A Punjabi chana masala recipe: chickpeas simmered in a dark onion-tomato masala with ginger, amchur and warm spices. Vegan, filling and better the next day.
Chana masala, called chole in Punjab, is chickpeas cooked in a dark, tangy onion-tomato masala. With fried bhature bread it is one of North India’s best-loved breakfasts and street foods, and it is naturally vegan.
The tea bag trick
Punjabi cooks often simmer chickpeas with a tea bag or a few dried amla (Indian gooseberries). It doesn’t change the taste much, but it turns the chickpeas and the gravy the deep brown that restaurant chole is known for.
Where the tang comes from
Good chana masala is noticeably tangy. Amchur, powdered dried green mango, is the classic souring agent; pomegranate seed powder (anardana) is another. Lemon juice works if you have neither.
Make it ahead
Like most bean curries, chana masala tastes better the next day. It keeps in the fridge for four days and freezes well. Add a splash of water when you reheat it.
On our menu
Punjabi Chana Masala is one of the vegetarian curries on our menu, and vegetarian dishes rotate through our lunch combos.
Recipe
Punjabi chana masala
Ingredients
Chickpeas
- 1½ cups (300 g) dried chickpeas, soaked overnight (or three 15-oz cans, drained)
- 1 black tea bag
- 1 tsp salt
Masala
- 3 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 bay leaf and 1 black cardamom (optional)
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 1½ tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 2 green chillies, chopped
- 3 tomatoes, puréed
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 1½ tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp chana masala spice blend, or 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp amchur (dried mango powder) or 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt
To finish
- Julienned ginger, sliced green chilli, chopped coriander
- Sliced red onion and lemon wedges
Method
- Cook the chickpeas. Drain the soaked chickpeas and cover with fresh water by 2 inches. Add the tea bag and salt and simmer until completely tender, about 1 hour on the stove or 15 minutes at high pressure. Remove the tea bag; keep the cooking water. For canned chickpeas, simmer them for 5 minutes in 1½ cups water with the tea bag.
- Brown the onions. Heat the oil, add the cumin seeds, bay leaf and cardamom. When they sizzle, add the onions and cook over medium heat, stirring, until deep golden brown, 12–15 minutes. Don't rush this; the colour of the curry comes from here.
- Build the masala. Add the ginger-garlic paste and chillies for a minute, then the tomatoes and all the ground spices except the amchur. Cook, stirring, until the masala is thick and oil glistens at the edges, about 10 minutes.
- Simmer. Add the chickpeas and 1½ cups of their cooking water. Simmer for 15 minutes, mashing a few chickpeas against the pan to thicken the sauce.
- Finish. Stir in the amchur, taste for salt and tang, and scatter with ginger, chilli and coriander. Serve with rice, bhature, poori or naan, and sliced onion with lemon.
Home-style recipe from the Biryani Pot Indian Bar & Grill Journal. It is not our restaurant's own recipe; for that, visit us.