Simple Chana Masala

A quick and popular chickpea stew with Indian spices
Ingredients - Serves 5-6
  • 1X400 g can of chickpeas, or ½ cup of dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and cooked
  • 2 medium-sized (or 400 g) onions, chopped
  • 1 large (or 350 g) potato, cubed, optional
  • 3 medium-sized (or 600 g) tomatoes, chopped
  • 3-4 green chillies, slit lengthwise (adjust based on your spice/heat tolerance)
  • 3 tbsp oil
  • 2 tsp ginger-garlic paste or 1 tsp garlic, crushed and 1 tsp ginger, crushed
  • 2½ tsp ground coriander
  • 1½ tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp garam masala powder
  • ½ tsp red chilli powder, optional
  • 3 cups water
  • Salt, to taste
Steps
  1. Drain the chickpeas and rinse well. Cook till soft and set aside
    2. Use a {pressure cooker} to speed up the cooking
  2. Heat oil in a large saucepan. Saute ginger, garlic, green chillies and onions together till the onions become soft
  3. Add tomatoes, turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala powder, red chilli powder and cook till you can see some oil separating out from the tomatoes
  4. Add the potatoes and chickpeas with 3 cups of water, mix well, cover and cook till they are soft
  5. Take out 1 cup of chickpeas and grind to a smooth paste
    6. A {hand blender} will do the job quickly
  6. Put it back into the curry and mix well. This will thicken the curry considerably. Add ½-1 cup of water (only if needed) and bring to a boil
  7. Season with salt and garnish with fresh coriander
  8. Serve hot with rice or chapati, a wedge of lemon and a few slices of raw onion
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