Banza pasta sold in the US, is made from channa (chickpeas) that has more protein and fiber compared to regular wheat pasta.
For those interested in the recipe for a delicious, Indian style - chana masala flavored pasta, scroll down.
But before that, I am also excited to talk to you about entrepreneurship and the power of persistence.
Banza- The story
Clean ingredients, High protein and fiber - What a great product
Banza is a play on words from “Garbanzo beans”, another name for chickpeas. The owners didn’t pay me or anything, so I have no incentive to write positive or negative things about them. I saw them first on a TV show, called “Restaurant Startup” on CNBC. The 2 brothers developed this pasta out of their home kitchen and came on the show to fund their product. They got a $75,000 investment from the show and also got some money from an online crowdfunding campaign.
They wanted to get orders from around the country and so attended various food shows and events. About 2 years ago, I attended one such event - ‘Making it in Michigan Conference and Trade Show’ to study more about packaging my product. I saw one of the brothers offering samples of his product. I stopped by to say hi and said that I had seen him on TV. He was very friendly and wished me luck in my endeavors.
If you are thinking of becoming an entrepreneur, remember the problems you encounter never stops. It comes from different angles. But you can tackle them one by one. The Banza brothers spent a lot of time in manufacturing facilities trying to scale their product, reading food chemistry textbooks and emailing experts. One such technical problem for the brothers was that the pasta was disintegrating when cooked incorrectly. They overcame that hurdle also. On the marketing side, to avoid spending too much ad dollars, they tried to approach “influencers” and people with huge instagram followers to try their product. After all these efforts and a few years later, they have now been featured in NYtimes and are in 3300 stores in the US.
Step by Step Pics
Let’s get to making it, shall we? Given that Banza pasta is made from chickpeas, I obviously thought of using channa masala as my base flavor for the pasta.
Cook Pasta…
Saute onion and spices…
Next in line - tomatoes!!
Time for drained pasta..
Shredded cheese for the lil’ ones!!
Yum!!
Recipe
Banza pasta, high in protein, flavored with an Indian twist - Chana Masala
- 1 packet Banza or any high protein pasta
- 2 tbsp Oil
- 2 oz Shredded cheese optional
- 1/2-1 tsp Kashmiri Chili Powder
- 1 /2-1 tsp Coriander powder
- 1/2-1 tsp Chana Masala Powder
- 1 medium onion
- 1 medium zucchini or any low carb veggie you like
- 2 medium Tomatoes
- 1 in finely chopped ginger
- 1/2 bunch chopped coriander leaves
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Add salt to a large pot of water and set to boil. Add pasta and cook as per packaging instructions.
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While the pasta is cooking - Heat oil, fry onion and ginger for a few minutes.
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Add chopped zucchini (optional) and stir. Add Kashmiri chili powder, coriander powder, chana masala powder and continue frying.
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Add chopped tomatoes and fry until they soften.
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Add drained pasta to the cooked mixture.
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Add some shredded cheese to the pasta (optional - kids love it!!).
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Finally add chopped coriander leaves and plate.
The chana masala powder available in Indian grocery stores has dry mango (Amchur) and pomegranate powder as key ingredients. It adds a certain tartness that is inherent to the chana masala flavor.
This is a great idea for kids lunch box too:
Chickpea pasta - a high protein lunch for your kid
Explore your dream
Do you have a dream? Do you want to start a blog? a company? a non-profit? I personally know so many talented women who are so talented, so creative and yet are not ready to take their idea to the next level.
Mark Zuckerberg gave a wonderful speech recently in Harvard, where he said “Ideas don’t come out fully formed. They only become clear as you work on them. You just have to get started.” I couldn’t agree more. If you are young, and just finishing college, the opportunities ahead of you are limitless. You might feel small and helpless in this big world. But stick to your passion and keep working on it.
Whether it is to build the next Facebook, invent the next Banza pasta, or start the next Antarang Foundation (a wonderful non-profit in India), I hope you find great joy in finding purpose for yourself and others. I wish all my readers the very best.
If you are looking to buy Banza Pasta or Chana Masala, try the affiliate link attached.
If you chose to buy from this link, Amazon.com will provide a small commission back to this website, that way we can maintain this website and bring you more healthy ideas!! Thanks!!
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