Chana Masala Food

CHANA MASALA RECIPE

Steps:

• Rinse dried chickpeas at least thrice. Soak them in 3 ½ to 4 cups of water overnight or for at least 8 hours.
• Drain the water and rinse them well. Pour 1 ½ cups water and pressure cook for 5 to 6 whistles on a stovetop cooker. You may also cook in an instant pot for 18 minutes on a high pressure. Let the pressure drop naturally.
• Make sure your chickpeas are soft and tender. Squeeze a chickpea to test, it should get mashed fully. If not cook them for a little longer.
• Heat a large pot and pour oil. When the oil turns slightly hot, add the whole spices - cinnamon, cloves, cardamoms and bay leaf.
• When they begin to sizzle add the onions and saute until they turn light golden.
• Add ginger garlic paste and saute for a minute without burning.
• Add tomatoes and salt. Let cook until mushy, pulpy and thick.
• Stir in red chilli powder, turmeric, garam masala, coriander powder and cumin powder. Saute until the masala begins to smell good, for about 3 to 4 mins.
• Optional - If you want a smooth curry, cool this, discard the bay leaf and cinnamon. Blend in a blender to a smooth or coarse paste to suit your liking. I prefer to blend in 2 tbsps cooked chana along with the onion tomato masala. Add that puree back to the pan.
• Add the chana along with the chana stock (1¼ cups). Pour another ¾ to 1 cup water. If using canned chickpeas, drain and rinse them before adding with 1 ¾ cups water.
• Mix well. Taste test and add more salt. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
• When the consistency is thick (check pics), add amchur powder (optional) and kasuri methi.
• Garnish Chana masala with coriander leaves. Sprinkle some lemon juice if required.
• To make the recipe in Instant pot, make the onion tomato masala on saute mode. Optionally If you want you may cool and blend this. Add the soaked chickpeas with 2 cups water. Deglaze and Pressure cook on high for 35 minutes. When the pressure drops, open the lid. Cook on a saute mode for a few minutes until thick. Add kasuri methi and amchur.

CHANA MASALA (SAVORY INDIAN CHICK PEAS)

Steps:

• Grind onion, tomato, ginger, garlic, and chile pepper together in a food processor into a paste.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry bay leaves in hot oil until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour the paste into the skillet and cook until the oil begins to separate from the mixture and is golden brown in color, 2 to 3 minutes. Season the mixture with chili powder, coriander, powder, gram masala, turmeric, and salt; cook and stir until very hot, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Stir enough water into the mixture to get a thick gravy; bring to a boil and stir chickpeas into the gravy. Reduce heat to medium and cook until the chickpeas are heated through, 5 to 7 minutes. Garnish with cilantro.

CHANA MASALA | CHOLE RECIPE | PUNJABI CHOLE MASALA

Steps:

• Rinse the chickpeas a couple of times in fresh water. Then soak them in water overnight or for 8 to 9 hours. Add enough amount of water as the chickpeas increase in size after soaking it. Later drain the water and again rinse the soaked chickpeas with fresh water.
• To give a dark color to the chickpeas, traditionally dried amla (Indian gooseberries) are added. These also give a faint sourness to the stock. If you do not have dried amla, then add 1 black tea bag.
• In a 3-litre stovetop pressure cooker add the chickpeas along with the 3 to 4 dried amla pieces or 1 black tea bag. Taj tea bags work very well. Then add water.
• Season with salt and pressure cook the chickpeas for 12 to 15 whistles on medium heat. The chickpeas should be cooked well and softened. The chickpeas should be soft when you mash it with a spoon or eat it. The chickpeas should not give you a bite when you eat it.
• In a pan, take all the whole spices for the "chole masala powder" mentioned above and on a low heat begin to roast them.
• Stir often and roast the spices till they get extra browned. Don't burn them. You have to go beyond a point roasting them even after they become fragrant and they get more browned than what is the norm usually.
• Let these roasted spices cool and then grind or powder them finely in a coffee grinder or in a dry grinder.
• By now the chana will be cooked. You will see a darker brown shade in the safed (white chana). Remove the amla pieces which would have softened by now or the tea bag from the stock.
• Heat oil in a pan or kadai. Add ginger-garlic paste and saute for few seconds or till their raw aroma goes away.
• Then add chopped onions and saute stirring often till the onions turn translucent or light brown.
• Add tomatoes and saute stirring often till they soften and the oil starts to leave the sides of the onion and tomato mixture.
• Lower the heat and then add all of the powdered chole masala that we ground, together with the red chili powder, turmeric powder and garam masala powder (optional).
• Stir and mix the dry ground spices and then add slit green chilies
• Add the cooked chickpeas. Mix well.
• Add salt according to taste. Then add about 1 to 1.25 cups of the stock in which the chickpeas was cooked. You can also add water instead.
• Stir and cover the pan with a lid.
• Simmer on a low to medium heat. You can also cook the chana masala without the lid.
• The gravy will thicken and reduce. Mash a few chickpeas as this helps in thickening the gravy.
• Simmer till you get the consistency you prefer. The consistency of this curry is not thin, but medium consistency or semi-dry. For thick or semi-dry consistency add less water.
• If you have not added dry pomegranate seeds while roasting the spices, then you need to add amchur powder (dry mango powder) now. Mix and stir well.
• Serve the Punjabi chana masala with kulcha, bhatura, poori, roti, naan, bread with a side of sliced onions, tomatoes and lemon or lime wedges.
• While serving garnish with coriander leaves and ginger julienne.
• This Chole Masala also tastes good with steamed rice or jeera rice or saffron rice.

