Bhindi (Ladies Finger) & Chana (Chickpea) Rice

Cooking is not a difficult job if we decide what to cook. Most of the times, we end up spending more time deciding upon what to cook, rather than actual cooking itself! I am providing an easy to cook, balanced diet option. It goes well with lunch box be it to school or to office.

Ingredients
Rice - 1/2 Cup
Bhindi - 1/4 Kg
Chana – ½ cup
Sambar Powder – 2 spoons
Tamarind – 1 small lemon sized ball
Salt to taste
Jaggery – 1 small lemon sized ball (optional)

For seasoning
Oil – 3 spoons
Urad dal – 1 spoon
Mustard – 1 spoon
Turmeric powder – little
Asafoteda - to taste
Curry leaves – 10

Method
Cook the rice. Keep it aside and allow it cool.

Soak the Chana overnight or for 5 to 6 hours (if you have time and patience to sprout it, its betterJ).

Soak the tamarind overnight if you are cooking the next morning otherwise it can be kept soaked an hour before cooking.

Cut the Bhindi into small pieces. (If you are cooking this for lunch box and do not have enough time to cut in the morning, you may cut it on the previous night and store it in the fridge)

Heat the thick bottomed Kadai. Add oil. When oil gets heated, add Urad dal & mustard. Once mustard starts spattering, add curry leaves.
Add soaked / sprouted Channa and roast it for 5 minutes.

Now add Bhindi, tamarind juice & salt. Add tamarind juice as soon as you add Bhindi so that stickiness of Bhindi gets removed gradually when you cook with tamarind juice. Add enough water and cook it for about 10 minutes / till Bhindi & Channa become soft.

Add the Sambar powder (Please refer to the Masala ingredients in this link)jaggery and cook it for about 5 minutes. Add rice to this and mix well.

Yummy rice with all nutrients is ready for the lunch box. Happy cooking.