Chana Masala

[JR]

Share:

Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp Email Share Link

Good tasting Chana Masala is hard to prepare.... I know this from experience! It never tastes quite like the restaurant variety however carefully prepared. Today I stumbled on a Chana Masala recipe which I cooked immediately that turned out deliciously quite close to the restaurant variety - and the KEY is to add/grind Chana Masala along with tomatoes while preparing the gravy! Read on for the full recipe from: Chana Masala/Chole (Chickpea Curry) and Chana Masala Spice blend. vegan, glutenfree - Vegan Richa

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons oil
• 1/2 medium onion chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
• pinch of asafetida(hing)
• 3 medium tomatoes
• 1 inch ginger chopped (can be substituted with ginger paste)
• 3-4 cloves of garlic peeled and chopped (can be substituted with garlic paste)
• 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes or green chili, to taste
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 can garbanzo beans washed and drained or 1 cup dry chickpeas soaked overnight and pressure cooked for 4-5 whistles.
• 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon raw sugar
• 1 teaspoon Chana Masala powder or to taste(Recipe below) or use the chana/chole masala blend from indian store.

Directions:

1. In a blender, add 3 medium chopped tomatoes, ginger, garlic, chili, lemon juice, 1/4 can garbanzo beans(1/4 cup cooked chickpeas). Blend into a paste and keep aside.
2. In a pressure cooker, add oil and onions.
3. Cook until onions are translucent. Add in the spices, asofetida, chana masala blend and mix well.
4. Add in the tomato puree and cook on medium low, partially covered with occasional stirring until the paste thickens and starts to leave oil (about 15 minutes)
5. Add in the salt and remaining garbanzo beans and 1 to 1.5 cups water depending on your preference for thick or thin curry.
6. Pressure cook for 2 whistles. or cook covered until chickpeas are easily mashable.
7. Let the pressure cooker release pressure by itself(5 minutes). Adjust salt. Add more chana masala blend and chili flakes per taste. Mix well.
8. Serve hot topped with chopped onions, lemon wedges, cilantro and Rotis or Naans or Basmati Rice!
9. No Pressure cooker: Use canned or slow cooker cooked chickpeas, or dry chickpeas soaked overnight. In a deep pan, make the tomato onion mixture as above. Add the chickpeas and 2 cups of water and cook for an hour or so, covered, until the chickpeas are tender. Mash some chickpeas and let cook for another 5-10 minutes uncovered. Adjust water for preferred consistency.

Note: There are several types of pressure cookers. Some have different pressure settings. The one I use has a whistle top which acts as the pressure regulator(this model ). And it only has setting for high pressure. When the pressure inside builds up to high pressure, the pressure regulator automatically releases a little pressure at intervals to keep it maintained at a safe high pressure. That release sounds like a whistle because of the sudden steam release, which is counted to time the cooking as I have learnt from mom

For cooking the chickpeas, keep the pressure regulator at high pressure for 10 minutes (which is 2-3 whistles in the model I use) at high heat, then reduce the heat to low-medium and continue to cook for another 10.


Chana Masala Spice blend/curry powder (Add to any chunky bean/lentil soup)!

• 1/4 teaspoon Hing/Asofoetida
• 1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Dry ginger powder
• 1/2 teaspoon green cardamom/elaichi powder
• 1 teaspoon Pomegranate seeds powder/Anardana, Or 1/2 teaspoon dry mango powder/Amchur
• 1/2 teaspoon rock salt/kala namak
• To Roast:
• 1 big Bay leaf/ Tej Patta
• 1 Tablespoon Coriander/dhania seeds
• 2 teaspoons Cumin/jeera seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel/Saunf
• 1/2 teapoons Black pepper corns/kali mirch dane or to taste
• 1/3 teaspoon clove/laung (3-4 cloves)
• 1 Dry red chili
• 1 stick Cinammon/dal chini or 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• 2 teaspoons Dry Fenugreek leaves (Kasturi methi) or 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds

On a thick bottom pan dry roast ingredients one at a time on low-medium heat till you can smell their aroma and coriander seeds start to turn brown. Stir almost constantly. (3-5 minutes)
Cool this mix and grind with the other ingredients. Adjust the spice(chili), and sour(pomegranate seeds and rock salt) to taste. We add a bit more spice and mom adds another teaspoon of dry mango powder for a more sour masala blend.
Store in airtight container for a few months.





This Chana masala is headed to Veggie converter’s Meatless Monday!(thanks for featuring mywhole grain buns from last week), also headed to Melt in your mouth Monday, Hearth and Soup blog hop. And to Ricki’s Wellness Weekend!