CHANA MASALA

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add cumin seeds, and cook until they begin to pop, about 30 seconds. Add onions, and cook until they begin to brown. Add garlic, and cook 1 minute more.
• Add tomatoes, chickpeas, jalapeno, garam masala, and salt. Reduce heat to low, and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in cilantro, and serve.

DELICIOUS CHANA MASALA

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion, garlic, ginger, and green chile pepper in hot oil until onions are translucent, about 10 minutes.
• Season onion mixture with cumin, paprika, coriander, garam masala, turmeric, and cayenne pepper; stir. Cook onion with spices until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, chickpeas, and tomato sauce; stir and simmer until the tomatoes soften, about 5 minutes.
• Stir yogurt into the mixture until the color of the mixture is even; simmer until again hot, about 5 minutes more. Remove pan from heat; stir lemon juice and salt into the mixture.

CHANNA MASALA

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large skillet.
• Add onions and garlic and sauté over a medium heat until browned (3-5 minutes).
• Turn heat to medium-low.
• Add the coriander, cumin (not the roasted cumin), cayenne and turmeric.
• Stir for a few seconds.
• Add the tomatoes.
• Cook the tomatoes until browned lightly.
• Add chickpeas and a cup of water and stir.
• Add the roasted cumin, amchoor, paprika, garam masala, salt and lemon juice.
• Cook covered for 10 minutes.
• Remove the cover add the minced chili and ginger.
• Stir and cook uncovered for 30 seconds.

CHANA MASALA

Steps:

• 1. Heat the oil in a wide skillet. Add the onion and sauté until translucent. Add the garlic and continue to sauté until the onion is golden.
• 2. Add the chickpeas, garam masala, turmeric, ginger, tomatoes, lemon juice, and about 1/4 cup water. Bring to a simmer, then cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. This should be moist and stewlike, but not soupy; add a little more water, if needed.
• 3. Stir in the cilantro and season with salt. Serve on its own in shallow bowls or over a hot cooked grain, if desired.

CHANA MASALA (CHICKPEA CURRY) WITH SPINACH

Steps:

• Heat a large non-stick pan and dry-fry the cumin seeds for 1 min, stirring often, while they pop. Remove and set aside. Cook the rice following pack instructions.
• Heat the oil using the same large pan, add the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli, and sauté over a medium heat for about 3 mins. Reduce the heat, add all the spices, stir well and cook for a further 2 mins.
• Add the tomatoes, stirring, and use the side of a spoon to break them up into smaller bite-sized chunks.
• Add the chickpeas and 200ml water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 mins.
• Stir in the lemon juice and spinach. Let the spinach wilt, then remove the pan from the heat.
• Divide the rice between 2 bowls, and serve the curry. (The flavours intensify as it cools, so for a fuller flavour, make earlier in the day and reheat slowly prior to serving.)

CHANA MASALA

Steps:

• Film the bottom of a large saucepan or Dutch oven preferably not nonstick with olive oil, and place the pan over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until it is deeply caramelized and even charred in some spots. Be patient. The more color, the more full-flavored the final dish will be.
• Reduce the heat to low. Add the garlic, stirring, and add a bit more oil if the pan seems dry. Add the cumin seeds, coriander, ginger, garam masala, and cardamom pods, and fry them, stirring constantly, until fragrant and toasty, about 30 seconds. Add 1/2 cup water, and stir to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until the water has evaporated away completely. Pour in the juice from can of tomatoes, followed by the tomatoes themselves, using your hands to break them apart as you add them; alternatively, add them whole and crush them in the pot with a potato masher. Add the salt.
• Raise the heat to medium, and bring the pot to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, add the cilantro and cayenne, and simmer the sauce gently, stirring occasionally, until it reduces a bit and begins to thicken. Taste, and adjust the seasoning as necessary. Add the chickpeas, stirring well, and cook over low heat for about five minutes. Add 2 Tbs water, and cook for another five minutes. Add another 2 Tbs water, and cook until the water is absorbed, a few minutes more. This process of adding and cooking off water helps to concentrate the sauce's flavor and makes the chickpeas more tender and toothsome.
• Since I was using home cooked and still slightly crunch chick peas I ended up cooking it on very low for about 1 hour to allow the chickpeas to soften and the flavors meld. Taste, and adjust the seasoning as necessary.
• Stir in the yogurt, if you like, or garnish with lemon wedges and cilantro. Serve.

