Two things are revered in Pakistan. Eating well and dressing well. Food and fashion trends. Call it shallow or perhaps a coping mechanism from a country with so much potential but lack of resources (because you know, ex imperialism or 21st politics and possibly global islamophobia) but we like to eat delicious food while dressed impeccably. Pakistan is a country with big Taurus energy and indulgence is a part of life no matter what your social standing. Whatever the budget, you will find couples, families, students dressed to the nines out for a meal, even if it is just a small plate of street food. Breakfast is no exception. Again no matter what you are budget, in Pakistan weekend breakfast is a big deal. There is meat stews, nihari or siri payay, lentil stew, haleem, all the kebabs under the sun, daal plates with buttery parathas or naan, or puris. And the breakfast to top it all off is Halwa Puri which is a plate of stewed chickpeas with a fried pastry style bread, pickled onions, semolina pudding. It is decadent and it is the stuff of my childhood, adolescent, adult, and most likely old age breakfast fantasy.

The plate of chickpeas, bazzari cholay/channay, aren’t firey hot but instead stewed in milder spices till they have a natural creaminess to them. These cholay are sold at your local takeaway hole-in-the-wall specialising in one dish only and usually open only for breakfast. You get it in a plastic bag inside a brown paper bag, still warm, transfer it to a bowl squeezing all the delicious thick gravy esq masala part out, lick your finger in anticipation of the goodness you are about to consume. With a dollop of tangy sour yogurt and flakey crispy puri, naan, or my favourite a paratha bathed in desi ghee. It is always the breakfast that awaits me after a morning flight landing into Multan, welcoming me back home, like a warm embrace of love.

Pakistani Channay

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

1 jar of chickpeas (drained and washed)
1 Tbs each of yellow split lentil and red lentils (Washed and Soaked)
½ tsp ground cumin powder
½ tsp ground coriander powder
½ tsp red chilli powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp ground black pepper
½ tsp garam masala
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 dried whole red chilies halved
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs pomegranate molasses
2-3 cups of water
Salt to taste

method

Drain the soaked lentils and transfer to a saucepan along with 2 cups of water, chickpeas, salt, cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric, chilli powder and black pepper.
Bring the water to a simmer and turn the heat low. Place the lid on and cook for 30 minutes ( you may have to check the water levels intermittently and add more if its drying out).
Around 30 minutes mark add the pomegranate molasses, check water levels and cook with the lid off for another 15-20 minutes. The contents of the pan should be thick and stew like.
Now check season and add gram masala. Remove from heat.
Prepare the temper in a frying pan with oil, dried chillis and cumin seeds. Once seeds start to sizzle, transfer this oil to the chickpea pan and place the lid on off the hob. Keep the lid on for 5 minutes to infuse the oil and masala flavors together.
Serve hot or warm with rice, naan or any flat other flat bread.