HARA CHANA SALAD / हरे चने की सलाद (GREEN GARBANZO BEANS WARM SALAD)

Shopping for the weekly stock of vegetables has its own advantages. The biggest advantage being that you have plenty of choice to decide what to cook and plan your menu well. Apart from the fact that you can entertain your kid’s whims with an ease.
But on the flip side, one tends to miss out on fresh stock of vegetables and certain veggies (that keep lying in the fridge) never seeing the light of the day and are bound to find their way to the bin if not consumed well in time! But then every cloud has a silver lining When favourites are all done with and one is left with veggies that either hubby or kids don’t want to eat, it’s time to dish out something new and tweak and experiment in the kitchen.
Green garbanzo beans are always given a step motherly treatment by my hubby and daughter. I usually add them to make pilaf or make a curry by adding potatoes to it.
This time around though I decided to bring in a change in the style of preparation. Instead of a gravy dish, that I usually prepare, I decided to make a quick warm salad. Not with onions and tomatoes for sure, I decided
At the end of it, it was satisfying to see my daughter dig her fork into it and polishing off the whole stuff on her plate (though it required a lot of coaxing to make her taste it initially!!).
Here is what all you will need for this quick salad with simple and rustic flavours:
1 cup boiled Green Garbanzo Beans (hara chana/ chholiya)
1 tsp finely grated ginger
½ tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
2 tsp oil
A small pinch asafoetida (heeng)
1 – 2 green chillies, finely chopped
Salt to taste
A sprinkle of red chili powder or black pepper
½ – 1 tsp lemon juice (optional)
Boil or steam the green grams till they are just tender.
Heat a thick bottomed pan or wok and add 2 tsp oil.
Add asafoetida and cumin seeds and once they start to crackle, add grated ginger and chopped green chilli and give everything a quick stir.
Once the ginger starts to turn golden, (the ginger won’t take long to turn golden, so keep stirring it continuously) add the green garbanzo beans and stir fry them for a minute or so and season them with salt and pepper.
Turn off the heat and add chopped cilantro.
To perk up all the flavours and bring them together, add lemon juice and stir them well.
Remove the contents to a serving bowl. Serve warm or at room temperature.