Chana Masala Recipe
Updated: June 18, 2024, By Swasthi
Make this Chana Masala for a delicious, flavorsome and healthy Indian meal. A protein-packed, vegan and gluten-free curry that you can easily customize to your taste. Serve this over plain fluffy Basmati Rice, Jeera Rice or with roti, Poori, chapati, Naan or Paratha. In this post I share the easiest recipe to make an Authentic Indian Chickpea Masala with stovetop & Instant pot instructions. You will also find plenty of tips and tricks for a shortcut method using canned chickpeas.
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 a chickpea curry. 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 curry.
Table of contents
About Chana Masala
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.
Here are some of the popular recipes made with legumes
Red Lentil Curry
Aloo Chana Kurma
Chickpea Curry
Rajma Masala
Dal Makhani
Easy Dal Tadka
Dal Fry
Photo Guide
How to make Chana Masala (Stepwise Photos)
If you are using canned chickpeas (use 2- 15 oz cans that equals to 3 cups), jump to step 4.
Prepare the Chickpeas
1. Add 1 cup dried chickpeas to a large bowl and rinse them well a few times. Pour 3 ½ to 4 cups fresh water and soak them overnight or for at least 8 hours. Later drain the water & rinse them well.
2. Pressure cooker: Pour 1 ½ cups fresh water to the chana and pressure cook for 5 to 6 whistles on a medium heat. If using Instant pot, cook them for 18 minutes on a high pressure. Once the pressure drops naturally, open the lid.
Regular pot: Cook the soaked chickpeas with 3 cups water in a heavy bottom pot. Please check the faq section for more details.
3. Test the texture
Test if they are soft cooked, tender and hold shape (not mushy). When you squeeze a chickpea it should get mashed completely. If it is still firm, it is undercooked and you need to cook it longer.
Make Onion Tomato Masala
4. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a pot and add the whole spices (optional). You will need 1 bay leaf, 1 inch cinnamon, 2 cloves and 2 green cardamoms. If you do not have them simply omit.
5. When they begin to sizzle add 1½ cups fine chopped onions (2 large/medium) and saute until golden, for about 8 to 9 mins. If you want you may add a slit green chili for heat but I do not use it.
6. Add 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste and saute for a minute, making sure not to burn it.
7. Add 1½ cup chopped tomatoes (or tomato puree or whole peeled tomatoes) and ¾ teaspoon salt. Continue to cook until the tomatoes break down and turn mushy, for 6 to 7 mins. You may cover and cook to quicken the process.
8. Next add all the ground spices
- 1 to 1½ teaspoons Kashmiri Red chilli powder (I use 1½)
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 2 teaspoons coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
9. Saute on a medium flame until the masala smells aromatic. This takes about 3 to 4 minutes.
10. This step is optional and you may skip if you want your gravy to be chunky. You have the option to skip this step or blend the onion tomato masala to a coarse or smooth puree depending on how you want your chana masala gravy.
If you prefer to blend it, discard the bay leaf and cinnamon first. Cool the mixture and blend to a puree. Optionally I also prefer to add 2 tablespoons of cooked chana to the blender. Later add the puree back to the same pan.
Make the Chickpea Masala
11. Add the chana along with the stock in which you cooked it. You will be left with 1¼ cup stock which you will add it. Pour more water as needed to make a gravy. I use about ¾ to 1 cup more water. If you don’t puree the onion tomato masala you will require lesser.
Canned chickpeas: Drain the liquid in the can, rinse the chana well with fresh water and use here. Pour 2 cups water.
12. Mix everything well and taste test. Add more salt if required.
13. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, until the gravy turns thick.
14. Add ½ teaspoon amchur powder (optional) and 1 teaspoon kasuri methi. Crush it in your palms first and then sprinkle.
15. This is the right consistency – thick. Chana masala will thicken slightly further upon cooling.
16. At this stage I always feel the need to add more salt as the chickpeas absorb some amount of it from the gravy. So taste test add more salt and squeeze some lemon juice if you have not used amchur.
Serve Chana Masala with fluffy Basmati Rice, one pot Jeera rice, No yeast fast Naan, Roti, Chapati or Paratha. This Cucumber Raita, Pepper Mushrooms and Beans Poriyal make some great sides.
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.
