Since childhood, my Amma has always taught me the importance of days dedicated to each God. Not sure how many of you believe in it but sharing the little I have learnt.

* Mondays – To worship Lord Shiva and in our case, our Kuladevata too, Shree Damodar. 🙏

* Tuesdays – For Ganpati Bappa, Devis/ Goddesses and Hanumanji. 🙏

* Wednesdays – Dedicated to Lord Krishna. ❤️🙏

* Thursdays – A day dedicated to Lord Vishnu and our Gurus. Dattatreya Swamy or Guru Raghavendra Swamy or Sai Baba or as believed by each individual in their life. 🙏

* Fridays – To worship Devis/ Goddesses. 🙏

* Saturdays – Dedicated to worship Lord Venkatarama. Also, Shanidev and since worshipping Hanumanji is said to remove the Shani dosha or wrath in one’s life, Hanumanji too is worshipped on this day. 🙏

* Sundays – Dedicated to Sun God. Also, Mahalasa Narayani (Amma’s Kuladevi in her mother’s side); Sunday is dedicated to this devi. 🙏

You might be wondering why all this explanation (free ka gyan 😅) is for. Actually, along with all the days dedicated to each God, there have been foods dedicated to these days too. In almost all Konkani households, black chickpeas is cooked on Fridays as it is believed to be a favorite of Goddess Lakshmi. Hence, considered auspicious to make a ghashi (curry) or this usli with black chickpeas on Fridays. Same is the case with Horsegram which is said to be good to be had on Saturdays saying it gives us strength like Hanumanji.

Some of you may laugh at this, but I believe all of these traditions were made by our ancestors for a reason. When I think about it, this tradition made sure we had the healthy legumes atleast once a week. Else, I would forget to make it as Chickpeas and Horsegram have a long shelf life, easily can be bought and forgotten (if you are like me 😅).

And whenever I make Chane Usli on Fridays, it has to be combined with this delicious Godu Phovu. This is a classic Konkani breakfast/ snack combination, also made as Navaratri prasad.

Inspite of being from Udupi, I have grown up among our Konkani community in Elamakkara, Kochi where we have a GSB Vikas Parishad group which conducts meetings every month in one of the members’ house to discuss issues faced by our community and also to help those in need. During Navaratri, members would volunteer for bhajans to be conducted in their house and the rest of us would go, sing bhajans together and consume the prasad made by them. The prasad would always be Chane Usli – Godu Phovu in every member’s house and it used to taste so divine and delicious that I still remember the flavours. Every family had their own unique way of making it and that made it even more special. ❤️

Now, whenever I get black chickpeas, I always make it on Fridays, to respect our traditions and not allowing it to diminish away at any cost. Also, since these traditions have health benefits associated with it, it is an added advantage too, right! 😄

Hope you all try this combination too. Very filling and comes out delicious. Also, can be made as a breakfast or evening snack too. Happy and healthy cooking! ❤️

RECIPE:

Ingredients: { Serves 3 }

For Chane Usli –

1 Cup dried Black Chickpeas/ Kala Chana

1 Tbsp Coconut oil

1 tsp Mustard seeds

A sprig of Curry leaves

A pinch of Hing/ Asafoetida

3 to 4 Green chillies

Salt to taste

3 Tbsp freshly grated Coconut for garnish

For Godu Phovu –

1/2 Cup Jaggery

1/4 Cup water

1/2 Cup freshly grated Coconut

1 1/2 Cups Poha/ Flattened rice/ Beaten rice/ rice flakes (thin variety)

1 Tbsp Ghee

1/4 tsp Cardamom powder

Step by step recipe:

For Chane Usli:

1. Soak the black chickpeas in more than double the water for atleast 6 to 8 hours. Drain the water. Add to a pressure cooker. Add fresh water enough to soak the chickpeas. Pressure cook till soft. {Takes a whistle on high and 10 mins on medium flame on my electric stovetop.}

2. Heat oil in a pan. Splutter mustard seeds. Add curry leaves, hing and green chillies.

3. Fry till green chillies change colour. Now add the cooked chickpeas. {I add along with the cooked water. If you plan to make saar (check notes), add only the chickpeas and keep the cooked water aside}.

4. Mash lightly with a ladle. Add salt and cook till the mixture turns dry. Mix in coconut and keep aside.

For Godu Phovu:

1. Melt jaggery in water. I use 1/2 Cup jaggery and 1/4 Cup water. It melts and bubbles start forming. Then I remove it from the flame. Sieve and mix in 1/2 Cup coconut.

2. Now add thin Poha, first 1 Cup, mix well. Then if needed add 1/4 Cup at a time till the texture and sweetness is perfect. Do taste tests.

3. When the mixture is even and done, add ghee and cardamom powder. Mix well.

Serve with Chane Usli. I have garnished the Godu Phovu with Tulsi leaves as they do in temples.

Notes:

* Mixing few Tulsi leaves in the Godu Phovu not only makes it more aromatic, but gives us the benefit of eating Tulsi leaves which are very healthy and also giving us the divine feel of temple prasad.

* Thin Poha does not need soaking. Just mix as it is with melted jaggery. Add little at a time to ensure you don’t over add the poha as it leads to less sweet poha.

* Both these recipes require atleast the amount of freshly grated Coconut I have mentioned. Lesser than that, it does not give the authentic taste. You can add more too if you love coconut.

* Make sure to cook the chickpeas till soft.

* Black chickpeas can be substituted with white chickpeas too.

* The cooked water is usually drained and kept for Chane Saaru (A kind of rasam). Just add salt to the water and bring to a boil. Season coconut oil with mustard seeds, curry leaves and broken red chillies. Pour over the boiled water. Mix well. Serve with rice meals. You can also give fried garlic seasoning instead.

* You can also check this Quick to make Kerala style Kadala curry recipe.