What's in a Name??

Hello,

No, I'm not going Shakespeare on you guys :)

I made Chhole (chickpea curry dish) yesterday.

While it is one of my favourite dishes; the name has a special affiliation for me. My name always mistaken for it. So, since childhood the name 'Chhole' has been the bane of my existence. Anyway as one matures in life; all the things that were intensely infuriating; transform metaphorically into fond memories to cherish.

One such foodie memory takes me to my school days. That time Linking road - Bandra (a suburb in Mumbai) had a long pavilion of food stalls selling every kind of mouth-watering street food. The pavilion was demolished many years back and now very few people remember it's existence; but one stall sold my favourite 'Chhole Bhature' and I so regret the loss of that pavilion.

When I started cooking, one of the early dishes I made sure to learn was Chhole. I love grinding my 'Chhole' dry masala fresh, and this recipe that I had found, gives the exact taste of my long lost 'Chhole Bhature" stall - fresh, rustic, spicy & tangy - all simmered down in a delectable gravy.

1) To begin with you need - 2 black cardamon, 1 inch of cinnamon, 3-4 cloves, 3-4 peppercorns, 2 small bay leaves, 2-3 dried red chillies, 1 tsp jeera/cumin seeds, 1 tsp coriander seeds, 1/4 tsp ajwain/carrom seeds, 1/2 tsp saunf/fennel seeds. Roast them lightly till light aromatic, make sure they don't over brown.

2) Cool & blitz them in a dry mixer. Make sure to leave the masala slightly coarse.

The above masala yields about 4-5 tsp of 'Chhole' masala, enough for two times use. The rest of my Chhole is simple - Onion, tomatoes, ginger-garlic paste, turmeric pd & amchur/dry mango pd, sautéed with the aromatic dry masala, served with just a dash of lime juice.....umm my mouth is salivating again, too bad the 'Chhole' is over ;)

So folks this was a slice of life from my food memories, do share your comments, would love to hear feedback.

Cheers!!