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trini fry channa

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Appetizers & Snacks Vegetarian

Fried Channa (spicy chickpeas snack).

6 Comments on Fried Channa (spicy chickpeas snack).

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A while back I did a more traditional recipe of this “fried” channa (chickpeas), except it was not fried but done in the oven for a more healthy twist. And I know many of you who are familiar with this crunchy snack will certainly find it strange that I’m topping it with grated Parmesan, but I assure you that the addition of the cheese compliments the overall flavor of it. During my primary school days this was sold by street vendors outside the school compound in paper cone shaped parcels and one of the ‘choice’ snacks for me at recess and lunch.

You’ll Need…

1-2 cups dried channa (chickpeas)
1/4 teaspoon salt (add more if necessary)
3 tablespoon grated Parmesan
2 tablespoon chopped cilantro (shado beni is better)
1 scotch bonnet pepper
2 cloves garlic
2-3 cups veg oil for frying
* water to soak the peas

In a large bowl, place the dried channa and top it with water. Go about 2-3 inches above the channa.. as it soaks it will absorb the water and double in size. I like going through the channa before soaking them, to make sure there’s no debris in the package (you’ll be surprised at what you find sometimes).

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Soak the chickpeas overnight, then drain well and get ready to fry. Do try to get them as dry as possible so you don’t get flare-ups when you add them to the heated oil.

Now heat your vegetable oil in a deep/wide pan on medium heat and fry the chickpea for 12-15 minutes. They will float and go golden brown. Quickly place them on paper towels to get rid of the excess oil, then immediately transfer to mixing bowl (we need them still hot/warm).

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As they fry you can prep the other ingredients. Chop the scotch bonnet pepper very fine (don’t include any seeds, unless you want it very spicy).. do the same for the garlic and cilantro. If you have access to shado beni (Chadon beni / culantro), that’s a better option than the cilantro. Grate your cheese and get ready to mix it all together.

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Basically all you have to do now is add all the other ingredients and toss well.

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If you’re serving them warm, you can top it with a little more of that grated Parmesan. You can store this spicy fried channa snack in an airtight container for about a week or so. Please adjust the salt and level of heat to your own liking. The traditional way is to not use the Parmesan cheese, but I assure you, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by it’s inclusion.

Appetizers & Snacks Side Dishes

Fry Channa Done A Bit Healthier.

47 Comments on Fry Channa Done A Bit Healthier.

 

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!