Kathal Chana Sabzi / Raw Jackfruit curry with Green horsegrams

Raw jackfruit is one of my favorite vegetables. Ever since I stumbled upon this veggie at the local asian grocery store, I have been making curries of this veggie every week. It is very high in fibre content and very good for the digestive system. I have posted a kathal sabzi in my blog earlier. You can refer to that recipe without the chana. In this recipe, I am adding the chana and the masala is also going to be different. It tastes best when eaten with hot boiled Kerala Red Rice or with any plain white rice.

Ingredients:

Green Chana - 1 cup
Raw Jackfruit - 1 can (yields about 2 cups)
Freshly grated coconut - 1/2 cup
Dry red chillies - 4-5
Tamarind pulp - 1 1/2 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp (optional)

For Tempering and Seasoning:

Coconut oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - a pinch
Curry leaves - A few
Chana Dal - 1 tsp
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Cilantro - For Garnishing
Salt - To taste

Method:

• Soak the green chana / horsegram for about 3-4 hours until they double up in volume.

• Rinse the canned raw jackfruit well and cut it into small bite sized pieces.

• In a blender, grind the freshly grated coconut with the dry red chillies and make a paste.

• Pressure cook the soaked chana and the jackfruit for upto 3 whistles.

• In a pan, add the coconut oil and temper it with mustard seeds, chana dal, urad dal, asafoetida and curry leaves.

• To this add the cooked chana and jackfruit.

• Then add salt, turmeric powder and red chili powder.

• Cook for 5-7 minutes. Then add the ground paste and tamarind pulp and cook for another 7-8 minutes until the raw smell leaves.

• Garnish it with cilantro and serve it hot with Kerala Red Rice or any other cooked white rice. Enjoy!!

Notes:

• Adding red chilli powder is optional. I like additional spice and so added it. You can do with the ground red chillies.
• You can use fresh raw jackfruit too. We do not get fresh ones here and hence we use canned.
• You can use brown chana if you prefer that to the green one.
• Coconut oil tastes best for this dish. You can substitute it with olive oil or canola oil as per your preference.