Choliya (Green Chana bhaji / Hare Chane ki Sabji)

Today I am posting a recipe from Haryana. Everyday this month I will post a recipe from a different state in India.

Haryana is located in the north west and is surrounded by Punjab, Rajastan, Delhi and Uttarachal. This was one state were I picked the dish without considering which state it was from. This was one of the first dishes I made for this month long challenge.

Choliya or green chana is found during winter when the chickpea crop is harvested. I found some at the local Indian store. When I started looking for a new way to cook these I found recipes from a lot of states. Dried chickpeas are very popular all over India. And every state that has a recipe for dried chickpeas has one for the fresh green version. However, most of these have onion and a lot of spices. I was looking for something simple.

Then I remembered this simple recipe that I had at a friends house. I loved it because it has very little spice and that allows the taste of the channa to dominate the dish. Since she is from Haryana, choliya it was for Haryana.

The green channa I bought was being sold with the shell and I knew it would take me forever to shell it so I bought only a handful. I remember as a child when my father used to get fresh matar (peas) on Sunday and we all chipped in to shell them. If my father was visiting I would have bought more than a handful of the channa and spent a good deal of time with him chatting and shelling them.

As it happened I was picking up my daughter from school that day and I shelled the choliya while waiting for her in the pick up line.

By the time she came out I had them all shelled and ready to be cooked.

You will need
1 cup green chana, shelled
1/4 onion, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tsp. cumin coriander powder
1 Serrano pepper, deseeded and minced
1 tbsp. olive oil
salt to taste
a squirt lime juice

Shell the fresh chana.

Pressure cook the chana so that they are soft.

In a pan heat oil and add the cumin seeds. When they change color add the turmeric powder, Serrano pepper and onion. When onion is cooked add the chana and the cumin coriander powder. Season with salt. Let it cook together with the spices for a few minutes. Turn off the heat. Squirt some lime juice and mix well.

Garnish with cilantro and server hot.

Enjoy!