Kondakadalai Sundal - Channa Sundal

Kondakadalai or Kabuli Channa makes an excellent Sundal. Do you guys call in Kabuli Channa?? Wonder if it really did come from Kabul.



When I was little, we used to go to Ahmedabad as my maternal grand parents and paternal uncle (dads bro and family) and aunt (dads sister and family) all used to live there. So that was our summer holidays.

Along with all the fun memories of family time, other thing that comes to my mind are the people of Gujarat. They have something special going on about them. The hospitality and friendliness to even strangers is something we all have to learn from them.

Walking a little further thru those memories, there is this little shop that we used to buy clothes from. Gujarat is quite famous for its textiles even in those days. And was much cheaper and better quality than what we used to get in Kerala. So we used to bring years worth of clothes from there. And to buy it we used to go no other place but Bachu Bhai's Dukan (shop) in Teen Darwaza. It was a tiny little place which somehow seemed to stock all that you needed. It is quite popular name as there are around 10 shops now in the same street which claim to be the 'asli' bachu bhai (original one). It was the place where my mom got her clothes as a kid.

There were some food related memories that are also quite different from what we were used to in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The love for sweets - i mean, we do love sweets, but to eat a bowl full of it for breakfast is totally beyond me. Summers and mangoes go hand in hand right? the aamras and aamrakhand from gujarat is just out of the world. just give me some roti/puri and aamras and that is all I need.

A memory always pop into my head when I see Channa. Early morning (this was during one winter trip) when it is all cold and misty, you would see people hurrying away in their bicycles (yes they were used a lot when we were kids). And in front of all these cycles were baskets with bunches of greens in it. Wondering what they were. Fresh Chickpeas!!. They will just bike along popping the pods open and munching on it.

Ok now.. story over... lets get on to the sundal recipe, shall we?

Ingredients

Dried Chickpeas/Channa 1 cup
Coconut 1/4 cup
Curry leaf 2 sprigs
Coriander leaves 2 tbsp chopped
Mustard 1/2 tsp
Jeera 1/2 tsp
Turmeric 1/4 tsp
Red Chillies 2
Lemon Juice 1-2 tbsp

Method of Preparation

1. Soak Chickpeas overnight and pressure cook with enough water till it is cooked well but still has its shape. Drain and keep aside.

2. Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard. When it sputters, add the red chilli, jeera, turmeric and curry leaves.

3. Add the drained chick peas.

4. Add coconut and salt. Mix well.

5. Switch off and add the coriander leaves and lemon juice. Mix well and serve




Linking this to Lets Cook - Protein Rich Food Event by Radhika

Linking this to South Indian Cooking - Event by Anu, Hosted by Sangee