Chana is a staple in Trinidad cuisine, curried chic peas, or garbanzo beans. Tasty, healthy, and used in roti wraps, and the famous doubles! Great topped with chutneys, and eaten with rice, or roti.
Ingredients
Chic peas, chana (1 can)
Red onion (½ onion)
Garlic (3 cloves)
Curry powder (1-2 tsp)
Garam Masala (1-2 tsp)
Tumeric (0.25-0.5 tsp)
Green Seasoning (1 tbsp)
Salt (0.5-1 tsp)
Water (1-2 cups)
Scotch bonnet (<1 pepper, optional)
Substitutions
Green Seasoning
Green seasoning is a staple in many dishes in Trinidad cooking. The key ingredients are the green herbs, which is typically thyme, shado beni (culantro, or cilantro). These are combined with the remaining ingredients, and is typically a custom per household. You can make a large batch and freeze the unused portion for later use!
Green herbs (Cilantro|Culantro, aka Shado beni|Thyme|Parsley)
Pepper (Bell, or Pimento)
Garlic
Onion (Optional)
Vinegar
Water
During this recipie I used the following:
Cilantro (½ tsp)
Thyme (¼ tsp)
Garlic (½ clove)
Green onion (½ shoot)
Vinegar (½ tsp)
These ingredients I had on hand. Since I had onion in the dish, I omitted it.
Method
Drain and rinse chana, set aside
Dice onion
Crush, or mince garlic
Make a curry slurry with equal amount of water as powder
Heat a skillet on medium heat with 1 tbsp of oil
Add diced onion, sautee until translucent
Add curry slurry, and coat well
Add garlic when water mostly evaporates
Add chana, sautee for 5 minutes
Add enough water to cover the chana
Add Green seasoning, garam masala, tumeric, scotch bonnet pepper, and salt
Bring to a boil, and cover for 5 minutes
Remove lid, and cook on low heat to reduce the water slowly
When half of the water is gone puree ½ cup of cooked chana (or crush with potato masher), add back to pan
… * If chana is not cooked soft enough, and/or water is to low, add more water, and cook for longer
Reduce water until water consistency is desired
Salt, and pepper to taste.
Serve with roti, or rice, and garnish with shado beni, or cilantro.
