Black Chana is grown in the fields of India where lightening dances.
This energizes them to be the most powerful food in the world for the
human magnetic field.
It is our tradition to cook these beans on special occasions, someone's birthday or death remembrance. We recite a special prayer or Ardas, blessing the person whose birthday it is or send out a prayer in sweet remembrance of the beloved soul. Or they are cooked because they are just plain delicious and everyone I know whose eaten them love them.
Recipe for 5-7 servings
2 cups dry Black Chana Dal other names (Kala Chole, Black Garbonzo
Beans, Kala Chana)
1/4 to 1/3 cup Golden Mustard Oil
1 to 1 1/2 Tablespoons Black Salt (good for your eyes and has iron)
2 teaspoons of Ground Black Pepper
1/2 cup fresh Ginger cut into match stick pieces
First pour out the dry beans and pick through for small rocks. Then
wash thoroughly. Then soak the black dal in clean water and 1/2 tsp of
Baking Soda overnight or all day. Strain the beans in a strainer
and rinse them. Put them in a pressure cooker and fill them up with
new water up to the top line. Put in the 1tsp sea salt and the 1T of oil.
Close the lid tight, turn flame on medium and bring to a boil so the top part starts jiggling.
When the top starts to jiggle, start timing 15 minutes and turn down to medium/low. (Make sure
top part continues to jiggle). After 15 minutes put the pressure cooker into the sink and run cold
water onto the lid. When pressure knob releases down, you can release the lid easily by turning the handle.
Beans should smash down pretty easily. Strain the beans into a large bowl. You can keep the bean water separate for a soup if desired.
Here is another method of cooking the beans:
Soak beans as described above. Rinse well and combine beans with water 3" above beans in a four quart pot. Cover with lid and bring to a boil on medium heat. Turn down and simmer for 3-4 hours until done (it might even take longer).
After the beans are cooked and done (test by seeing if a bean mashes easily with a fork) strain beans over a large bowl, retaining the bean water.
Meanwhile, saute the ginger in an iron skillet 3-4 minutes until soft
in the Mustard Oil on a medium flame stirring. Add the strained beans. Sprinkle with the
Black Salt and Ground Black Pepper. Stir frequently for 10-12 minutes on medium heat. Turn off
heat when the beans look like they are coated with the Black Salt and
Pepper. Serve by themselves or with yogurt or raita and rice.
Recipe from Atma