ChaNe Gashi ( Chickpea Curry in Coconut sauce)

Chane Gashi or Chickpeas in Coconut sauce is the most delicious konkani curry. The aroma of the chana and the curry leaves just makes the whole meal appetizing. Probably thats the reason why many of them prefer this curry for the festive meals.



As a child I was always put off when my Mom mentioned she had made Chane Gashi for lunch. It was quit boring, since she made it every Fridays. But once I started eating I would just quietly savor on the meal even forgetting that I hated it initially. Later when I had to live away from home, I mostly missed Chane Gashi!

Chana on Fridays
Chana or Chickpeas are the grains for the NavaGraha Shrukra. Many Hindus do have a custom of eating Chana on Fridays. So is with Kulith, the grain for Shani, hence eaten every Saturdays. May be the custom started as a way to incorporate variety of grains in the diet.

Chane Gashi recipe
½ cup grated coconut, fresh or frozen
1" cube tamarind
5-8 roasted red chillies
½ cup Chana, preferably black
½ cup diced jackfruits / suran / raw banana /potatoes
4-5 nos Methi seeds, optional

for seasoning
¼ tsp mustard seeds
2 sprigs curry leaves

Soak chana in water overnight. Drain water and rinse a couple of times. Cook with enough water in the pressure cooker for 6-8 whistles till almost cooked. Use the liquid in which the chana is cooked. Do not disard this water. It has a lot of flavor.

You may use canned chickpeas instead. Rinse the chickpeas a couple of times and use instead of cooked chana. I prefer not to use canned, I find the home cooked one has more flavor and absorbs spices better.

Raw Jackfruit is the best combination for the curry. Suran is also a good choice. If you cannot find both of the these then go for potatoes or raw bananas. Bamboo shoots are also the favorites in the Konkani curries with Coconut sauce, but not a good combination with Chana. I used canned raw jack fruits. Dice the veggie of your choice, add it to the half cooked chana or the canned one and cook till the veggie is fully cooked.

Grind coconut, red chillies and tamarind into a smooth paste. You may roast some methi seeds to the coconut paste and grind a minute more to incorporate them. This paste is called masolu in Konkani.

Transfer the cooked chana to the sauce pot, add the masolu, salt and boil for 5 minutes till the coconut is cooked and all the flavors mix well.

For the seasoning, heat 1 tsp oil, splutter mustard seeds, add curry leaves. Garnish the curry.



Serve hot with rice and some podis.

Soyi bahjjil Chane Gashi
Soyi = coconut, bahjill = roasted i.e. Chane Gashi with roasted coconut!
This is a special variation of Chane Gashi made with roasted coconut. The recipe is same as above with some modifications. To start with roast the shredded coconut in a tsp of oil to golden brown. The rest of the recipe is same as the above. Roasted Methi seeds is a must in this recipe. This gives a nice aroma to the gashi.