Chana Masala  Recipe (2024)

Been cooking Channa Masala for over 40 years now and my mom did it for 40 odd years before I started. To get the channa masala, always caramelize the onions before adding the giner and garlic. Then add the cumin and coriander seeds which should be roasted and fully ground before use. Add a tablespoon of tomato paste after adding the powdered seeds. Heat until the paste breaks down (minute or two) and then add the chickpeas to the mixture along with a tsp of garam masala. Cook for 15 minutes

about cooking dried chickpeas (I do that since the past century): no baking soda, but I change the water 2 o 3 times, this makes them more digestible. then I cook them in the pressure cooker, 35 minutes, no salt. after tasting that you won't buy canned chickpeas anymore. And they cost a lot less.

Can you give a substitute amount for canned whole or diced tomatoes? Peak tomato season is gone and since the tomatoes are cooked down into the sauce why not use good canned instead of bad "fresh"?

I always double spices in my instantpot, otherwise made as directed

As with other posts, I upped the spices.Was delicious

Actually, Owen, no longer. Cilantro has the advantage of clearly being the herb, at least in common usage, while coriander continues as either the leaves or the seeds. In watching a Hindi talk show online recently, I heard someone ask for the English translation of "dhania" (coriander), and the one offered by an older Indian couple from the audience was cilantro. They were pretty clearly tied to the US, but no one corrected them.

Doubling the spices and aromatics, and blooming a bay leaf, small stock cinnamon, 2 cardamom pods, and 2 cloves in the ghee at the start made this dish a winner.

I used a 14.5oz can of petite diced tomatoes tonight (would have opted for fire roasted if the petite diced didn't need to be used ASAP). Cooked the end of step of1 twice as long to make it nice and "jammy." My semi carnivore of a husband said while he would have preferred it with lamb, it was delicious. Had to hide some from him so there would be leftovers for my dinner hour an hr later (I can't eat right after cooking, wonder if anyone here relates). The can worked great.

I made so tweaks I can’t comment on the recipe (although the spice combination was amazing) but I want to suggest using a large, not a medium pot.

To the "elder" who claims it's improper to use the term cilantro in Asian dish: unless I'm conversing with a friend from the UK, I'll keep calling it cilantro in all contexts, thanks. Cilantro at this point is the more widely used word in American English and the type of dish for which it is being employed doesn't make any difference. Languages evolve, notwithstanding protestations of our elders.

No stock needed! I soak my chickpeas overnight, then cook them in the pressure cooker with diced garlic, ginger, onion and green chillies. Then tip the contents into the sautéed “masala base” - the other half of the garlic/ ginger/ onion/ chilies plus spices. Tomatoes are optional, per my Punjabi relatives. :) Yum!

Really delicious! I cook lots of chickpea dishes, & this was one of the best ever. Used a green jalapeño, milder than the suggested chili varieties, & seeded it to make it milder. This was still plenty spicy for my taste. Used cayenne for the red chili powder. Had no cilantro. Used sweet lime wedges instead of lemon wedges. Otherwise followed recipe. Served alongside brown rice. Good she said to serve the rice alongside rather than under stew. Rice didn’t get soggy or dilute flavors.

I saw the picture today and made it tonight, simplifying and modifying in the interest of time and my husband’s spice tolerance. I think I came close to the recipe. It was delicious. Very homey and soothing and it was easy to throw together as a one pot meal. A hit with everyone!

I've been making this for years, exactly like this! It's a family favorite.

An elder's favorite nit to pick: For an Asian dish the herb is coriander (leaves) not cilantro, which is just Spanish for coriander. Use the latter for Spanish or Latin American dishes.

Glad I read the reviews and doubled the spices, I should've doubled the garlic and ginger as well. Make sure to season with salt as you go!

As many have noted, double the dry spices, then it’s pretty wonderful.

Needs way more cooking time so that chickpeas aren’t too hard - cover and simmer. Add 5oz baby spinach to really make it a meal.

Roast and grind spices first

Remove from heat in the end, then add lemon juice, cilantro and 2T unsalted butter to the pot and stir. Then serve with a dollop of yogurt. YUM.

Think this will be my new go-to for feeding a crowd! So tasty. I had jalapenos in the crisper and am a spice wimp, so just used one of those; didn't want it too soupy so skipped the broth and threw in a can of V8 when it needed a bit more acid/salt. I'm grateful for others' suggestions (tomato paste, toasting spices, etc) and will use them when I want to max out the flavor - but even the quick-and-easy version is a very satisfying weeknight supper!

Made this tonight, caramelizing the onions first as Plato’s comment on the recipe suggested. And I added maybe a scant 1/4 cup of cream at the end, off heat. Super delicious and comforting. Squirt of lemon garnish at the end really kicks it up a notch too. Will absolutely make again!

Doubled the spices and was amazing

This was so bland when made as directed. I had to more than double the spices.

Made 1/2024. It was pretty quick and easy--put ginger, onion and garlic all in food processor. Diced tomatoes by hand. Drained home canned garbanzo beans. Served with just 1.5 piece naan the first night and with rice other nights. Id make it again I guess but wouldn't race to it. I used three dried yuahaluca peppers and it did have a fair amount of heat. Didn't have cilantro and didn't sprinkle lemon juice from wedge

Doubled the spices as advised and added more salt to taste. Was yummy but definitely needed some acidity at the end to round out the flavour - lemons are expensive at the moment so used a generous dash of white wine vinegar instead.

This was really good. I upped the spices as suggested by several people.

Wonderful! Followed the recipe except used two Serrano peppers, seeds removed. I cooked dried chickpeas per the tip, very good! Used the extra for humus. I smashed some but left most of the beans whole and served this with Saag Paneer (Kay Chun), rice, and salad. My vegetarian Indian friends were pleased!

Omitted butter/oil, used no-salt-added canned tomatoes, omitted the sea salt, used a white onion instead of red, used homemade unsalted veggie stock, and served over brown rice. Didn't have hot chili powder so just used regular and added red pepper flakes. Had jalapenos and used those in place of the Thai green. I never remember to buy the really hot chiles. Nice recipe. Probably will be in semi-regular rotation.

Absolutely fabulous! I will make it again!