The Best Chana Masala

If you love Indian curries, you will love this restaurant style chana masala. Chickpeas are simmered in a delicious tomato onion sauce flavored with a simple spice blend. Serve the chana masala with naan, jeera rice, roti or poori for the perfect Indian dinner. The recipe is one-pot and comes together in under 30 minutes. It is also gluten free, soy free, nut free and you can make it oil free.

If you were to drop in on us at lunchtime on a Saturday, you would very likely find us gathered over a big pot of chana masala.

I usually serve it exactly as you see in these pictures: with a dry potato curry and an Indian bread like poori or naan. It is the perfect, comforting -- and nourishing -- meal to end the week with, and one that stirs tons of comforting flavor into our family time together.

What is chana masala?

Chana Masala is a hearty, wholesome dish of chickpeas -- or "chana" -- in a spiced tomato onion sauce -- a "masala". It is one of the most popular Indian recipes and can almost certainly be found on any Indian restaurant menu anywhere in the world.

In Punjab, where chana masala (also called chole masala or Punjabi chana) is originally from, you'd find it at a dhaba, a roadside eatery, or in carts selling street food. But you are just as likely to find it on the menu of an upscale restaurant or in home kitchens across India and Pakistan.

I've been making chana masala for nearly as long as I've been cooking, and I've shared a few different versions with you, including a slow cooker chana masala and an instant chana masala recipe made with kala chana. The chickpea curry in this chole bhature recipe is also a delicious chana masala.

The chana masala recipe I have for you today is the more traditional version, although it is also quite easy. In fact, this is one of the easiest Indian dishes you can make, and a great one to start out with if you are new to Indian cooking.

Expert tips

• To add richness to this recipe, start out with two whole spices, which you can easily fish out before serving--black cardamom and dry bay leaves. These will make all the difference and add great depth of flavor without the long cooking time.
• For an authentic chana masala flavor, don't use garam masala. Instead use a spice blend that's sold in Indian stores and on Amazon and is labeled "chana masala" or "chana masala powder". It includes spices like coriander seed, black salt, ginger powder, amchoor (mango powder) and a few other spices. The grocery store I go to in suburban D.C. sells it for under two dollars.
• If you just can't find channa masala powder, you can use garam masala but in that case also add in a sprinkling of amchoor (pronounced um-choor), a tart, dry mango powder, that's usually in chana masala powder. The chickpeas and the tomato-onion sauce won't quite marry together without it.
• Chickpeas for chana masala should be cooked until they are really soft. They should hold their shape but should mash easily when pressed between two fingers.
• Mash the chickpeas slightly after adding them to the pot to add some body to the curry and thicken it.

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil. Avocado oil or any flavorless vegetable oil is fine. Don't use olive oil or coconut oil. Olive oil is not suited to the flavor or high temperatures used in Indian cooking, and coconut oil is not a good match for north Indian flavors. If you want to leave out the oil, dry-roast the cumin seeds, then use ¼ cup of vegetable stock to saute the onions.
• Cumin seeds
• Black cardamom (also called brown cardamom. These are much richer and more robust tasting than the small green cardamom pods)
• Dry bay leaf
• Onion
• Ginger garlic paste
• Tomatoes. Try and use fresh, pureed tomatoes for the best taste. Canned tomatoes are okay but don't use herbed or fire-roasted tomatoes because they won't taste right here. If all you have are canned diced tomatoes, puree them before adding to the pot. At a great pinch, if tomato paste is all you have, add a quarter cup of it instead of the pureed tomatoes.
• Ground coriander/coriander powder
• Ground cumin (optional. We already have cumin seeds so you can leave it out but I like the bit of depth it adds).
• Paprika (and, optionally, cayenne. Chana masala powder and garam masala powder can be spicy, depending on the brand you buy, so check that before adding cayenne to the pot. You can use any other red chili powder instead of cayenne.)
• Chana masala powder (or use garam masala powder + ½ teaspoon amchoor. If you cannot find amchoor, use the juice of half a lemon, about a tablespoon).
• Chickpeas. These are the beige garbanzo beans, called Kabuli chana in the Indian subcontinent. You can also use kala chana, which are smaller, with a more robust flavor, to make chana masala.
• Salt to taste
• Cilantro/coriander leaves

Watch how to make chana masala

Step-by-step instructions

• Start out by heating the oil in a large Dutch oven or saucepan. Once the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds and stir-fry for a minute or so until slightly darker and fragrant.
• Add onions with a pinch of salt. Saute until the onions turn golden-brown.
• Add the ginger garlic paste and saute for a minute.
• Add the tomatoes, pureed, to the pot. Stir them in and let them cook about five minutes until darker and thick.
• Add the ground coriander, ground cumin, if using, and paprika. If you're using garam masala powder, add the ground fennel seeds and amchoor at this stage. If using chana masala powder you can leave the fennel and amchoor out because it's already in the powder.
• Stir and cook five more minutes.
• Stir in the chickpeas and 1 cup water (use less or more depending on the thickness you like. Chana masala should be fairly thick and not runny).
• Once the chana masala comes to a boil cover and let it cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Stir a couple of times to ensure there is enough liquid in the pot.
• Mash some (not all) of the chickpeas with the ladle. This step is important because it will give the curry some body and also make it taste better.
• Stir in the chana masala powder or garam masala powder. Mix well, add chopped cilantro, and turn off heat. You can squirt in some fresh lemon juice at this point, if you like, but it's not necessary.

What to serve with chana masala

• In north India, you'd likely eat a chana masala with a bhatura, a fried, puffy bread that is a lot like a poori, only larger. You can just make pooris. I also love serving the poori-chana with a potato curry like this Batata Bhaji, which we always ate with pooris growing up.
• Chana masala goes beautifully with a simple roti or chapati.
• Naan is a great bread to serve with chana masala. Make a garlic vegan naan following this recipe. You can make it a plain naan by skipping the garlic oil.
• Serve chana masala over basmati rice, either plain white or brown basmati rice. You can also serve it with an aromatic, homemade Jeera Rice.

Storage and freezing instructions

• Refrigerate: Chana masala leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to four days.
• Freeze: Freeze the chana masala in an airtight container for up to four months.
• Reheat: Reheat the frozen chana masala in a microwave or let it defrost in the refrigerator, then reheat in a saucepan on the stovetop.

Frequently asked questions

More yummy Indian chickpea recipes

• Chickpea Curry (with coconut milk)
• Chickpea Rice
• Baked Samosas with Chickpea Filling
• Baked Chickpea Curry with Cauliflower and Potatoes
• Sundal, a south Indian chickpea stir fry