Vegan Amla Chickpeas from "The Indian Slow Cooker"

Dried Amla (Indian Gooseberries)

More Indian Chickpeas!  I made the Vegan Amla Chickpeas, or the Sooka Amla Chana, from The Indian Slow Cooker book authored by Anupy Singla.  I have been making something from her book nearly every day! Another simple recipe that uses dried chickpeas meaning no soaking, no fermenting of forgotten beans, no BPAs found in can linings and no additional cost.  You can get them anywhere!  But if you go to your local co-op, Whole Foods, health store, then you can usually snag them organic and in bulk.  Under 2.00 a pound.  

Vegan Amla Chickpeas from The Indian Slow Cooker Book

Amla Chickpeas, finished.
This make 14 cups of chickpeas!

I did have just a few questions regarding the amla.  What you want is dried amla, Indian Gooseberries, and I guess you probably don't want any of the other gunk that they sometimes put on them.  I had options of amla with sugar, salt, and other stuff, or just amla and salt.  I chose amla and salt. The amla turns the chickpeas dark!  This one used a slightly different technique for adding all the veggies at the end.  You basically make a tunnel in the beans, put your veggies in, and carefully pour hot oil on top trying to cook the veggies.  This slightly freaked me out as I don't really do Earth Balance anyhow, and then hot! Scary!  But it turned out to be simple and overall pretty non-threatening.

Verdict: I thought they were great.  They did have a dryer texture than the "Chana Masala" recipe.  Hubby liked, but he still prefers the wet dal makhani, urad dal, and rajmahs.  He just prefers broth.  I am a total chickpea fanatic and could eat them soupy or dry!  Hands down, this is a delicious dish!  It also makes

Amla Chickpeas, Chana Masala, Goan Black Eyed Peas and Vino.

Another one Anupy's examples that you can make some of the healthiest food on the planet for pennies.  Just yesterday a friend was exclaiming to me that she had no inclination to eat healthier nor feed her family any sort of "natural" food.  That maybe in "big" metropolitan cities these foods are available, but in "normal" mid-western towns, natural foods just aren't "around".   I was thinking, hmmm.......Rice and Beans are everywhere!!  And for far less cost than people are paying for their "Fruit Loops" or "Healthy Brand Name Cereals".  One of the most important things that  you can do for your kids is to teach them how to eat in a mindful, healthy way.  If cost is an issue, then minimize packaged foods.  Dried Rice and Beans are very inexpensive, even when you buy organic.  Fresh veggies are also inexpensive if you are not buying bags of tortilla chips.  The wealth in our country has completely impoverished us spiritually and nutritionally.  While I do not advocate poverty in the least, we have swung so far the other direction that we have lost sight of being human.  A terribly non comical tragedy.  In general we do not recognize that even with the recession, that our overabundance is actually robbing others out of food and water.  We won't recognize this until we are the ones that are thirsty.  While I would never want to hand in my US passport because I embrace the freedom that it gives me, it was also my return to the States that made me shudder from the "Born in the USA" syndrome.  It seems like nothing is ever "realized" until it is our children who are starving.  Our children who cannot get clean water.  My hope is that parents consider that trying to be "green" isn't some elitist trend, but a hope that there will be sufficient resources for the generations to come.  Their generations.

Vegan Tangy Tamarind Chickpeas from "The Indian Slow Cooker"

Vegan Tangy Tamarind Chickpeas from
The Indian Slow Cooker Book

Okay, I might have had my first "flub" from Anupy's book. Although no fault of hers, and it isn't a "verified" flub yet. When I was shopping for tamarind paste I ran into several options. Or at least what appeared to be 100% tamarind paste. I ended up buying "wet tamarind" from Thailand. It seemed smooth and it didn't appear to just be smudged up tamarind seeds. But after I had put my 20 cloves of garlic, an ample amount of chili peppers, and all my other ingredients in the food processor, it sounded like there were date pits in there! Come to find out some seeds were still in there and one had gotten stuck to the blade. I think I wanted tamarind concentrate that had been prepared, not wet tamarind. So we shall see if my chickpeas are edible. Maybe with 12 hours of cooking it will all be fine?? This is another "dry" dish it appears. So far we prefer  the dishes that create their own gravies. Maybe just because they seem to have more flavor or maybe because the beans in the dry dishes are not overly done. Maybe I need to add a little water so they are really moist throughout. Although it seems like I have had beans on the dryer side at the chaat bar.

"Wet Tamarind"

It's kind of chunky, but worked in the end.
Next time I will find a concentrate that has no additional
ingredients.

The texture is amazing!  I ran out of Kabuli (White) Chana so
I had to add in about 1/3 cup of Kala (black) Chana (Chickpeas)

The dishes that take 12 hours are good for overnight cooking. I can start at midnight and then lunch is made the next day. I still have not gotten a masala dabba but now I think Anupy Singla actually commissioned a super special one. Sounds like it has a standardized measuring spoon. Now I have way too many spices cluttering my already cluttered counter top. I got up early this morning, accidentally, but then I was able to put the lemon in the crock pot for the last 2 hours of cooking. This is very cool because lemon has more Vitamin C than oranges and it really helps with iron absorption. Chickpeas have lots of iron so it's a a great combination.

Maybe this is a better bet?
It looks like "straight" tamarind extract.
Probably without the "seeds" of the
"wet" tamarind.

Update: AMAZING!!!!! The dish is dryer than a Chana Masala but not as dry as the Pigeon Peas or Black Chickpeas.  The tamarind flavor is just amazing, a sweet/tangy blast.  Love it.  Didn't run into any hard seeds yet so perhaps they all got cooked down, but still think that tamarind paste is what I was supposed to use vs. "wet tamarind".  Have already eaten 3 bowls so I probably won't be able to move later!  The biggest downfall of "The Indian Slow Cooker" is that I just can't stop eating it.  Just how does one go about getting rid of a chickpea addiction?  This recipe makes a massive amount of food because there isn't really any "broth".  I don't think I would make a full size recipe next time because hubby prefers the wet  dals to this style and we are overflowing with chickpeas now!  You could also make a full recipe and freeze it in Mason Jars.  Just don't fill to the top of the jar, as the lids of most of them have BPA and also it may expand a bit.  The beans seem firm enough to take a freezing, but I haven't tried it yet.  I did throw some Pigeon Peas in the freezer because we just had TOO much food!  Not a terrible problem to have.

I love Tamarind!  Each chickpea is enveloped in this sweet, salty, sour
flavor.  It's Vegan Chickpea Candy!!