Chana Chole Masala Noodles! Here's an Authentic Indian Noodles!

 Chana masala or Chana chole or Chhole masala or whatever is a favorite Indian subcontinent dist. It's mouth-watering and lip-smacking spicy chickpea cooked in authentic Indian spices. This dish is usually cooked making use of Kabuli Chana or the white chana. There are two versions of Chana Masala the dark brown thick gravy where there is little to no tomato while the reddish-orange gravy is the one made with a lot of onions and tomato gravy. Here we will see how to make both the versions and mix them up with noodles. These noodles are not only nutritious but are also stomach-filling!

Preparing the Chole or Chana Masala:

Soak the Chickpeas:

Soaking chickpeas should be done overnight as this will allow the chickpeas, if fresh, to germinate making it easy to digest and protein breakdown thereby more nutritious; if dry chana, then it will make it easy to cook by softening them through rehydrating the chickpeas and also by breaking down the phytic acid in these peas as it causes flatulence and bloating. Overnight or 8 hours of soaking is needed for making the chickpeas easy to cook in a pressure cooker. This can be done using a quick and alternative process by soaking the chickpeas in hot water for 1 to 2 hours. Canned chickpeas are even easier to prepare and will not need to be soaked. When you soak the chickpeas, soak them in a bowl that has enough headspace and pour enough water that the chickpeas are submerged in the water that they will still remain immersed in water after expanding on imbibition at the end of time. Before use, strain all the water, rinse, and wash the soaked chickpeas. 

Boiling the chickpeas: 

The chickpeas are boiled with dried amla or a tea bag that a tangy flavour and a dark colour is imparted for the preparation of chole. Amla gives both the taste and the colour while the tea bag imparts only the colour. In that case, either pomegranate seeds or amchur powder or lime or lemon juice can be used as an alternative. Add enough water that the chickpeas are immersed in the water - about 2.5 to 3 cups of water for 1 cup of soaked chickpeas. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and mix it well. Pressure cook the chickpea for 2 to 3 whistles or until it is cooked soft and is easy to mash. Remove the amla pieces or the teabag. 

Chole Spices:

Place a skillet on the stovetop and heat it on low heat. To this hot skillet add the following spices:

2-3 black cardamoms

1 to 1.5 inches of cinnamon bark

3 to 5 peppercorns

2 to 3 cloves

1 medium-sized bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon carom seeds or ajwain or omam

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1.2 teaspoon dry pomegranate seeds or amchur (mango powder) (optional)

1 to 3 dry red chilies whose seeds are removed and broken open

Roast them dry in this hot skillet till they are deep brown but not burnt. Allow the spices to cool and dry grind them to a fine powder. 

Preparing the Chana Masala Gravy:

Heat in a wok or a vessel 1.5 to 2 tablespoons of oil. Any oil can be used but preferably lightly dense oil than coconut or mustard or olive oil as they can leave their own flavor. 

Grind 1 to 2 cm of ginger root with 4 to 5 pieces of peeled garlic cloves. Add this ginger-garlic paste to the oil and saute it. Add 1/3 cup of finely chopped onions and saute it till it turns translucent or light brown. 

Add 1/2 cup to 1 cup of tomatoes (as per the desired color of the gravy, fewer tomatoes or no tomato for black gravy) and saute it till it turns soft and cooked appearing pale red. The oil will start to mix well with the wet ingredients and leave the sides of the wok. 

Reduce the heat to low heat from medium or high heat. Add all the dry chole spice powder, 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder, and 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder. To this, add 1/4 teaspoon of garam masala powder, but is optional. Mix well until the ingredients blend with each other. 

2 to 3 deseeded and slit green chilies are added and sauteed till it blends well with the mixture.

Add the cooked chickpeas after draining the remaining water. The water will be used as a stock. Stir the chickpeas to mix well with this sauteed masala until it blends well and coats all the chickpeas. 

To this chickpea masala in the wok, add 1 to 1.25 cups of the stock and water as needed. Stir well and add enough salt to taste. Stir well again. Cook it in low to medium heat. 

