Chickpeas Sundal

Am looking forward to winter - never been a great fan of the grand old man....but the idea of hot coffee, Christmas lights - pies and tarts are just igniting the romantic within. This year has been a mixed bag..... Learnt so many valuable lessons, grew so much as a person. My physical and mental capacity far exceeded my expectations.  Slow small steps do lead to giant leaps. Connected with some awesome people through the blog and learnt how some people are so giving.  Life is but once - if you live it well, once is enough. And eating is a big part of living well :))  what's cooking in your kitchen today ?? Well am making a simple Chana/Chickpeas sundal, for those who don't know what am talking about -a cup of  gazibo bean salad. Fresh and tangy!!

2 cups of Chana/ gazebo beans

3 tbsp oil

1 tbsp mustard

2 inch ginger finely chopped

4-5 green chili finely chopped

1/4 tsp asafetida

Juice of 2 limes

1/2 cup fresh grated coconut

Finely chopped cilantro

One of the  first pressure cooker * 

Soak the Chana overnight with a pinch of baking soda. Wash it and pressure cook till tender.

Well pressure cook reminds me - I have a couple of friends who are so intimidated by the pressure cooker - yes, I know most of us don't think so much about a pressure cooker - we grew up with the sounds of the cooker, but for some it can be intimidating - worrying that the lid might blow.  Well it is one of the simplest and safest gadget if used properly -  friends ( u know which ones ;)) you should give it a try !! It really cuts cooking time in half,  and its great for high altitudes, now that's an incentive. I had a similar discussion on one of the forums on face book - I concluded that its a love and hate relationship with pc (pressure cooker). All the talk about the cooker really got me enthused, did some reading. Did you know that the first pc is as old as 1679, it was then called a steam digester, picture on left....huge right !!

Going back to the recipe....

In a large pot, heat oil add mustard, let it splatter add asafetida, green chilies and ginger. Let it cool, add lime juice, garnish with fresh cilantro and fresh coconut.

Drenched in gold, could not resist - had to share :)) have a great weekend !!