CHANA MASALA

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, onions and garlic and slowly saute until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add in the curry powder and coriander and toast the spices until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the chickpeas and coconut milk and bring to a simmer. Simmer over medium heat until the flavors have melded, 20 to 30 minutes. Add the lime juice and season with salt and pepper. Put some couscous in bowls and serve the chana masala on top.

CHANA MASALA CHEESE FRIES

Steps:

• If using whole spices, finely grind coriander and cumin in a spice mill. Combine coriander, cumin, garam masala, chile powder, and turmeric in a small bowl.
• Heat oil in a large pot over medium. Add onion and ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden and softened, 8-10 minutes. Stir in serrano chiles (add up to 2 depending on your heat preference and how spicy your chiles are), garlic, and ginger and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add spice mixture and remaining 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt and cook, stirring, 1 minute (be careful not to burn spices).
• Add chickpeas, tomatoes, and 1½ cups water to pot and stir to combine. Bring to a gentle simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low and cover pot. Cook until slightly thickened, 20-25 minutes. Uncover and mash about one third of chickpeas with a potato masher or fork. Continue to cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until chana masala is thick but spoonable, 8-10 minutes more. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.
• While the chana masala is cooking, preheat oven to 450°. Place sweet potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with oil, and season with salt. Toss to coat. Spread out in a single layer and roast, turning halfway through, until tender and browned in spots, 25-30 minutes. Set sweet potato fries aside; leave oven on.
• Purée serrano chile, garlic, lime zest and juice, mint, oil, salt, and 3 cups cilantro in a blender, adding water a tablespoonful at a time if needed to thin, until chutney is smooth and pourable.
• Sprinkle two thirds of cheese over reserved sweet potato fries, then spoon a generous layer of chana masala over. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Return fries to oven and bake until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.
• To serve, drizzle half of chutney over fries and top with red onion and chopped cilantro. Serve with yogurt and remaining chutney alongside.

CHANA MASALA

Steps:

• Drain the chickpeas, then combine them in a large Dutch oven with the baking soda, bay leaves, black tea bag, black cardamom, 1 teaspoon salt and 3 cups of water. (To pressure cook the chickpeas, see Cook's Note.) Bring the mixture to a boil in a large Dutch oven, then reduce to a simmer and cook, partially covered with a lid, until the chickpeas are tender, about 1 hour. If the liquid is evaporating too quickly before the chickpeas are tender, pour in an additional 1 cup of water and continue to cook. Discard the tea bag, bay leaves and cardamom. Drain the chickpeas and put them back in the pot.
• Meanwhile, heat the ghee and/or oil in a large skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring and scraping occasionally, until the onions are very soft and golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Add the ginger, garlic and green chiles and cook until the raw smell goes away, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook until well cooked and pasty, about 8 minutes. Add the Roasted Chana Masala Spice Blend along with 2 tablespoons of water and saute until well mixed and the flavors have melded, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add the spice mixture to the chickpeas with 1 cup of water (see Cook's Note), mix well and bring to a simmer over medium heat; simmer until the curry thickens and coats and infuses the chickpeas, about 5 minutes. Adjust salt to taste. Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve with lime wedges or julienned ginger slaw, if desired.
• Combine the whole spices (coriander, cumin, black pepper, cinnamon and cardamom) in a small heavy skillet (preferably cast iron, if you have it) and roast over medium-high heat, shaking the pan often to ensure even roasting, until the spices start getting darker, 3 to 4 minutes. Lower the heat to low and add the powdered spices (pomegranate powder, mango powder, black salt, chile powder, turmeric and asafoetida) and cook, shaking or stirring constantly, until slightly darker, about 30 seconds. Be careful not to burn the spices. Immediately transfer the spices to a bowl and cool. Once cooled, grind the spices. You can double or triple this recipe and keep it in an airtight container for future use.

CHANA MASALA

Steps:

• Drain the chickpeas, add to a large pan with 400ml of water and season. Bring to the boil, then turn off the heat and set aside to allow the chickpea flavour to infuse the water.
• Blitz the onions with the garlic, ginger and green chillies. Melt the ghee in a large saucepan, then add the onion mix with a pinch of salt and cook for 8-10 mins, until softened.
• Stir in the spices, and cook for 3 more mins, adding a splash of the chickpea water to stop them sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add the tomatoes and another splash of water and cook for 5 mins, squishing the tomatoes with a spoon as they soften. Tip in the chickpeas, along with their cooking water. Cook for 10 mins. Season well, add the lemon juice, and a splash of water if you like a looser curry. Scatter with the coriander, to serve.