When the chana masala reaches a boil or starts bubbling, add some more water as needed for the noodles to cook. This can amount to another 1 to 1.5 cups of water. Let the chana masala come to a boil. (You can squeeze or add the lime or lemon juice at this point).

Open the ready-to-cook noodles, and add the noodles to the boiling chana masala. To this also add the given masala powder and salt to taste. (Adding the masala powder is optional and in that case, the chana spice powder can be made a little spicier to accommodate the noodles). Stir the mixture well that the chickpeas and the noodles are mixed well. Close it with a lid and allow the noodles to cook. 

If you are using a Hakka or such noodle cake, prepare the noodle separately in a round-bottomed container with a drop of oil and salt to taste. Drain the noodles dry and transfer the noodles to the boiling chana masala. Stir well in the heat until the noodles and the chana masala blends well. Simmer it until the chana masala noodles are of desired gravy and transfer it to the bowl. Top it with grated cheese and coriander leaves.

Hint: Vegetables like potato, carrots, beetroot, and beans can be added but is optional.

Once the noodles are cooked, stir it once more and top the chana noodles to a bowl with coriander to dress. For a more cheesy taste, sprinkle some grated cheese before serving. 

Break the Barriers by Pairing Your Choice of Fruit with Lime and Mint Water

 On a hot sunny day is when we drink a cold Lime Juice! Whenever I go to any fruit juice shop, I always find that the lowest-priced but the healthiest, refreshing, and hygienic drink is Lime juice? 

But times have changed! I find that lime juice and lime soda have turned out to be savory and made a priced fruit dash with the addition of other fruits and veggies! 

How do I prepare my Lime and Mint WAter combinations - many ways that you can imagine!

1. Lime Mint Water:

Add a few slices of lime and a few sprigs of mint into a jar full of water and leave it for a few hours. It makes a refreshing drink. A Detox Drink - you can add to this water, other fruits or veggies like cucumber slices, pineapple slices, lemon slices, orange slices, strawberries, mosambi slices, grape, grapefruit slices, kiwi fruit slices, and watermelon slices. These combinations make it excellent detox water.

2. Lime Mint Juice (Salt/Sweet):

This is the refreshing drink that revitalized me during a hot, sunny, and humid day. 

Squeeze half a lime or lemon juice and to this add a few pinches of salt (1 or 2 tsp of sugar or nannari syrup). Mix it up in the fruit juicer, followed by adding a few sprigs of mint or as needed, and mix it in the juicer until the mint leaves make into a smooth paste blending with the lime juice. You can add ice cubes if desired. 

3. Lime Mint Soda or Mojito (Salt/Sweet):

This is the same drink preparation as Lime Mine Juice but soda is added instead of water. Initially, the lime juice, sprigs of mint leaves, salt (or sugar or syrup) are added to a small proportion of water and blended in a juicer. To this, the rest of the proportion is mixed with soda water or sparkling water. I was told that soda rehydrates two times better than water. 

Benefits of Lime-Mint and its combinations:

1. Lime juice rejuvenates skin because of its hydration and antioxidant properties. It is also a rich source of vitamin C and flavonoids. 

2. It helps in digestion because of its acidic nature that helps in breaking down complex fat (in the African continent it is by their culture that they drink a glassful of lime juice after a meaty meal). Thus, it also helps to ease constipation. 

3. Vitamin C is the immunity vitamin fighting against viral infections - the dash of mint and other veggies like strawberries, cucumber, orange, or melon, only make it more valuable Immunity Water. 

4. Helps in weight loss as the citric acid boosts the metabolism accessing the stored fats to be burnt. It also supplements with other needed minerals and vitamins that satiate to reduce the craving for bigger portions by including it in weight loss diet plans. 

5. The lime mint water has the ability to regulate the blood glucose sugar level by boosting the energy potential and reducing the craving or need for energy. So the blood sugar spikes can be controlled especially by drinking the salted version of lime mint juice or soda. 

6. Lime and mint are good sources of potassium and magnesium that aids in regulating blood pressure by increasing blood circulation. It also has a chemical called limonins which break down cholesterol. 

7. The antioxidative effect of lime and mint must be helping cancer patients and preventing cancer by scavenging the painful oxidative chemicals flowing in the bloodstream. A direct role is still not clear. So this effect should also help to clean up the blood of unwanted other chemicals that causes inflammation. It also scavenged uric acid. 

