Kadley Bajjil - Chana-Poha dish

 

Translated verbatim, Kadley Bajjil means Chana Poha - a simple, light-on-the-body, any-time-of-the-day snack

After my first post Khotta, some said (as I had expected) ‘can we have a traditional yet simple dish next’. OK. Here goes!

Ingredients

For Kadley

Brown chana – 2 cups (soaked in water overnight)

Curry leaves – about 10

Chillies – 2-3 (slit lengthwise)

Mustard seeds

Coconut oil 2-3 teaspoons (any other oil and you will never get the authentic taste)

Salt to taste

For Bajjil

Flat thin poha – 2 cups

Red chilli powder – 1 teaspoon (too hot? Reduce it further, but do not eliminate)

Grated coconut – 1 cup

Salt to taste

Method to make Kadley

• Boil the soaked chana with a little salt. Take atleast 6 whistles on your cooker, or the chana may not be cooked perfectly. Take more, and they might get smashed. (Through many years of trials, my father, Jagannath Kamath has reached a conclusion and insists 6-7 whistles are perfect)
• Heat a kadhai or fry pan and add the coconut oil.
• Once hot, add the mustard seeds and let them splutter completely.
• Then add the curry leaves, let them splutter too
• Add salt to this (1. It’s my dad’s little secret and he happily shared it. He says if you add salt at this point it mixes evenly with the chana later. 2. Be careful with how much salt you add at this point. Remember, you have added salt to the water you boiled the chana in)
• Now add the chana and toss for two minutes. Throw some grated coconut on top and you are done.

Method to make Bajjil

Mix all the ingredients together thoroughly. Bajjil is ready. Simple

Tips

• Serve Kadley and Bajjil separately on a single plate. Let the person eating decide his/her own morsels and mixes.
• Some like to put a bit of sugar in the Bajjil mix, but that’s completely optional as the sweetness of coconut drowns. But that’s my opinion.