Moong Channa - Moong Beans with Chickpeas

A recipe born from an increased number of guests – and it tastes absolutely delicious!

How to prepare Moong Channa

Wash the moong beans and the chickpeas well before you soak them. This needs to be done about six to eight hours before you start cooking. Take care to soak them separately and that they have enough water to remain covered all the time.

When it is time to start, you can drain the water from the chickpeas, place them in a pot with six cups of water and add some salt. Put the lid on the pot and bring it to a boil. When the water is boiling, you can turn the heat down to medium level so that it can keep on boiling. Stir from time to time.

After 30 to 40 minutes, you can add the moong beans into the chickpeas. Let the mixture boil for another 20 minutes. Stir from time to time. In this time, the moong beans will be fully cooked and dissolved in the water.

In the meantime however, you can prepare the tomatoes. Wash them and then cut them into small pieces. Place a deep pan on the stove and warm up the oil in it. When it is hot, add the cumin and the bay leaf, the asafetida, clove, mace, nutmeg, garam masala, coriander and turmeric into the oil. Be careful not to let the spices burn but just roast them so that they can develop their aroma. Add the tomatoes and stir so that the spices mix well into them. Place a lid on the pan and let them get cooked on medium heat.

After five minutes, take off the lid, stir and mash the tomatoes a bit with the cooking spoon so that they turn into puree.

When the moong beans have been in the pot for about 20 minutes, you can check whether the chickpeas are cooked as well. They should be soft but should nevertheless remain whole and not get mashed. Once this is the case, add the tomatoes into the pot. Stir well and bring the mixture to a boil once more. Then switch off the stove and take the pot aside.

The last step is to take the cup of yoghurt – which should be liquid and not hard – and slowly add it into the chickpea mixture. While putting it in, you keep on stirring and mixing it well.

Serve and enjoy!