Yeah, you read the name right 😁. Have you heard about this dish? The first time I read about this dish in my friend Nupoor's insta feed, I was wondering what this dish could be and googled it. Well it sounded interesting and gave a try. It was delicious indeed 😅.
Chakalaka is basically a dish that originates from South Africa and is a staple food for them. It is a healthy dish made out of vegetables with beans (which gives a protein punch) cooked in a tangy tomato puree. It is traditionally served with bread or rice.
We do not know the exact origin about this dish, but some believe it originated from mine workers in Johannesburg, who added tinned tomatoes, beans, chilli and everything they had and created a vegetable dish with a Portuguese flair (Source: Wikipedia).
Needless to say, this is loaded with lots of veggies and beans, hence making it a healthy accompaniment to rice or bread.
Ingredients:
Onion 2
Tomato 3
Capsicum 1
Carrot 1
Shredded Cabbage 1 cup
White Beans 1 cup (I used black eyed peas)
Ginger 1 inch
Garlic 1 pod
Green Chilli 1
To dry roast and grind:
Coriander Seeds 2 tsp
Cumin Seeds 1 tsp
Fenugreek Seeds 1 tsp
Mustard Seeds 1 tsp
Pepper 1 tsp
Clove 1
Cardamom Pod 1
Method:
1. Soak the white beans in water overnight. Pressure cook them for 4 whistles and keep it aside.
2. Prepare the curry powder. Dry roast the ingredients given under "To dry roast and grind". Grind them into a fine powder and keep it aside.
3. Puree the tomatoes and keep it aside.
4. Heat oil in a pan. Add ginger, garlic, green chilli. Saute them well.
5. Add onions and saute until translucent.
6. Add capsicum. Saute for couple of minutes.
7. Add shredded cabbage and carrots.
8. Add turmeric powder and salt. Cover the pan with a lid and allow it to simmer for 5 minutes.
9. Next add the tomato puree. Saute well until the tomato mixture begans to thicken.
10. Next add the cooked beans and curry powder.
11. Allow the mixture to blend well and let it simmer for 5 to 7 minutes.
12. Switch off the flame.