Sprouted Channa Kuzhambu (sprouted dark chickpea in tangy sauce)

Sprouted Channa Kuzhambu

I love sprouting for few reasons. Firstly, it is healthy and secondly, I like watching the seeds germinate and come up with those little lives. Sprouted seeds, legumes are easier on our gut than the unsprouted form. They also tend not to produce as much gas as the unsprouted form. Recently, I was struggling to successfully sprout as they would go bad in the left over moisture and I struggle to keep a cloth for this, wash it etc. I saw a set of plastic plates literally that allows the water to drain in its own time and this has made sprouting more reliable. This is a very simple dish that can be eaten with bread too. If you do not have sambar powder, mix coriander powder and chilly powder and add this instead. We have this with rice noodles (sevai/idiyappam) but it would be great with rice, bread etc.

1 cup sprouted black channa

4-5 pearl onions, chopped

1 large tomato, finely chopped

1 teaspoon ginger paste

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon sambar powder

Asafoetida

½ teaspoon tamarind paste

2 tablespoon coconut cream or ground coconut or equivalent coconut milk

Heat some oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Once it crackles, add the onions and fry for a minute

Add tomato and ginger paste and cook until mushy and add some water

Add tamarind paste, sambar powder, turmeric powder and cooked sprouted black channa and required salt

Simmer it for few minutes then add coconut cream and boil briefly. You can also add some coriander leaves

Serve hot