

• add the cooked chole. stir well.

• add salt. then add about 1 to 1.25 cups of the stock in which the chana was boiled. you can also water instead.

• stir and cover the chana.

• simmer on a low to medium flame. you can also cook without the lid. the gravy will thicken and reduce. mash a few chana. this will help thicken the gravy. simmer till you get the consistency you prefer. the consistency is not thin, but medium consistency or dry.

• in case, you have not added dry pomegranate seeds while roasting the spices, then you need to add amchur powder (dry mango powder) now. stir.

• garnish chole masala with coriander leaves & ginger julienne.

• serve the punjabi chole with kulchas, bhaturas, pooris, rotis, along with sliced onions, tomatoes and lime. chole also tastes good with steamed rice or jeera rice.

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