Chana Masala

What is Chana Masala?

Chana masala is a North Indian curried dish made with white chickpeas, onions, tomatoes, spices and herbs. ‘Chana’ is a Hindi word for ‘Chickpeas’ and ‘Masala’ here refers to a ‘spiced gravy’. So it’s nothing but chickpeas simmered in a spicy onion tomato masala. This is one of the world’s most popular vegetarian curries & is a staple in the Indian homes & restaurants.

Though the dish originated in Punjab region of India, it is made in numerous ways across the Indian sub-continent. So Chana masala is a common term that refers to chickpeas cooked with plenty of spices. You will find anywhere from extremely spicy to mild toned down versions. The recipe shared here will yield you something in between the both but you can easily up or cut down the spices further to suit your taste.

Often people confuse Chana Masala with Chole Masala but both are different. A special blend of spices and the preparation (boiling) of chickpeas is unique to the Punjabi chole, which makes it taste very different from a chickpea masala.

About My Authentic Recipe

To make this recipe, you can either opt to use canned chickpeas or follow the traditional method, in which we soak the dried chickpeas overnight and cook until tender. It is a one pan-dish and takes only 30 to 35 mins, if you have canned or cooked chickpeas ready.

The recipe starts with making the masala/ curry. We saute the onions, ginger, garlic and cook with tomatoes and spices. Lastly chickpeas are simmered in this masala until tender and soak up the flavors. The finished dish is healthy, protein-packed and delicious with a burst of flavors.

I like to start my chana masala with dried chickpeas because that’s how we make the dish traditionally. Like most Indian homes, I pressure cook them to save time. If you do not have a pressure cooker and want to make the recipe with dried chickpeas, refer my Faq section to cook them in pot.

If you chose to go with canned chickpeas, make sure you use chickpeas that are perfectly tender, still hold shape and not mushy. Undercooked or mushy chickpeas are not good to make this dish.

Ingredients & Substitutes

• Basic Ingredients: Use yellow or red onions (avoid large purple onions). Fresh tomatoes are best, if not use canned whole peeled tomatoes
• Chickpeas: Use dried chickpeas or canned. It is essential to use fresh stock of dried chickpeas because old legumes that have been sitting in the shelves take longer to cook (may take forever). Avoid buying stocks that are labelled older than 12 months.
• Garam masala and red chili powder: I use this homemade garam masala but you can use any aromatic store bought version. I use Kashmiri or Byadgi chili powder for low heat levels. You can also use a combination of paprika and cayenne.
• Other ground spices like ground coriander, ground cumin and turmeric help to cut down the acidity from tomatoes & tone down the strength of garam masala. Though they add a little flavor they work more to round-out the flavors.
• Kasuri Methi: Dried fenugreek leaves also known as kasuri methi are classic, an herb not to miss in any North Indian dishes. There is no substitute for this. These leaves are super fragrant and impart an earthy, hay-like flavor, with very mild bitter tones. They are also used in many Indian dishes like dal, butter chicken and chicken tikka.
• Amchur: Dried green mango powder is known as Amchur. It imparts slightly sweet, fruity & tangy flavors (that is different from tomatoes). There is no substitute for this ingredient but you can use lemon juice (not lime) at the time of serving.
• Whole Spices: We love whole spices like Indian bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves and cardamoms for fresh and better flavors. Most store bought garam masala are oxidized and do not have great flavors. So using whole spices will compensate for the lost flavors.

Expert Tips

If you are using old chickpeas that have been sitting in the shelves for long. Add a pinch of baking soda while you cook the chickpeas. This helps to cook them faster. Discard half of the stock and use only the rest while you cook the dish. Using all of the stock can leave an aftertaste.