8. It serves as an electrolyte drink while recovering from fever, diarrhea, and vomiting, or sunstroke. 

9. The rehydrating effect of lime mint water and its effect in balancing out the chemicals will help to flush out the excess minerals out of the body through urine. It helps to prevent kidney stones though it may help in increasing urine formation and micturition that can wash out if the kidney stones are small. 

10. It helps to clean up the teeth and will act as a natural teeth whitening agent. As the acidic properties of lime and minerals in mint juice are mixed with the saliva, savoring the water or soda will break down the debris and reduce the microbes in the cavities (salted version). Further, it will also clean up the yellow in the teeth making the enamel shine white. At the same time, the acidic nature can cause a sting in your cavity as well. This is why this drink is good when you have bad breath - halitosis. 

11. It helps to ease the pain of menstrual cramps by regulating the blood circulation to the uterus, acting as an emmenagogue, balancing the hormones, supplementing with the needed minerals and vitamin shot for easing the cramps, and stress relaxant. It also reduces fatigue of menstruation. 

On a final note, do you have to ask about the benefits that are multiplied by adding other fruits and veggies like cucumber, watermelon, strawberries, mosambi, orange, kiwi, and pineapple? 

A Sip of Immunity is Equally Refreshing - Ginger Tea

 Ginger Tea? Argh! This is how some people will say so! It's drunk as a medicine and is a common devotion made from Ginger root, a common daily spice found in the kitchen of all the households in countries of Asia and the Pacific continent. 

Ginger is a brown-skinned root that has yellow to a mustard-colored pulp. The root is flat and spreads in a branching manner. Small roots - rhizoids - are found on the crevices of these roots. They are tangy and sharp in taste that is neither sweet nor bitter.

How to Make Ginger Tea?

Ginger Tea can be prepared in several ways:

a) Ginger Tea:

Take a piece of ginger and boil it in water. Strain the water to collect the decoction. Add some honey or sugar or jaggery before drinking.

b) Lemon Ginger Tea:

Take a piece of ginger and boil it in water. Strain the water to collect the decoction in a cup having the juice of half the lemon squeezed in it. To this add honey or drink it as it is. 

c) Other combinations of Ginger Tea:

Mint, turmeric with black pepper, cardamom and cinnamon, and tulsi are other herbs and spices that can be added along with the ginger tea preparation. In all these cases, the ginger tea is prepared with these spices and herbs added to the boiling water, and the decoction is strained to a cup. To this devotion is added honey or jaggery. Maple syrup is also a good choice to add to it. 

d) Ginger tea with tea:

Ginger root added to the regular tea devotion while being boiled makes the typical and common Indian ginger tea. To this decoction, milk can be added as a choice, and adding milk to a strong pungent ginger tea is highly refreshing. Take my word for a recommendation. Sugar can be replaced with lemon in this tea and for this tea, milk should not be added as it will curdle. 

Benefits of Ginger Tea:

1. A shot of ginger tea is good enough to stop motion sicknesses like dizziness, cold sweat, vomiting, or nausea. 

2. Ginger tea relieves heartburn, reduces pressure, lowers blood pressure, slims blood clots, and increases blood circulation. 

3. Reduces weight gain and regulates blood sugar levels.

4. Reduces inflammation and pain. 

5. Boosts immunity. 

6. Helps in digestion and is good to have a cup after a heavy meal. 

7. Helps to fight viral infections - so good for COVID by helping to alleviate its symptoms - I think this is something that all of your should drink when you take your COVID shots. 

8. This is the best decoction to drink for alleviating and reducing menstrual cramps, dysmenorrhea, and amenorrhea; it is helpful to increase blood flow or start periods naturally as it is an emmenagogue. 

9. Nothing can surpass its refreshing effects as it instantaneously relieves stress. So sip a cup next time when you reach home tired. 

10. The anti-inflammatory properties of ginger and a load of antioxidants in this root, helps to reduce the occurrence of cancer.

11. The drink helps to improve brain function as it reduces stress and has a good amount of antioxidants that protect against Alzheimer's disease.