Faqs
Give them an instant soak by pouring 6 cups of boiling water to 1 cup of chickpeas. Cover and keep for an hour. Later pressure cook them as instructed in the recipe. But the texture & flavor of the chickpeas is not the same. Soaked legumes are lighter in texture and cook up well easily. They are easier to digest when soaked & prevents tummy upsets.
Cooking chickpeas in a pot takes about 45 to 60 minutes. Soak the dried chickpeas overnight with 1/3 teaspoon baking soda. The next morning drain the water and rinse them well. Bring 3 cups of water to a rolling boil and a cook until tender, discarding any froth that comes on top.
Due to the acidic ingredients in the sauce/gravy, chickpeas won’t cook further after adding it to the masala. So make sure your canned chickpeas are soft and tender enough yet hold shape. Test by squeezing a chickpea in between your thumb and index finger, it should mash easily. Drain the liquid and rinse them well. If they are still hard, add them to a pot and cook them with 1 cup water until tender. This is an essential step for soft chana.
Related Recipes
Recipe Card
Chana Masala Recipe
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
- 1 cup chana (dried raw chickpeas) (or 3 cups soaked or 2 – 15 oz cans)
- 1½ cups water (to pressure cook, + more to make gravy)
For the Masala
- 2 tablespoon oil or as needed
- 1 small bay leaf (optional)
- 1 inch cinnamon (optional)
- 2 cloves (optional)
- 2 green cardamoms (optional)
- 1½ cups onions (fine chopped, 2 large)
- 1 green chili slit (optional)
- ¾ to 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste (or ½ tbsp each fine chopped)
- 1½ cups tomatoes (fine chopped, 3 large or 1½ cups tomato puree or whole peeled tomatoes)
- ¾ teaspoon salt (+ more to adjust to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- 1½ teaspoons Kashmiri red chili powder (adjust to taste)
- 1 teaspoon garam masala (adjust to taste)
- 2 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder (optional)
- 1 teaspoon kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon amchur (dried mango powder) (optional)
- 2 tbsp coriander leaves (cilantro chopped finely)
Instructions
Prepare Chickpeas (Skip this section to use canned chickpeas)
- 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 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.
How to make Chickpea Masala
- 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 green chili. 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, green chili 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 or water (1¼ cups). Pour another ¾ to 1 cup water. If you don't puree the onion tomato masala, you will require lesser water. If using canned chickpeas, drain and rinse them before adding with 1¾ 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. Serve with Basmati Rice, Jeera Rice, Naan or Chapati.
Instant Pot Chana Masala
- 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.
Notes
- This recipe has been updated recently to make it simpler. If you prefer a chunky gravy do not blend the onion tomato masala. For a little texture, make a coarse paste & for a smoother curry blend it to a smooth paste.
- Use a good fragrant garam masala to make a flavorsome curry. Adjust the quantity of ground spices to suit your taste. If your garam masala is too strong, you may cut down by 1/4 teaspoon.
- Whole spices can be skipped but they add an extra layer of flavors. If you wish to blend the onion tomato masala, discard bay leaf and cinnamon.
- Ginger and garlic to be used in equal quantities. You can also use only 1 tbsp ginger and skip garlic.
- If using bottled tomato puree, You may need more ground spices to balance the extra tart flavor.
Video
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
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About Swasthi
Iโm Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthiโs Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me
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Comments
Turned out great. Your reciepies swathi are unique in that they are what I call, Indian 2.0 cuisine. Well balanced, not overly spiced so you can taste the real taste of food, but still truely Indian. Thank you.
So happy to read that Boaz. You made my day! Thank you so much for the kind words
Much easier than the other recipes!
I made this last night and my husband says this is the best chana masala he ever ate. I started with canned chickpeas from whole foods and executing the recipe was fairly easy. I had jiva garam masala and bought kasuri from a near by Indian store. I opted for a slightly chunky sauce so used my immersion blender to smooth out the sauce a bit, making sure to retain a bit of texture. Overall this is a very good recipe. 10/10 and I will make this again and again! Thank you for the amazing recipe
So happy to read that Lauren. Thank you so much for your time to share back
Delicious chana masala! Made a large batch for Diwali dinner and my guests loved it. Blending the onion tomato masala did the trick and the whole spices are amazing. Thank you for posting these yummy recipes
So happy to read that Dimple. Thank you very much for sharing back
Hi Swasthi,
Thank you for this great recipe.
