Chana masala

⇐ The Green Book

You can use dried chickpeas - pick over them, wash them and soak in plenty of water overnight, and then cook for 1-2 hours till soft. Or use canned. I use bottled from Azlan's which come in 540g jars with 400g of cooked chickpeas when drained.

Some tinned chickpeas are still a little bit hard for this recipe. Cooking in a pan with water to cover for 15 minutes should soften them up nicely. Save the water to make up the gravy.

I've modified recipe to reduce the tomato and to up the spice.

As always, will taste better if spices are freshly ground.

Ingredients

chickpeas

dried

200g dried chickpeas - washed and soaked in plenty of water overnight

or ready cooked, tinned or jar

one jar (see above) or equivalent tinned

gravy

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

optional whole spices

1 small bay leaf

1 2.5cm stick cinnamon

2 cloves

2 whole green cardomoms

base

2 large onions, finely chopped

1 green chilli slit lengthways - optional

1 Tbsp minced/grated garlic

1 Tbsp minced/grated fresh ginger

½ tin tomato pulp, or ½ tin tomatoes, or 4/5 plum tomatoes - skinned, cored and seeds discarded and chopped

1 tsp tomato pureee

¾ tsp salt

spices - see above

½ tsp turmeric

2 tsp chilli powder or cayenne pepper

2 tsp garam masala

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

Method

1. If using dried chickpeas you will need to soak and cook them in advance. If you are using tinned, check how firm they are and cook them a little more if too hard - see above.
2. In a large pan, heat the oil. When hot add the whole spices and allow them to sizzle and swell but nor burn. Add the onions.
3. Cook the onions till golden brown - don't underdo them but you don't want burnt either. Add then ginger and garlic pastes and chilli and cook a little, add the tomato paste and cook stirring for a minute or so. Don't let the pastes burn.
4. Add the tomatoes and salt and cook till mushy and thick
5. Add the spices and stir fry for 3-4 minutes until it begins to smell good. At this point, if you want a smoother gravy, you could remove cinnamon & bay leaf and puree in a blender. I don't think it needs it
6. Add the cooked chickpeas and some of their cooking water (or just water) to make a soupy slop - but don't completely drown it. Cook for 15 minutes and check salt and chilli heat and adjust as necessary - you could add a little lemon juice if you like.
7. Garnish with chopped coriander. Serve with plain boiled rice - or any way you like.

Swathi's Recipes https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/chana-masala/

chick peas

indian