Chickpeas Vegetable Pilaf {Vegan MoFo 2014# 6}

Garbanzo beans a.k.a. Chickpeas is my favourite Legume. Its versatile, flavourful and easily blends with whatever cuisine or course you throw it into. In Indian and Middle Eastern region its used heavily as a staple food, helping Vegetarians and Vegans to achieve their Daily Protein requirements. I have posted quite a few recipes using these beans as a primary ingredient. Apart from this Moroccan Hummus recipe, which is a must to learn for Hummus lovers, I also love this Avocado Hummus, which is definitely my favourite way of having Avocados now. And not to forget my Indian recipes for rich Indian Chickpeas curry (Punjabi Chhole Masala), which is a total lip smacker.

I often use chickpeas in my Rice dishes, especially when I am tired or just being lazy. One can of Chickpeas goes into rice  with some chopped vegetables and minimum spices. That’s it, and am sorted for dinner. It hardly takes 15 minutes to put this together, and the meal is  nothing less than well balanced and nutritious. It has most of the essential nutrients you require as per your RDA, and Bonus- it’s very delicious !!

I posted the recipe for Tomato Beans rice a few days ago, which was another easy peasy recipe to prepare for when you have no time or are in no mood for elaborated cooking. I mix and match whatever I see is leftover in my fridge and prepare a rice dish, and I do that at least twice a week. So those of you thought that I cook a proper Daal-Roti-Sabzi-Rice platter every weeknight, sorry to break the bubble peeps!

Having said that, I have elaborated the recipe to an extent for proper flavours to bring up. And it’s just a matter of right spices to be used, keeping the main ingredients same. So although the ingredient list below might seem hefty, I can assure you that the recipe level is still easy to moderate. 

Prep Time: 10-15 minutes

Cooking Time: 20-30 minutes

Serves: 3-4 people

Cuisine:-  Indian, Afgani 

Spice Level: Medium

Recipe Level:  Moderate

Shelf Life: Up to 12-15 hours at room temperature, up to 3-4 days in the Fridge

Serving Suggestion: With Poppadam ( Paapad ), chilled Raita or any simple curry 

Nutritional Facts:- Rich in Protein, Fibre, Minerals and Carbs

Recipe Source:- My own brilliant mind ! :D 

What you need?

• 1 cup rice
• 1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans/chhole)
• 1 cup assorted vegetables, chopped (I used frozen variety, thawed)
• 1 tbsp cooking Oil
• 1 small tomato, chopped small
• 1 Large onion, chopped or sliced length wise
• 1-2 green chilies, chopped fine
• 3-4 garlic pods, minced
• ½ piece of ginger, grated
• Juice from one lemon
• A handful of fresh cilantro (coriander leaves)- washed and chopped

Spices;

• 1-2 leaves of dried bay leaves
• Salt to taste
• ½ tsp Tumeric (haldi)
• 1 tsp Red chili powder (laal mirch)
• ½ tsp coriander powder (dhaniya powder)
• 1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
• ½ tsp black pepper powder (kali mirch)
• ½ tsp dry mango powder (khatai)
• ½ tsp Garam Masala

How to  make?

• Wash and soak rice in enough water for half an hour. Drain and keep aside.
• Heat oil in a  big and wide Pan. Throw in cumin seeds and let them splutter. Add in bay leaves and sauté for 10 seconds.
• Add in minced garlic, grated ginger and crushed green chilies. Fry for half a minute and then add chopped onion. Cook for another 3-4 minutes till the onion start getting caramelised.
• Once the onions turn light brown, add in all the remaining spices (except Garam Masala) and vegetables. Mix them up and cook covered for the next 5-7 minutes.
• Add in chickpeas, and  chopped tomato. Mix everything together and cook for another 2 minutes.
• Now, pour in the strained rice with 1 ½ cups of water. Gently fold the stuff together in the pan. Cook this on medium flame and bring the water to boil. Turn the flame to low, and let it simmer for the next 10-12 minutes or until the water is all absorbed by rice. You may stir it once in between the cooking to get the spices’ flavour out evenly.
• Once you have checked that the rice is cooked enough, pour in some lemon juice, gently mix once and then turn it off.
• Sprinkle some Garam Masala and chopped cilantro on top and serve. Keep it covered and open just before serving. 

Tips and Notes:

• If you are using fresh vegetables, this much quantity should be sufficient – 1 small carrot, ¼ cup green peas, 1 small potato, 4-5 beans. All chopped small. You may increase the quantity, but I wanted chickpeas’ taste to dominate and hence I have only used 1 cup of vegetables.
• You may like to add a bit of coconut milk in this dish, may be replace ½ cup water with ½ coconut milk. But do remember, adding more coconut milk will result in mushy rice. And you don’t want that, The texture of the rice should be grainy and fluffy
• Adding Garam Masala is optional. In fact, you may skip any spice in the list you don’t have. It won’t bring a major change in the taste, but yes if you have all its better to make it this way.
• Don’t go overboard with the tomatoes. If you like adding more tomatoes to your rice, try my other recipe of Beans and tomato rice which is another fantastic dish for lazy days. 

This one goes for Vegan Mofo 2014, check out my other Vegan recipes here