Hara chana (green chickpeas) with muthias

We were in Bombay two weeks back for a family get together and a cousin had invited us over for lunch. She had this absolutely wonderful spread laid out - a complete treat for vegetarians and non-vegetarians. And though I simply love fish (she made 3 varieties of that), i still gorged on this absolutely lovely dish of hara chana with muthias.

Muthias are little dumplings of besan / wheat flour with spices and greens or vegetables. These can be had steamed or fried.
Muthias are also an essential part of 'Undhiyo', a winter special dish of Gujarat.

When I got back to Ahmedabad, I found green chanas in abundance here in the markets, so quickly called her up to get the recipe. Its adapted from Tarla Dalal's 'Rotis and Subzis' and really doesnt take too long to make...

Tasty and healthy dish which is delicious with hot phulkas / rotis




Sending this to JFI-Chickpea hosted this month by dear ms of SometimeFoodie.
Read the JFI now and thought this fits in well. Jihva for Ingredients(JFI) is the wonderful creation of Indira of Mahanandi.
Also sending this to My Legume Love Affair - Seventh Helping, the brainchild of Susan, hosted this month by Srivalli.

What you need -

2 cups of fresh green chana (can use the dried ones soaked overnight)
1 onion
1/2 cup coconut milk

for the chutney -
a handful of coriander
4-5 green chillies
1/2 inch piece ginger
5-6 pods of garlic
a handful of chopped spinach leaves
juice of half a lemon

for the muthias -
1 cup methi(fenugreek) leaves chopped
1 cup of wheat flour
a pinch of hing(asafoetida)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp salt

What you do with it -

Boil the chana in hot water or cook in a pressure pan if the chana is not fresh.

Grind the ingredients mentioned for the chutney. Spinach leaves need not be blanched for this, just chop and blend with all the other ingredients.

Mix together all the ingredients mentioned for muthias. Add very little water so that the dough doesnt get too sticky.
Make small balls of this and deep fry in oil.

Heat oil in a deep bottomed pan. Add chopped onions and fry till they turn brown.
Add the chutney and then the chana.
Adjust salt. Cook for 4-5 mins.
Add coconut milk just before you take it off the stove.

Add the fried muthias 5 minutes before serving. That way it remins crisp and still gets the flavour of the curry. Keep it longer if you like it soft.

Serve hot with rotis / phulkas