Chana Masala

The Chick Pea curry, also known as Chana Masala or Cholle, is a very popular dish in North India. Traditionally made by soaking the beans overnight & then pressure cooking, it has a rich aroma of different spices. You can also soak them in hot water for two hours in case you don’t want to wait overnight. Still too much of work ? Go for canned beans. See recipe notes below if you are using raw beans.

Serves: 4-6

Course: Main

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes ( for canned beans); 90 minutes for raw beans ( plus 8 hours of soaking)
Ingredients: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Ingredients

3 Cups Boiled Garbanzo Beans/ Chick Peas (Boiled)
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 inch cinnamon stick
1 brown cardamom / moti elaichi
1 bay leaf
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 teaspoon ginger paste
1 tsp minced garlic
1 teaspoon chopped green chilies ( optional)
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
2 teaspoons coriander powder
2 Roma tomatoes, finely diced
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon salt , as per taste
1/2 tsp amchoor powder ( dried mango powder)
1 cup water
1/3 cup chopped cilantro

Directions

Heat oil in a medium skillet & add the cumin seeds.
When cumin seeds start cracking, add cinnamon stick, brown cardamom and bay leaf and saute for 10 seconds.
Add onions and cook till they are transparent, about 3 minutes on medium heat.
Now add ginger, garlic and green chilies; saute them for about 30 seconds on medium heat.
Add garam masala & coriander. Saute for 10-15 seconds.
Add tomatoes, red chili powder, amchoor & salt. Cook for another 3 minutes on medium flame or till the tomatoes are mushy.
Add the chickpeas and half cup of water and cover the pan with a lid. Let it cook for 8 minutes on medium heat.
Using a spatula / ladle, mash the cooked chickpeas to soften them.
You may add more water (1/2 cup ) if needed to have more gravy. Let it cook for 5 minutes on low-medium heat.
Garnish with cilantro & serve hot.

Cooking suggestions

If you want to use raw beans, soak 1 cup of dry beans overnight. Drain the water and rinse the beans nicely under tap water next morning. Pressure cook the beans along with 2 cups of water using instant pot for 40 minutes. Allow the NPR and use the boiled beans as per the recipe above. Reserve all the water to be used later during cooking.
You can also add 1 teaspoon ‘Chana Masala’ ( from Indian stores) at the end along with black pepper & salt. I don’t use it but you may if you want. The curry will taste equally good both ways !

Serving Suggestions

Relish with boiled rice, naan or any other Indian bread.
Can be enjoyed with burger buns too.

Nutrition

Good source of dietary fiber, plant based proteins, Vitamin B6 and Folate.

Interesting Health Benefits

One study shows that people who were regularly fed with Chick peas/ garbanzo beans had better blood fat regulation, including lower levels of LDL-cholesterol, total cholesterol, and triglycerides.
In a recent study, it took only one week of garbanzo bean consumption to improve participants’ control of blood sugar and insulin secretion.

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This recipe was first shared on November 28th, 2011 on this website.

Chana Masala

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