Chickpea/Kabuli Chana Fugad

We Mangaloreans are good at making fugad of every available legume or vegetable...:D That is one of the reasons why I feel I am unable to prepare any other vegetable curry..lol!! Ask my husband as to how I break into a sweat when we have shudh vegetarians over for lunch. Cause my basic knowledge of preparing veggies is reduced to fugad!!

Since our arrival to Germany and having gotten ourselves acquainted with Indian families who are vegetarians has encouraged me to take a bold step and whip up some veggie delights. I will definitely post some of the delicious vegetable gravies I have prepared, but for now, back to this dear chickpea fugad of mine.

Every family will have it's own unique way of preparing it. Here is mine.

Ingredients:

• A cup of chickpeas soaked overnight.
• 1 medium onion
• 1 large tomato
• 3 to 4 cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• a sprig curry leaves
• 1 tsp bafath powder
• a handful of freshly grated coconut.
• 4 tbsp oil
• salt to taste

Method:

1. Soak the chickpeas overnight for 12 hours.
2. Drain them. Place them in a pressure cooker with enough water so that they are soaked well(roughly an inch above the peas). Add salt to taste and pressure cook till just about tender(They shouldn't be too soft). Since I use a german pressure cooker with no whistle, it takes me about roughly 15 to 20 minutes to cook.
3. Meanwhile, slice the onion fine. Chop the tomato. Crush the garlic with skin.
4. In a deep bottomed vessel or kadhai, heat the oil. When sufficiently hot add the mustard seeds. As they splutter drop in the curry leaves and crushed garlic. Fry for a few seconds.
5. Add the sliced onion, fry for 2 minutes. Drop in the chopped tomato and fry well till both onion and tomato blend together. 
6. Toss in the grated coconut and bafath powder. Mix well.
7. Now add the cooked channa, a little of the stock(depends on how dry you want it). Mix well so that the coconut and masala is coated well around the peas. Adjust salt.
8. Cook on a slow flame till peas are well cooked and water is absorbed. Do not allow it to burn.
9. Have it with hot rotis or rice and sambhar.

Note: Since I had very few strips of fresh coconut, I added a fistful of dessicated coconut.