Vegetarian Indian Style Chana Masala Recipes

CHANA MASALA RECIPE

Steps:

• Rinse dried chickpeas at least thrice. Soak them in 3 ½ to 4 cups of water overnight or for at least 8 hours.
• Drain the water and rinse them well. Pour 1 ½ cups water and pressure cook for 5 to 6 whistles on a stovetop cooker. You may also cook in an instant pot for 18 minutes on a high pressure. Let the pressure drop naturally.
• Make sure your chickpeas are soft and tender. Squeeze a chickpea to test, it should get mashed fully. If not cook them for a little longer.
• Heat a large pot and pour oil. When the oil turns slightly hot, add the whole spices - cinnamon, cloves, cardamoms and bay leaf.
• When they begin to sizzle add the onions and saute until they turn light golden.
• Add ginger garlic paste and saute for a minute without burning.
• Add tomatoes and salt. Let cook until mushy, pulpy and thick.
• Stir in red chilli powder, turmeric, garam masala, coriander powder and cumin powder. Saute until the masala begins to smell good, for about 3 to 4 mins.
• Optional - If you want a smooth curry, cool this, discard the bay leaf and cinnamon. Blend in a blender to a smooth or coarse paste to suit your liking. I prefer to blend in 2 tbsps cooked chana along with the onion tomato masala. Add that puree back to the pan.
• Add the chana along with the chana stock (1¼ cups). Pour another ¾ to 1 cup water. If using canned chickpeas, drain and rinse them before adding with 1 ¾ cups water.
• Mix well. Taste test and add more salt. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
• When the consistency is thick (check pics), add amchur powder (optional) and kasuri methi.
• Garnish Chana masala with coriander leaves. Sprinkle some lemon juice if required.
• To make the recipe in Instant pot, make the onion tomato masala on saute mode. Optionally If you want you may cool and blend this. Add the soaked chickpeas with 2 cups water. Deglaze and Pressure cook on high for 35 minutes. When the pressure drops, open the lid. Cook on a saute mode for a few minutes until thick. Add kasuri methi and amchur.

VEGETARIAN CHANA MASALA WITH SPINACH

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In a large skillet or frying pan, sauté onions and garlic in olive oil until soft, about 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add chickpeas straight from the can, including all the water.
• Add lemon juice, curry powder, coriander powder, ground cumin, and garam masala. Simmer about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, adding more water if needed until chickpeas are cooked and soft.
• Reduce the heat, add spinach and cover. Allow spinach to wilt for 2 to 4 minutes.
• Serve immediately and enjoy your chana masala. A dish like this should be served with either plain white rice, simple Indian basmati rice , Indian lemon rice, or quinoa . But another alternative is to serve it with warm Indian bread such as naan, roti, or chapati. Those are excellent for dipping into the mixture. Refrigerate any leftovers and enjoy them within three to five days. Chana masala is perfect for freezing and taking to the office for lunch later, so make a double batch if you'd like. It will retain the best quality in the freezer for three to six months and reheats easily in the microwave. Be sure to label the container with the date and contents. For a heartier chana masala, toss in some tofu with the chickpeas and serve over rice.

CHANA MASALA

Steps:

• Drain the chickpeas, add to a large pan with 400ml of water and season. Bring to the boil, then turn off the heat and set aside to allow the chickpea flavour to infuse the water.
• Blitz the onions with the garlic, ginger and green chillies. Melt the ghee in a large saucepan, then add the onion mix with a pinch of salt and cook for 8-10 mins, until softened.
• Stir in the spices, and cook for 3 more mins, adding a splash of the chickpea water to stop them sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add the tomatoes and another splash of water and cook for 5 mins, squishing the tomatoes with a spoon as they soften. Tip in the chickpeas, along with their cooking water. Cook for 10 mins. Season well, add the lemon juice, and a splash of water if you like a looser curry. Scatter with the coriander, to serve.

CHANA MASALA (SAVORY INDIAN CHICK PEAS)

Steps:

• Grind onion, tomato, ginger, garlic, and chile pepper together in a food processor into a paste.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry bay leaves in hot oil until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour the paste into the skillet and cook until the oil begins to separate from the mixture and is golden brown in color, 2 to 3 minutes. Season the mixture with chili powder, coriander, powder, gram masala, turmeric, and salt; cook and stir until very hot, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Stir enough water into the mixture to get a thick gravy; bring to a boil and stir chickpeas into the gravy. Reduce heat to medium and cook until the chickpeas are heated through, 5 to 7 minutes. Garnish with cilantro.

VEGETARIAN INDIAN ALOO CHANA MASALA

Steps:

• Soak garbanzo beans in water for 8 hours to overnight. Drain and rinse beans and transfer to a pot. Add vegetable broth and bring to a boil, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour. Drain and set beans aside.
• Place sweet potatoes and russet potatoes into a large pot and cover with salted water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
• Meanwhile, add tomatoes to a blender and process until pureed.
• Combine curry powder, cumin, garam masala, salt, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl, mixing well and adjusting spices as needed.
• Melt ghee in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until very browned with minimal stirring, about 10 minutes. Add bell pepper, garlic, and ginger and cook while stirring for 2 minutes more. Add spice mixture and cook, string constantly, until very fragrant, 2 more minutes.
• Add drained garbanzo beans, cooked sweet and russet potatoes, pureed tomatoes, and coconut milk to the onion mixture in the pan. Stir well and bring to a simmer, about 5 minutes. Cook until heated through, about 10 more minutes.

VEGETARIAN INDIAN-STYLE CHANA MASALA

Steps:

• Bring chickpeas, broth and dry seasonings to boil in medium saucepan on high heat; cover.
• Simmer on medium-low heat 30 min., stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
• Stir in remaining ingredients.