An early morning scene in a typical Gujarati home kitchen where multitasking takes precedence over everything. While the breakfast is prepared and served, the pressure cooker sits languidly on the stove, lid tightly on, on a slow simmer, the steady steam escaping giving hints of what is cooking inside, waiting for the men to leave, before Granny hurriedly slaps on the whistle, cooking to tender perfection some legumes that were soaked overnight and would be served for lunch.  

I’m talking about black chickpeas here. If you are not Indian, you’ve probably never heard of them. With the popularity of white large Garbanzo beans/ Kabuli Chana/ Chole you often find in Pakistani, Middle Eastern, or Mediterranean foods I was not surprised that many have not heard of the Black Chickpeas or the Kala Chana /Kala Vatana in Gujarati (Kala/kara = black and chickpeas = chana) also known as Bengal Gram in English.

They are dark brown when dried and lighten up as they are soaked and cooked, less creamy but meatier than their white chickpea counterparts and lower on the glycemic index.  You will often find these in the Indian Bhel or Pani Puri or as an addition to roadside chaats served in newspaper cones or in my Zanzibari mix urojo.

The purpose of this post is to introduce you to a lesser-known East African dish called Chana Vagarela or vagharela chana, depending on where you are from, and which community you belong to along the East Coast.  To be clear this is not Chana Bateta which has a gravy or Kala Chana Nu Rasavalu Shaak  nor Chana Bhatura.  

My MIL made this dry version of chickpeas with that distinctive fragrance and unique allure of curry leaves, tempered with mustard seeds, tart tamarind paste, a spicy, tangy tomato- onion sauce, served as an accompaniment to some Sekela or BBQ and roti.

I grew up eating a similar version at home called Sookha kara chana – which was basically, a dry kala chana curry, fluffy poori and nutty, ghee and raisin filled Sheero (the spicy, the salty and sweet combo is a match made in heaven!) a holy trinity that most North Indians swear by at the end of Navratri or Ashtami.  

The Sukha kara chana dish is served as prasad, and in keeping with a sattvik diet, which is light on spices, without onions, garlic, or tomato, and is served as a way to break a fast after nine days. Those who follow the falahari diet (Fal-Fruit, Aahar-to eat) give up whole grains, onions, garlic in favor of fruits, nuts, dairy and vegetables that are sattvik, such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, and are energy-producing.

The onion-garlic-ginger combination as well as tomato paste and curry leaves makes this dish unique, a healthy Meatless Monday vegetarian recipe that is vegan and gluten free.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cup chana/black chickpeas
• 4-5 red potatoes, boiled and cubed.
• 4 tablespoons olive oil1 tablespoon Chickpea Flour
• 1 teaspoon mustard seed
• 1 teaspoon garlic
• 1 teaspoon ginger paste
• 2 green chilies sliced
• 1 stalk of limbri/ curry leaves 12 pcs.
• 3 tablespoon tomato paste (or about 2 cans crushed tomatoes)
• 2 tablespoon tamarind pulp/ sauce/ chutney 
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin coriander powder ( Dhana Jeera)
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice
• Salt to taste
• ½ cup finely chopped cilantro

Instructions:

• Soak the chickpeas/chana overnight, then boil them with a tsp. of salt and turmeric until soft, either in a pressure cooker, Instant Pot or stove top.
  
• Boil the potatoes with skin on as well, once cool peel, cut into cubes and set aside.
  
• Heat the oil, add the mustard seeds and when they pop add the limri/curry leaves followed by garlic and ginger pastes, at this point add the chickpea flour and sauté and the tomato paste or canned tomatoes.
  
• Cook this for a few minutes, and then add the red chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and turmeric sauté for a few minutes.
  
• Add the boiled cubed potatoes, stirring all the time, adding a bit of the water from the boiled chickpeas, then add the chickpeas.
  
• Stir and cook for a few more minutes, then add about half cup of chickpea water just enough to cover the chickpeas and let it cook for about 6-7 mins.
  
• Adjust salt and add tamarind pulp, and lemon juice, and add garam masala if using and garnish with cilantro and finely diced onions.