Chainsoo / Uttarakhand Style Black Gram Recipe

Chainsoo is a traditional Garhwali delicacy , a simple yet flavorful lentil (black gram) preparation from North Indian State of Uttarakhand. This protein rich dish is very different in texture and taste from the usual boiled kali urad dal as it is cooked by roasting the lentils and then grinding it to a powder, which is then cooked with a few basic Indian spices like black pepper, red chilies and garlic in an iron pot on low flame giving it an earthy taste and aroma. Black gram Chainsoo topped with ghee is a winter food for the pahari people of Uttaranchal and can be paired with some steamed rice or roti.

Uttarakhand: Uttarakhand formerly known as Uttaranchal is a state in the northern part of India. It is popularly referred as " Dev Bhoomi" owing to the numerous Hindu temples and pilgrimage centres found throughout the state. Uttarakhand became the 27th state of Republic India in the year 2000. Dehradun is the largest city of Uttarakhand and its capital as well. The  natural beauty of the state with snow capped mountains, high Himalayan peaks and glaciers, deep valleys, lush green forests and large rivers is mesmerizing and  will make you spell bound for sure.
                                      

Food of Uttarakhand:

Uttarakhand Cuisine is simple yet flavorful and nutritious. Made from locally grown ingredients it uses very basic spices .Uttarakhand cuisine comprises of cuisines from its two regions, Garhwal and Kumaon. Lentils, wheat, buck wheat, barley  and local seasonal greens are used extensively in cooking. The food of Uttarakhand is both palate pleasing and full of nutrition. The food is mostly cooked over slow flame imparting an earthy flavor to it. Some of the famous traditional dishes of Uttarakhand include Kafuli/Kapa - a healthy dish made from leafy greens like spinach, fenugreek and lai(alternative of mustard leaf), Baadi- a nutritious dish made from buck wheat flour, Rus/Thhatwani -A slow cooked lentil based stock that is served with rice, Jhangore ki Kheer, a scrumptious millet dessert, Phaanu - a native lentil dish served typically for lunch, Chainsoo - a delectable protein rich dish made from roasted and ground black gram. Aaloo ke Gutke- a simple potato dish with roasted and ground spices served on festive occasions with poori.

The related Event: 

I made this protein rich, Chainsoo as my contribution towards the food from the North Indian state of Uttarakhans. It is month end, and the time for my regional Indian post for our Facebook group, Shhhhh cooking secretly challenge, started by Priya of  Priya's versatile recipes and atken further till date by Mayuri di who blogs at Mayuris Jikoni. In this group, each month we select an Indian state depending upon the alphabetical order and partners are assigned for the challenge. The chosen partners then exchange a set of ingredients among themselves and cook a dish with it from the regional cuisine of that month. The other group members who are not aware of the secret ingredients, then take turns to guess the ingredients just by looking at the pic of the dish. Doesn't this all sound interesting !

My partner for the theme was Kalyani Sri who blogs at Sizzling Taste Buds. Kalyani gave me Black gram and mustard oil as my two secret ingredients and i made this delicious Chainsoo using the ingredients. In return i gave her ginger and sesame seeds and she prepared a soulful Uttarakhand delicacy using the set of ingredients. 

                                                   

What goes in this Chainsoo?

As mentioned above Chainsoo is a Garhwali dish which is very unique in its preparation style as it is  prepared by roasting the black gram ( kali urad dal) and then making a powder of it, which is further allowed to slow cook in basic spices in an iron pan until done. I have referred Chef Ajay Chopra's recipe where apart from black gram, a small quantity of black eyed beans is also added. The percentage of lobia beans to black gram is 30:70. The dry roasted beans are powdered in a grinder jar to obtain a coarse powder. A mustard oil tempering is done with minced garlic, cumin seeds, asafoetida, black pepper corns and dry red chilies. Ground dal is added to it and further seasoned with coriander powder, turmeric powder and salt. Water is added to this mixture and cover cooked on low flame for around 30 minutes or until the dal is well cooked. Lastly garam masala is sprinkled over the cooked chainsoo and it is topped with generous amount of ghee before serving. So let's get started.

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 25-30 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 1//2 cup split black gram / kali urad dal
• 2 tablespoon lobia beans/ black eyed beans
• 1 tablespoon mustard oil
• 2-3 dried red chilies
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
• Pinch of asafoetida (skip for a gluten free version)
• 10-12 black pepper corns
• 6-7 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon coriander powder
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• Salt to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon garam masala
• 1-2 tablespoon ghee to serve ( skip for a vegan version)

Method:

1. In a wok, preferably iron one, dry roast the black gram and lobia beans for 3-5 minutes. You will get a lovely aroma while you roast the lentils. Do not over do it. Put off the flame, transfer the roasted lentil to a grinder jar and make a coarse powder of it. 

2. In the same pan heat mustard oil to smoking point. Let it cool down a bit, now add cumin seeds, asafoetida, black pepper corns and broken dry red chilies. Let the spices sizzle in oil for few seconds before adding the minced garlic to it.

3. Sautee the garlic for around 30 seconds to 1 minute. Now add the powdered lentil and stir fry for a minute or so. Now, add coriander powder, turmeric powder and salt to taste. Give a good mix and add around 2 cups of water giving a good stir.

4. Cover cook the dal on low flame for around 30 minutes or until its is well cooked and mushy.

5. Lastly sprinkle garam masala over the cooked chainsoo. Mix it well and put off the flame. Top the hot chainsoo with a generous amount of ghee and serve with steamed rice or roti.

Recipe Notes:

• I have followed this recipe from a cookery show by Chef Ajay Chopra.
• I would recommend not to skip the ghee while serving chainsoo if you are looking for the authentic taste. However, you may omit its use for a vegan version.
• The dish as such is gluten free if you do not add the asafoetida/ hing in tempering.
• Chainsoo is protein rich and a filling dish. It is regarded as difficult to digest, so have it in moderation.
• Adjust the spices as per your spice tolerance.

I hope a few of you would love to try out this recipe. If you do so, feel free to share your feedback with us in the form of likes and comments in the comment section below this post. All your suggestions are also more than welcome. If you like my work and feel it is worth following, do hit the follow button at the top right corner of this blog. Your appreciation means a lot to me. For more recipes and new updates follow us on social media.

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For more dal recipes, do check out the following from this blog:

• Dal Makhani

                                    

• Rajasthani Panchmel Dal

                                    

• Gujarati Dal Dhokli

                                    

• Dal Fry

                                    

• Sindhi Dal Pakwaan

                                    

• Odia Dalma