Quick Channa Palav

Palav is full meals food and it is easy to do it and it can be one pot meal, quick meal or tasty meal. Palav is prepared in many ways. This time it is Channa /Kabooli Channa Palav and is very easy to prepare and serve.

 Good for sunday brunch, or for packing kids lunch box or even for picnics.
I have used cooked channa, (Use of cooked channa helps in softening the hard pods to quick little more and easy to digest), coriander leaves, carrots, handful of cashews, garam masala and chutney powder, little spices like cinnamon pieces, 3 to 4 cloves, a little bit of sonf /fennel seeds or Aniseeds, green chilly, grated ginger and grated coconut.
Channa /Kabooli Channa helps you to keep you fit and provides proteins and energy. It helps to keep your body warm.
Channa helps in keeping your bones strong and fit. Channa is full of fiber and anyone can eat and enjoy.
It is my own creation and love the taste and aroma of this Palav.
No Onion or Nor Garlic is used here. "Quick Channa Palav" is yummy to have, filling and easy to prepare.

Things Needed :

Cooked Kabooli Channa : 1 Bowl.
Raw Rice : 2 Cups. (I used Basumathi Rice)
Carrots : 2 to 3
Cashews : 1 Handful
Saffron : 2 to 3 Rakes
Ginger : 1 Tablespoon (Grated).
Spices :
Cinnamon : An inch
Cloves : 3 to 4
Sonf/Fennel Seeds/Aniseeds : 1/2 Teaspoon
Garam Masala : 1/2 Teaspoon
Chutney Powder : 1 Tablespoon
Green chilly : 2
Fresh grated coconut : 2 Tablespoons
Coriander leaves : 1 Handful
Ghee : 2 To 3 Tablespoons
Cooking Oil : 1Tablespoon
Salt : As required

Method :

1. Wash and cut carrots and keep it aside. Wash and slit green chilly.
2. Wash rice and drain the water completely and keep it aside. ( At least 10 minutes before you prepare Palavu).

3. Wash and grate ginger and keep it aside.
4. Wash and cut coriander leaves and cut into small pieces. Grate coconut and keep it aside.

5. Now keep a pan/pressure cooker on the fire and heat.
6. Add oil and 1 tbs of ghee. Add sonf, cinnamon, cloves and fry for 10 seconds.

7. Add carrots, cooked channa, grated ginger, slit chilly and fry nicely for 1 minute.

8. Add cashews and fry till they turn slightly brown.
9. Add garam masala, chutney powder and stir just once or twice.

10. Add  rice and stir nicely for 2 to 3 minutes.

11. Add 4 cups of water and mix all the ingredients well.
12. Add  grated coconut, saffron and required salt.

13. Add cut coriander leaves close the lid and cook. Put weight after 2 minutes.

14. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes. Put off the fire and let the pressure come down.

15. Open the lid, add remaining ghee and mix it well. Shift the delicious palav to a serving dish.

16. Serve with your choice of Raitha. We had it with carrot raitha

Note : 

Any brand of Basumathi rice is optional. Use of Sona masoori is also useful. Use little more water if you use Sona Masoori Rice. Use of steamed rice gives different taste. Use of green chilly is optional.
Use of curry leaves chutney pudi adds to the taste. (Optional).
40 minutes

Serves : 3 to 4 .

Avarekai - Bottle Gourd Gasi

Avarekai/Field beans - Bottle Gourd Gasi /Thick Curry is one of the side dish you can prepare as a side dish. Gasi means thick curry.
We do not use any dal in Gasi. Here I have used Avarekai - Bottle Gourd and a Sweet potato.

Spices are freshly fried in coconut oil and the aroma is just awesome. This Gasi is One of the Udupi special curry.
Gasi is prepared using some pods/peas/cow peas or whole channa, ( black or Kabooli channa).  Dakshina Kannada , Udupi and Malenadu side this Gasi is well known dish.
I have used fresh fried spices and coconut. The fried ingredients are then grind with fresh grated coconut.
Avarekai is field beans.  It is a seasonal pod which grows well during the month of November to February. It is available plenty in the market since this is the season we get the best Avarekai.
Let us see the recipe now :

Things needed :

To Cook :

Avarekai : 1 Bowl (250 gr).
Bottle Gourd : 1 Bowl ( 1/2 of One medium size bottle gourd).
Sweet Potato : Boiled : 1
To Fry :
Channa dal : 1 Teaspoon
Urid dal : 1 Teaspoon
Red chilly : 5 to 6
Coriander seeds : 1 Tablespoon
Ingh /Asafoetida : A little
Curry Leaves : 6 to 8
To Grind : 
Fried ingredients
Fresh Grated Coconut : 1 Cup
To Add :
Ground coconut mixture
Salt : As required
Tamarind : A small marble size.
Turmeric powder : A pinch.
Seasoning done in coconut oil. (Mustard seeds, ingh, curry leaves).

Method :

1. Wash and peel off bottle gourd outer layer. Cut into small pieces.

2. Wash Avarekai pods and cook with bottle gourd. (Pressure cook). Cook sweet potato and remove its skin.

3. Keep a pan on the fire and heat. Add a tsp of coconut oil.
4. Add a tsp of channa dal and urid dal. Fry till they turn golden brown.

 5. Add red chilly and fry. Add coriander seeds fry slightly and put off the fire.

6. Add curry leaves and ingh. Mix all the ingredients well. Let it cool.
7. Grate coconut,  grind with fried ingredients and marble size tamarind. (Soak tamarind in little water so that it gets soft. Use the soaked water to grind). Keep this aside.

8. Keep cooked veggy on the fire. Add salt, turmeric powder and little water.
9. Boil for a minute. Add ground coconut mixture and boil for 3 to 4 minutes.

10 . Cut cooked sweet potato into small pieces. Add the pieces while gasi is boiling.

 11. Add seasoning and serve with any of the main dish.

12. We had Avarekai - bottle gourd Gasi for lunch. It was perfect and yummy.

Note :

Gasi can be prepared with any pods. If you are using dry pods, soak them at night and then cook in the morning. Adding more chilly is optional.
Time : 30 Minutes.
Serves : 3 to 4.