Chana Masala -Garbanzo Beans-Chick Peas-Indian Style

Susan, a lovely blogger and splendid photographer behind the delightful blog called The Well Seasoned Cook and Sia from the amazing blog called Monsoon Spice have invited bloggers to participate in this event called "My Legume Love Affair-Fifteenth Helping"


I choose the so-so famous "Chana Masala". It is one of those dish that you will find in all the North Indian restaurant menus as well as in most of the North Indian weddings, parties and gathering.

Even though it is a famous dish there is so much mystery surrounding what goes into this dish.
That is because there are so many different ways of making this dish given the amount of diversities that we have within North Indian cuisine.

I have simplified this dish to a great possible extent and I am sure as you read this post you may be tempted to try it. The twist here is I have added some boiled chickpeas to the ground masalas to give the thickness or creaminess that is so important to this gravy at the same time ensuring that the calorie factor is very low unlike using dry fruits or heavy cream to get the same creaminess.

This dish is:

Easy to make

Quick to make

Uses less ingredients

Healthier

Now to speak a little more on the legume in the limelight the Kabuli Chana or the Chick Peas or Garbanzo Beans as it is called world over is used to make so many amazing dishes world wide. It is definitely the most versatile in the legume family. Apart from the Chana Masala that is made in India the one dish made out with this that I love is the Hummus that is made in the Middle eastern Cuisine.

Now moving back to our "Chana Masala" the Ingredients are very simple:

Chick Peas – 1 ½ cup (soaked overnight)

Garlic Pods – 4-6

Ginger – 2” piece

Tomato Puree - 3 Tbsp (Can be replaced by 1 Medium sized Tomato)

Onion – 2 Medium sized

Turmeric Powder or Haldi – 1 tsp

Coriander Powder or Dhania -2 tsp

Kashmiri Chili Powder or Cayenne Pepper – 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Garam Masala – 1 tsp

Oil – 2 tbsp

Coriander or Cilantro Leaves for Garnish

The Method:

1. Add salt to the soaked Chick Peas and cook them till they done.
2. Take half cup of this cooked chick peas and reserve the rest of the Chick peas along with the water aside for later use.
3. Now chop the onions roughly into four pieces.
4. Add the half cup of cooked chick peas, onion, garlic, ginger and grind into a fine paste.
5. Take the oil in a wok and when it is hot enough add this paste.
6. Fry this paste till the paste turns into a light brown color. This may take 15-20 minutes and does require constant monitoring.
7. Now add the Turmeric Powder, Coriander Powder, Salt, Chili Powder and fry for some more time.
8. When the masalas are well incorporated in the mixture add the Tomato puree and fry for a couple of more minutes.
9. At this point in time you will notice that the masala will give out oil and this is a good indication that it is done.
10. Add the cooked chick peas along with the water.
11. Stir and simmer this for some time till done. It may take 5-10 minutes. You may add more water if needed depending upon the consistency that you need.
12. Garnish with Coriander leaves.
13. Enjoy with Nan, Roti, Bread or Rice!!