Categorized | Bits and Bites
Fry Channa Done A Bit Healthier.
Posted on 19 October 2011
Fry channa is one of those spicy snacks that’s sold by street vendors in either a cone shaped paper package or in reused bottles (like rum) all over the country. However my connection to fry channa is going to my moms cousin’s home for Divali and she would have a huge bowl for us to snack on while the many vegetarian culinary delights were making it’s way to the table. Though Ivy is no longer with us, I have fond memories of her and the way she always had time for a chat and her talents in the kitchen were unsurpassed.
By controlling the amount of pepper you add, this can be a treat enjoyed by everyone… but if its for you and your friends while enjoying some ‘beverages” don’t hold back on the heat. Let’s see how much heat they can handle!
Channa (Indian influence) is just another word for chickpeas or garbanzo beans.
The traditional way of making this is to fry in a couple cups of vegetable oil, then season. But in trying to give you a healthier option, we’ll roast these in the oven and you won’t be able to taste the difference, except they’ll be a bit healthier for you.
You’ll Need…
2 cups dried chick peas (channa)
4 cups water
1.5 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 habanero pepper (no seeds to control the heat)
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoon chopped shado beni
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Notes: You can certainly use any sort of hot pepper you like and add as much as you can tolerate. If you don’t have fresh hot peppers you can certainly use pepper sauce or cayenne powder, which would also give it a lovely kick. If you can’t source shado beni you can use cilantro or parsley. If using parsley, I would only use 1 tablespoon of it (it has that sort of bitter after-taste) When I did this recipe I used 3 tablespoon of olive oil (see the video), but I learned that I would have achieved the same results by cutting that by half.
The night before measure out the chickpeas into a large bowl and cover with 4 cups of water. Allow this to soak overnight. Remeber to use a large bowl as it will double in size as it soaks.
The next day you’ll notice a few things…. 1. Most of the water was absorbed by the chickpeas. 2. They’ve doubled in size. and 3. The color changed to a lighter shade. Drain whatever water was left back, rinse and place in a colander to drain off. We’re trying to get this as dry as possible for seasoning.
While this air-dries, lets prepare the seasoning. Chop as fine as you can, the garlic, shando beni (remember you can also use cilantro or parsley as well) and habanero pepper. Then in a small bowl, pour the olive oil (one and a half teaspoon) and add all pepper, garlic, shado beni and black pepper.
Pour the pre-soaked chickpeas into a large bowl and using a paper towel or kitchen towel, dry to get as much moisture as you can off the chickpeas. Now give the seasoned oil a good stir, then add it to the bowl with the chickpeas. Sprinkle the salt and give the entire batch a good stir. The idea is to pick up all the seasoning and have it coat each chickpea.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and get ready to roast. I learned my lesson from the jerk chicken wings recipe and this time I lined my baking tray with aluminum foil to make clean-up a breeze after. The cookie sheet should be big enough so there’s one layer of seasoned chickpeas, to allow for even roasting. My tray was a bit small, so midway through roasting I had to give them a toss to make sure they all get roasted perfectly.
With the oven at 350 degrees, I placed them on the middle rack and allowed them to roast for 50 minutes (which should have been perfect), but since they were not single layered on the sheet they didn’t have the ‘crunch’ I desired. So back in the oven for another 15 minutes and they were not only perfectly golden in colour, they had that wonderful crunch good fry channa is supposed to have.
These can be enjoyed warm out of the oven or days and weeks after. However it’s important that you store them in an airtight container (thus the bottles mentioned above) to keep it’s freshness. Though this is not the traditional way of making this, I find that by roasting with the seasoning… the wonderful taste of the garlic, shado beni and pepper, combined with the olive oil is just spectacular.
You can always dust with salt when they come out of the oven for that unique salted texture that fry channa usually have (but then depends on how much salt you like, as they should already be seasoned perfectly).
Before you go I invite you to leave me your comments below.. even if it just to say hello. It’s always appreciated. And don’t forget to join us on facebook and do check out the cooking videos.
In memory of Aunty Veeya!
28 Responses to “Fry Channa Done A Bit Healthier.”
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
Leave a Reply
- Tags
- Popular
- Latest
- Comments
- Subscribe
- beverly forbes: Never cooked lamb chops,been looking for ideas,imm...
- Kaj: I just put some extra roti in the freezer. Lol!!!...
- Kajmere: Thank you Chris!! I did this today, ... though ...
- tasia: I am happy to see the pictures of the food. Oh!!!...
