Chickpeas Masala Rice, a very tasty rice variety and a great lunch box dish too! This dish is very simple to make and there are lot of variations we can include. This is from my own imagination and I felt this method is giving more taste to this Chick Peas rice than the usual way of making it like a pulao.
Most of the kids love to eat chickpeas and this less spicy version of chickpeas masala rice would be of great interest to them especially during their lunch at school. We can serve this rice with any Raitha variety or even with plain curd. If we plan to pack this Chickpeas masala rice in lunchbox, then we should make extra care in packing the raitha. During hotter climates, we should try to use milk+Curd combination in raitha instead of plain curd as plain curd would become more sour during lunch time.
![Chickpeas Masala Rice]( "Chickpeas Masala Rice") |
| Chickpeas Masala Rice |
![Chickpeas Masala Rice]( "Chickpeas Masala Rice") |
| Chickpeas Rice for Packed Lunch with Raitha, Fruit and Milk |
| Preparation Time | 20 mins |
| Cooking Time | 30 mins |
| Servings | 4 |
![Chickpeas Masala Rice]( "Chickpeas Masala Rice") |
| Chickpeas Masala Rice |
| ChickPeas*** | 1 Cup* |
| Rice | 1.5 Cup* |
| Carrot | 1 |
| Onion | 1 |
| Peas | 1/4 Cup |
| Turmeric | a pinch |
| Coconut Milk **+Water mixture | 2 Cups coconut milk and 1 cup water |
| Salt | To taste |
* 1 cup capacity = 250 ml
** Coconut milk is optional. You can use only water instead. But coconut milk certainly enhances the flavour and taste. I have used store bought tinned coconut milk.
*** You can use the canned readymade chickpeas which doesn't require overnight soaking.
For Grinding:
| Oil | 1/2 teaspoon |
| Coriander Seeds | 2 teaspoon |
| Channa dal | 1 teaspoon |
| Red Chilli | 1 |
For Seasoning:
| Oil / Butter | 1 teaspoon |
| Bay Leaf | 1 |
| Cardamom | 1 |
| Cinnamon Stick | 1 |
| Cloves | 2 |
| Fennel Seeds | 1 teaspoon |
| Curry Leaves | few |
| Green Chillies | 2 |
![Chickpeas Masala Rice]( "Chickpeas Masala Rice") |
| Chickpeas Masala Rice |
Method:
- Soak the Chickpeas overnight and pressure cook it till it is soft allowing it for 3 whistles. We can also use canned and boiled chick peas which will definitely make our effort less. Finely chop the onions. Wash and peel the carrot and chop it finely. Slit the green chillies. Soak the rice in water for 20 minutes. I have used normal rice. We can also use Basmati rice.
- Heat a pan and add oil. Add the grinding ingredients and fry till the dal turns golden brown color. Remove the fried ingredients and take to the mixer and grind it to a nice powder
- Heat a pan and add butter or cooking oil and add the seasoning ingredients and fry for a minute. Then add Chopped onions along with a pinch of salt and saute them till they become transparent.
- Meanwhile, drain the water from the soaked rice and keep it ready. Then add chopped carrots along with turmeric, and toss them and stir fry them in medium flame for 5 minutes. Now we need to add the ground masala and fry them for a minute
- Add the cooked chick peas and green peas and stir fry for a minute. Then add the rice and stir fry it for another 2 minutes
- Now we need to cook them all by adding coconut milk+water. The ratio of rice and water is 1:2. For 1.5 Cups of rice, I have used 3 Cups of coconut milk + water. Addition of Coconut milk is optional. I personally like the flavor of rice cooked with coconut milk. But if you don't want you can add just 3 cups of plain water. Keep the flame high and cook the rice and vegetables. When 3/4th of the water is absorbed, we can add salt and mix once
- When all the water is absorbed, close the pan with the lid and cook for another 20 minutes in a low flame. By the time, the rice would have cooked completely and would have become fluffy without sticking and becoming mushy. We don't need to stir and mix the rice very frequently while cooking as it would make the breakdown the cooked rice and eventually make it mushy. Switch off the flame.
- The yummy and fluffy Chickpeas Masala Rice is now ready to serve with Raitha and also ready for packing the lunch box!
![Chickpeas Masala Rice]( "Chickpeas Masala Rice") |
| Chickpeas Masala Rice |
