Kala chana – Ashtami Prasad
Kala chana – Ashtami Prasad is a quick and easy meal that packs tons of flavors and is so simple, yet so tasty. Pair it with sweet semolina pudding and deep-fried pooris to make a lip-smacking meal!!
It’s again this time of the year when Navratri (festival of nine nights) is coming to an end and every household is prepping up for Ashtami or Navmi pujan. The eighth day of Navratri is celebrated as Durga Ashtami which also marks the end of fasting period for several devotees. On this day, devotees offer prayers to Goddess Durga and perform Kanchike or Kanjak. Kala chana – Ashtami Prasad
Kanjak means young girls within the age of birth – 9 years of age and these girls are ceremonially worshiped. This puja also referred to as Kanjak Pujan or Kanya pujan ( worshiping a girl child) and is celebrated either on Ashtami (the 8th day) or on Navmi (the 9th day) of Navratri .
Every family follows their own tradition as some worship ashtami and some do puja on Navami. North Indian families cook Ashtami prasad which mainly consist of dried Kala chana (black chickpeas), Sooji halwa and puri – a delicious and favorite KANJAK food.
How Kanjak Pujan is done! Kala chana – Ashtami Prasad
People welcome young girls in their house.
- Wash their young feet,
- Apply kumkum on their forehead and
- Tie roli (a sacred thread) on their little hands.
- Perform the young girl’s aarti, touch their feet and seek their blessings.
- Then the girls are made to sit in a row and
- Later they are served kala chana – Ashtami Prasad
- When they are done eating and ready to leave people shower them gifts in form of money or toys.
Durga Ashtami is the most auspicious day of the year and people celebrate it with great zeal and enthusiasm.
Now on to the recipe!
Soak kale chole overnight. In the morning pressure cook for 8-9 whistles (it may take longer for some). Once chickpeas are thoroughly boiled and soft (as shown in the pic below) cook them in oil and mild spices.
From here on the recipe is straightforward and needs no fancy ingredients. Just the regular spices and a couple of tablespoons of oil and there you go – delicious and tasty sookhe kale chane are ready.
Feel free to add/delete spices to your liking. Adding a teaspoon of amchur (mango powder) will add some tanginess to this chana recipe. Since this prasad is consumed mostly by young girls I have skipped adding green chilies and cilantro but feel free to experiment.
Black chickpeas are extremely healthy as they are low in fat and high in dietary fiber. They are also rich in vitamins and minerals. It’s a great addition to your daily diet and it can be a fairly versatile recipe.
If not using it as a prasad then add some chopped onions, green chilies, chopped cilantro, chaat masala and some sev and munch it as an evening snack with your tea.. yum yum yum…. This is what we relished as children and now my kids do the same with leftover Ashtami prasad 🙂
HAPPY ASHTAMI TO ALL OF YOU!! Enjoy ashtami prasad with Sooji ka halwa and Puri .
If you happen to make these then either drop me a line below or share your yum pictures with me on Facebook. Would love to see your creation!
Cheers!
Servings | Prep Time |
6 PEOPLE | - OVERNIGHT |
Cook Time |
40 MINUTES |
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Kala chana - Ashtami Prasad is a quick and easy meal that packs tons of flavors and is so simple, yet so tasty. Pair it with sweet semolina pudding and deep fried pooris to make a lip-smacking meal!!
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- 1.5 cup Black chana/chole
- 3/4 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Red chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Haldi (Turmeric powder)
- 1/2 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- 1-2 teaspoon Coriander powder (sukha dhaniya)
- 3 tablespoon Oil
- 1 tablespoon Chopped cilantro leaves (optional)
- Cooked chana. How to cook Prasad in an hour- Start by boiling chole first and while they are boiling, prepare sooji ka halwa. Meanwhile knead the dough for poori. When kale chole are done boiling and the whistle is out, prepare its tempering/tadka and finally add chole. While chole water is evaporating, I roll out and cook my pooris. This way all the work is done in 45 - 50 minutes.
