Chana/Black Chickpea Rice/ Kadala Rice

I am a big fan of One pot meals and I keep making them every week atleast once. Its non messy, quick, stress free and yet so so delicious and nutritious. We usually prefer rice for lunch and there are some days when you want it to be wholesome meal yet quick and easy. This is yet another quick, easy and delicious one pot rice, made from leftover channa / black chickpeas. You can make this with fresh cooked channa/ chickpea as well. To make it more nutritious I have added carrot and beans as well. You can add whatever veggies you have in hand or you can completely avoid. If you wish to make other quick recipes do check out my One Pot Meals. 

Lets see how this is done. Easy step by step images are given below for reference

Serves : 4

See Notes **

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup Leftover channa/ black chickpeas
• 2 cups rice (I used everyday basmati)
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 onion chopped 
• 1 small tomato chopped
• 1 tsp Garlic and ginger paste
• 1/2 cup Carrot sliced or chopped 
• 1/2 cup French beans chopped 
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder 
• 1/2 tsp garam masala (optional)
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds/ Jeera
• Salt as per taste 
• 4 cups of liquid in total (combination of chana gravy/ water/ coconut milk) - see method and notes
• 1 tbsp Ghee (optional)
• Coriander for garnish 

Method: 

1. Wash and soak the rice for about 15 mins
2. Take a kadai or a deep pot and add 2 tbsp oil. After the oil is hot add in the cumin seeds
3. Let the cumin splutter and add in the chopped onion
4. Saute and when the onion changes colour add in the ginger garlic paste. Mix well
5. Add in the chopped veggies (whichever you are using) along with tomatoes 
6. Mix well and let it cook for about 2 mins on low flame
7. Add in the masalas, turmeric, chilli powder and garam masala and saute well. Add 2 tbsp water to avoid burning the masala. 
8. Once the raw smell of masala has gone, add in the soaked rice and mix well for 1 min
9. Add in the cooked channa / leftover channa. Mix well into the rice
10. Add in total 4 cups of liquid. I drained the cooked channa gravy/water (1 cup), 1/2 cup coconut milk and 2 1/2 cups of water to get total of 4 cups of liquid. ** 
11. Add in the salt and check taste. Add more salt if needed 
12. Let the liquid come to a boil , then simmer and keep it covered for cooking until all the water is evaporated and rice is cooked through
13. Add 1 tbsp ghee** and fluff the rice , garnish with coriander leaves 
14. Enjoy hot with some pappad and Raita

Notes: 

• Ratio for liquid is 1:2. So if you take 2 cups of rice, double the amount of liquid and measure it in same cup which you used for measuring the rice. 
• In this recipe I need 4 cups of liquid in total. So I measured the cooked channa gravy and got 1 cup. Then I took 1/2 cup of coconut milk  and rest 2.5 cups of normal drinking water. That gives me total 4 cups. 
• You can avoid coconut milk and just use the chana/ chickpea gravy and water mix 
• I added quick cooking veggies like carrot and beans to make it more nutritious for my kid. You can completely avoid them and just make it a simple chana pulao as well 
• Ghee is optional. Its just to add that extra taste. 
• You can make this with freshly cooked channa as well. Make sure to soak well in advance and pressure cook it with some salt for 5 whistles. Retain the water for adding in rice and follow rest of the method. 
• You can use normal rice used on a daily basis as well. Also you can  make this recipe with leftover cooked rice by just adding and mixing it all together. In this liquid will not be used. 

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