Chana Masala Recipe (Chickpea Masala)

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.

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.

Here are some of the popular recipes made with legumes
Butter Chickpeas
Red Lentil Curry
Aloo Chana Kurma
Chickpea Curry
Rajma Masala
Dal Makhani
Easy Dal Tadka

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

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