Half my office is vegan or vegetarian so lately I have been cranking those cerebral gears in order to come up with some delicious meals they can eat.
One of the late-night, self-assigned responsibilities (that nobody knows of) is to come up with recipes that I can cook for them in Utah. The happier and healthier they are, the more productive they feel. It’s like a gym membership but on the inside. Oh, that tickles. Tee hee hee.
I actually surfed the Interwebs for interesting chickpea recipes. I found a few that resonated with me. I also wanted to use them for kid snacks or a pre-game (NFL/NBA/MLB/etc.) source of sustenance. A nutritious vegan go-to.
Look, it’s not like they have a ton of vegan restaurants to choose from in Salt Lake City. Besides, the meals coming from me guarantees a great fresh, authentic, organic, clean taste. I hope they like it.
Quick Crusted Chickpea and Okra
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried chickpeas
- 1 cup of tomato puree
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
- A tiny pinch of asafoetida hing – optional, it helps add a garlicky flavor and helps with digestion
- 2/3 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes or red chili powder to taste
- 2 teaspoons oil
Instructions
- In a pan, dry roast the chickpea flour on low-medium heat stirring every 15-30 seconds till it gives out an aroma or starts to change to a deeper color(5-7 minutes).
- Keep the chickpea flour aside. Add oil to the pan and heat on medium heat.
- Add in the asofetida, cumin and coriander powders and fennel seeds and mix well for a few seconds.
- Add in the turmeric and chili flakes and mix well.
- Add in the okra and mix well to coat. Cook partially covered on low-medium heat for 10 minutes.
- Add half the salt and mix well and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes till okra is tender crisp done. If the okra is too slimy, cook uncovered for a bit longer.
- Add in the roasted chickpea flour, a Tablespoon at a time, and a little more salt and mix well to coat okra. Sprinkle a few drops of water to help the chickpea flour stick to the okra(you might not need water if the okra is still gooey).
- Cook on medium heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring every 15 seconds till the chickpea flour is clumpy and sticking to okra pieces and not dry. Adjust salt and spice if needed, mix and take off heat. You can add more chickpea flour to make a really crusty okra which makes for a fun snack.
- Serve hot topped with chopped cilantro leaves or crushed roasted peanuts, with Roti/Naan or any Indian flat bread, and daal(lentil soup). or eat as is, as a snack!
- For variations: Add some chopped onion, cook for 2 minutes and then add okra. Use other spices like Ajwain(carom seeds) or mustard seeds. Add dried herbs like Oregano or Kasuri methi(fenugreek leaves) along wit the chickpea flour.