Kumror Chakka/Pumpkin curry with black chickpeas
Kumror chakka is yet another traditional dish which is cooked almost regularly in many Bengali households. In most cases the basic ingredients remain the same, only what varies are the spices. I have seen people using hing/asafoetida also for tempering. I have tried both(using and not using) and both are equally wonderful. If you like the flavor of hing, you can also include it in your recipe. Kumror chakka is basically prepared from “Kumro” which is pumpkin, potato or alu, and black chickpeas or kala chana and tempered with panch foron. Kala chana or black chickpeas are an excellent source of iron. So, prefer not to discard the water after boiling the kala chana as this water is also rich in iron. Kumror chakka can be served with fulko luchi, porota or steamed rice. This is a no onion no garlic recipe. Actually this recipe also does not require any milk either. So, you can call this a vegan recipe. It uses ghee though but you can completely skip ghee to make vegan.
Kumror Chakka
Course: Main course
Cuisine: (Bengali)Indian
Preparation time: 10 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 500g pumpkin peeled and cubed
- 2 potatoes peeled and cubed
- 1/3 cup kala chana/ whole Bengal gram
- 1/2 tablespoon of ginger paste
- A pinch of asafoetida(hing)
- 1/2 teaspoon of paanch foron
- 1 teaspoon of red chili powder
- 1/4 cup of grated coconut
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 whole red chilies
- 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder
- Salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- 1 tablespoon of ghee
- 2½ tablespoon of mustard oil/cooking oil
- ½ teaspoon of roasted cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon of roasted coriander powder
Directions
- Soak the kala chana for 4-6 hours.
- Pressure cook the kala chana with 1 teaspoon of salt. I prefer not to discard the water and add it to the vegetables later on along with the kala chana. (Kala Chana is rich in Iron. When you discard the water, a lot of nutrients are lost)
- Now, keep the kala chana aside.
- In a kadai, add oil. Once the oil is hot saute the potatoes and keep them aside. Now, saute the pumpkins and keep them aside.
- Add 1 tablespoon of oil and temper it with panch foron, bay leaves and whole red chilies.
- Add turmeric powder, grated coconut, red chili powder, asafoetida, ginger paste along with a splash of water and continue cooking till you see oil leaving the sides of the pan.
- Add the sauteed potatoes and pumpkin to the kadai along with 1/4 cup of water and cook the vegetables covered.
- Add the boiled kala chana, sugar just before the veggies are completely cooked. The veggies should be “makha makha”(starting to break) and should yet hold their shape.
- Add ghee, sugar, roasted cumin and coriander powder and mix properly and turn off the flame.
- Serve hot with steamed rice, porota or phulko luchi.
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