Hi ruchi
I want to cook this recipe for 20 people can you tell me how much chaana should i use.
Ritika, please use the ‘Change serving size’ feature in the recipe box and it will calculate the exact amount for you.
Hai..Ruchi mam..today I Tried this recipe …thos went well…everybody liked it….thankyou so much…😍😍😍😘
Glad you liked the recipe.
Thanks for updating me. 🙂
Thanks ruchi awesome recipes for Ashtami pooja
You are welcome. 🙂
Hi, can you please let me know how long to cook the chana in a pan as i won’t be using a pressure cooker.
That will take quite a while. At least an hour or half (1 or 1.5 hours) of covered cooking for soaked chana to get soft and tender.
Your 1 cup =250mL?
In liquid measurement, 1 cup = 250 ml.
But if you are referring to beans measurement than 1 cup raw beans = 200 grams.
Please refer to this chart for future conversions – http://www.ruchiskitchen.com/conversion-chart-grams-liters-gallons-cups-ounces/
Thanks Ruchi
Pleasure is all mine. 🙂
Hi I use your recipes for pooja every year thank you very helpful .
Keep up the good work .
Thanks for your kind words!
Means a lot. 🙂
Hello mam
Hello dear, how can I help you?
The perfect recipe for chana prasad.
My mother used to cook this way this ashtami I’m unable to go home, so thought to cook this myself. Searched for the recipe to help me out and your blog was at the top…
This is the same recipe, i loved your blog ma’am. Thank u so much. I’ll prepare this on coming ashtami..
Thanks for your wonderful feedback Kannu! Glad you liked. 🙂
Keep me posted how it turned out for you!
I came out yummy today ma’am and credit goes to youuu… 😁😁😁😁
Thanks for sharing your experience with me Kannu. 🙂 Glad you liked.
Hi,
You don’t mention the amount of water u used to boil them in the cooker and if u added all of the water in the pan which had masalas.. I’m concerned if it will over cook and become soggy if I add too much water… ?
Thanks for stopping by Mudita! Add enough water (appx. 2 – 2.5 cups) to pressure cook the chana and you will be good. Happy Ashtami!!
Great site and informative! Steps are clear and well defined. Made these chana for prasad and were very delicious. Thanks Ruchi for putting in so much efforts!
You are welcome Padma! Glad you liked it and thanks for trying it out. 🙂
Hello Ruchi,
I made these for a puja at my place and were loved by everyone. I followed your instructions and really admire the way you explained how the chana should be. Prepared with minimal ingredients and this was a superb prasad. Thanks a lot, you are my saviour and guiding light in my culinary world!!
Regards,
Payal
Glad you liked the recipe! Thank you for sharing your experience with me and for following my blog! 🙂
Tried and a successful recipe. Made this prasad for a puja in our house and spices were perfect and everyone loved it.Thanks Ruchi. We like your website and all the recipes.
Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe. 🙂
Wow, this blog is awesome. This is so different from any other website. I am a regular reader of this blog. Great recipe..I tried this over the long weekend. And it came out delicious. This is one of my favourites. Even my little kids ate it all!! Anything that is eaten by my kids makes me a winner…credit goes to you..thanks for a lovely recipe my friend…really enjoyed it 🙂
Thanks Lizy..awww..that’s so sweet!! I can totally relate..if the little cuties ate up their meal..you really feel like a winner. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Dear Ruchi,
Great work on the blog, looks applauling.
I made this amazing chole last week, and it was an extreme hit! i loved the way they turned out, salt was perfect, spices were perfect. They were the best chole I have made so far! I wish i can send a picture to you, thanks a ton and a huge huge fan of your recipes!
Regards
Trupti from Amritsar
You are welcome Triputi! Thank YOU for sharing your experience with me. I’m so happy to hear that the Kala chana turned out great for you.