So many flavours, we thoroughly enjoyed it.
Great to add a vegan meal to our regular rotation.
You are welcome Renee. Happy to read that. Thanks for trying
Hello, I haven’t tried the recipe yet. The recipe here states that the whole spices are used to make up for store-bought garam masala, however I’ve made garam masala according to your recipe. Should I still add the whole spices or would they be too overpowering with your garam masala? Thank you!
Hello Diego,
You may omit the whole spices. I use both and never felt overpowering because I blend the onion tomato masala.
I really liked this recipe! Warm, delicious and flavorful. Added a little bit of lemon peel. It came together very quickly; I would happily make this again.
Happy to read that Guiergue. Thank you for trying
I think this recipe makes the best chickpea masala. We have tried so many recipes from the internet but none tastes as good as this. The sauce is very delicious and goes to our routine menu. Thank you
You are welcome Vince. Thank you for trying and sharing back the results
This was delicious! I also used your recipe for garam masala which was perfect, thank you so much!
Happy to read that Jane. Thank you
Thank you for this recipe! I made it for my Dad and we both really enjoy it. It’s got a nice flavour that isn’t overpowering. Great to eat at any meal.
So glad you both enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing back with us, Natasha
The best Chana Masala on the web!
Other chana masala recipes don’t even compare to the flavors of this recipe. The flavors are magical.
Thank you, Swasthi!
So glad you like it. Thank you so much!
This is my second recipe of yours I’ve made – the first being Butter Masala with Paneer – I’m so happy to have found this blog and am excited to try making your Palak Paneer tonight. I noticed my chana masala turned out a little bitter. I used a green chile and wonder if I should have taken that out before blending the veggies? Or is it possible I burnt my chickpeas? Have you had any experience with this? TIA!
Hi Olivia,
Thank you so much! Green chilies won’t cause bitter flavors even if ground. It could be the ginger or garlic. If the ginger or garlic is too old/mature they may. The skin of the ginger and green sprouts in the garlic both can impart bitter tones. Another reason could be the chickpeas themselves, if they are too old they may. If you are unable to track down, it could be overcooking the ginger garlic. Hope this helps
I haven’t made any of your recipes but I’m definitely trying this recipe very soon as well as some of your chutneys, especially Pudina chutney as I have so much mint growing in my garden. As soon as I can get my hands on a stock of fresh coriander, I’ll be making the cilantro chutney as I’ve often had it in Indian restaurants (in France ans UK) and LOVED it! Thank you for recipes! I’m delighted to have found you on Pinterest ๐
Thank you so much Nicolene. Hope you enjoy the recipes.
This Chana masala is excellent not too acidic like what I have made before. The perfect onion to tomato ratio and a great blend of spices makes this the best! I have made this 4 times in the past 2 months and this time I included roasted eggplants. Thank you for sharing
So glad you like it Susan. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
If I boil the chickpeas in a pot instead of pressure cooker or instant pot, how long do I cook them for ?
Adding 1/4 tsp soda-bi-carbonate (baking soda) while boiling helps them cook faster. It should take about 45 to 60 mins. I have shared another method in the post, under the faq section.
very nice recipe
Amazing! How long will this last in the fridge?
(I Know I ask this a lot, but I love your stuff. Sunday is my cooking day, so I usually make the meals for the week and either freeze or fridge.)
Thanks Rob. The storing time differs for every dish. You can store this in the fridge for 4 to 5 days or freeze up to 2 months.
Thanks!
Swasthi, this recipe makes the best chana masala I have ever eaten. Thank you for sharing with us
You are welcome Heidi. So glad you like it!
I love your recipes. However I’ve noticed that when updating number of servings, the ingredients list does not update for the items in brackets. For example onion will change from 1 cup to 2 cups, but it will say (2 medium onions) regardless of how many servings you enter.
For those that don’t use cup measurements, this is likely to cause issues!
Thanks Amy. I understand that and it’s a limitation from the plugin I use. I will see if I can edit to fix that.
This is my favourite curry to have with roti and basmati rice, thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe
Glad you like it Ram. Thank you for sharing back
Thanks for this fabulous recipe, absolutely delicious
Happy you like it Jane. Thank you