- snake: Chris i always try your recipes think that they ar...
-
bbq chicken
Beef
caribbean cooking
caribbean dessert
caribbean recipe
Caribbean recipes.
caribbean soup
caribbean vegetarian recipe
chris de la rosa
curry shrimp
fish recipe
hot sauce
how to cook pumpkin
how to grill chicken
jamaican callaloo
Jamaican hot sauce
jamaican oxtail recipe
jamaican recipe
jamaican recipes
jamaican soup
jerk
Jerk Chicken
jerk marinade
jerk pork
oxtail recipe
pepper sauce
recipe
recipes from trinidad
soup
spinach recipe
the wicked chef
trini cooking
trinidad recipe
trinidad recipes
trinidad soup recipe
trini food
trini pepper sauce
trini pumpkin recipe
trini recipe
trini recipes
trini soup
vegetarian recipe
vegetarian recipes
vegetarian soup
yam
Stay up to date
- Subscribe to the RSS Feed
- Subscribe to the feed via email
Hi Chris, I will certainly be trying this! Thank you for sharing
Have to try this really soon. Thanks for the recipe. So many recipes, so little time.
i'll definitely been sure to try this. I've had my experiences with trying to fry the channa and then having it pop like a gun shot out the pot, this method looks so much safe and healthier
Thank You!!!
Found the dry chickpeas today. forgot the garlic and the peppers and the cilantro. that's okay since the chickpeas have to soak. Back to the grocers.
this one is new to me loved the roasting concept, will def be trying this especially during this divail fasting period
I love fried channa…split even more. I will be trying this and will let you know!!!
Truely a healthy alternative to "fried Channa."
Thanks so much for this recipe Chris.
Gonna try it out on the week-end for my 5yr old
daughter, who, by the way, loves 'grains' in all its splendor.
Thanks Chris, will definitely try this healthier way .
Will use loads of chadon beni since I just love to use this herb in everything as it truly brings out the flavour.
Hello Chris, I hate cooking but I tried some of your recipies because you make them look so easy and so GOOOOD. I will certainly try the 'fry channa" on the weekend .Thanks for sharing …
Roma
This sounds like a winner to me thank you
Chris thanks for introducing me to caribbean pot ,i have learn how to make alot of your delicious recipes. Thanks again………..
Hello Chris.
I would like to print and try the Channa recipe, I don't have twitter. How can I print the recipe? I visualized it but would rather have it in print.
Keep up the good works.
Hi Chris,
Thanks for your fry channa recipe,it seems to be a healthier option than the regular method.Will try it for christmas.
Leon
All you need to do is select the text , click on copy and then paste it into a word processing software window (e.g. MS Word or Notepad) .
i will try this for sure….thanks chris.
I must try this one
I am super excited to try this. Would this work for split peas as well? Instead of soaking, boil the split peas?
in all my cooking life i have been looking for a great channa recipe ,,thank god i found a good one ,,thank you so much
Hi Chris,
This sounds real good for me, I must try this recipe.
Hi Chris and all you who took the time to respond.
Is there anyone who actually tried the recipe (everyone is going to give it a go). Just wondering about the result of the homemakers.
I am a health freak, bought channa (KIRCHER ERBSEN) the German name for channa and is going to try the baking method, I am sure it will come out nice and crunchy, do not have bandaniya but will use parsley, thanks for the recipe.
TRIED IT!! Amazing no one actually tried the recipe and wrote about it … well I did…. I actually found shadon beni in the grocery $1.69 (I'm in Florida) next to the fresh mint little packages…. everything else was easy to find…. So far, they are in the oven for about 55 minutes. I did not get the color I was looking for at 50 minutes so i let it go a little longer. The taste is spectacular – just as I remember – so this is going to be a welcome treats for the 4th
Chris that looks good and different if I may say so. I never ever thought of baking chana. All your recipes are enticing. I would definitely try it soon. Thanks for the recipe.
Yea Chris this is good thanks for sharing.
Got introduced to Fry Channa by a co-worker from Trinidad last week. She said she used Thyme in her mix. Thanks for this recipe, made my search easy as Caribbean Pot always does.
Hi Chris wanted to get this recipe a long time
Seriously impressed Chris! I put 1/2 the salt when cooking, then sprinkled the rest after they came out of the oven with a tiny sprinkle of paprika…. Fighting my man to get the rest!
And even the tiny bits of crispy seasoning have been scoffed – Divine
P.S Going to make a batch for my brother for Christmas
Did you ever try Parboiling them before baking them?