Chana Masala - Homestyle Chana Masala - Chana Masala for poori, chapathi and nann

Today we are going to see our all time favourite Chana Masala. It's a simple yet complete food that's easy to make within 30 minutes. I got this recipe from our friend's mom who is from Bodi. The flavours are just delicious. She gave me one kg of her homemade garamasala powder and it is one of our new favourites! The garamasala powder is free from the addition of preservatives, artificial colours and mono sodium glutamate. Any masalas or kurmas made with a unique blend of spices, tastes good. I have been trying to make my own garamasala powder but just keep putting it off. Now I am confident to prepare homemade garamasala powder as she clearly explained the recipe with exact ingredients and measurements. I will try posting the homemade garamasala recipe in virundhombal soon. During our visit to their house, she prepared so many dishes and all of them were lip smacking and the masalas were perfectly balanced, not overpowering the other.

This Chana masala is not the authentic Chole masala recipe, this masala is her simple version which they cook at home for many years. The base for this masala is prepared with the combination of onions, tomatoes, ginger and garlic. All the four ingredients are sauteed until soft to give a smooth texture and then ground it to a paste. Below are the main points to remember that make this chana masala recipe a super hit.

1. Always use red ripe tomatoes for chana masala because they will bring the magical taste and colour.

2. Yon can also add one potato along with chickpeas to add some thickness in the gravy.

3. Once the chickpeas have soaked for 8 hours, pressure cook them for 10 whistles. Taste the cooked chickpeas to make sure they are tender enough for your gravy. If they are not cooked enough, cook for another five whistles. Some prefer to mash a handful of cooked chickpeas slightly.

4. A good chana masala should be flavorful with the chickpeas blending with the onion tomato gravy. The gravy should be slightly thicker and have a lingering taste.

5. For chana masala and vegetable kurma I prefer adding a tablespoon of butter at the end. It really balances the flavours together Now let's see how to prepare this chana masala with step by step instructions and video.

Check out my other Gravy Recipes

Here is the video link for Chana Masala

Chana Masala - Homestyle Chana Masala Recipe Details

Prep time : 20 minutes
Cook time : 30 minutes
Serves : 4
Category : side dish
Author : Muthulakshmi Madhavakrishnan

Ingredients

200 grams chickpeas (white chana)
2 onion
4 tomato
8 to 10 garlic cloves
1 tsp ginger
1 green chilly
1.5 tsp red chilly powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp amchur powder
1/4 tsp roasted cumin powder
1 tsp garamasala powder
1 tbsp jaggery
1 tbsp butter
1 bay leaf
2 small cinnamon
3 cloves
few chopped coriander leaves
5 tbsp oil
salt to taste

Cooking Directions

Soak 200 grams chickpeas in 4 cups of water for 8 to 10 hours. After 8 hours, drain the water and add it to the pressure cooker. Add 2 to 2.5 cups water along with 1/2 tsp salt and pressure cook for 10 whistles. Allow the pressure to settle down naturally. Once pressure cooked the chickpeas will be soft when pressed with your fingers. Cut the onions, tomatoes, ginger and peel the garlic cloves.

Heat a kadai and add 2 tsp oil. Once hot, add the garlic and ginger. Saute well for 30 seconds on medium heat. Add the roughly chopped onions and stir. Cook for 2 minutes, until the onions turn soft.

Now add the chopped tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes on medium heat stirring often. Then reduce the heat to low and close it with the lid for another 5 minutes. When the tomatoes are soft, turn off the heat and transfer it to a plate.

Allow them to cool down and add it to a mixer jar. Grind it to a smooth paste. Add water if required while grinding. Now the base gravy for our chana masala is ready.

Heat the remaining oil in the kadai and add the bay leaf, cinnamon and cloves. Let them sizzle for a few minutes and add the slit green chilly, chilly powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder. Stir quickly.

Next, add the ground masala paste. Stir the masala paste in the oil for a few minutes until the chilly powder and coriander powder incorporated well with the gravy.

Add the required salt and mix well. Add 1/2 cup water. You can add more water according to your gravy consistency. Then add the garamasala powder and roasted cumin powder. Stir well and add the amchur powder. Now add in the boiled chickpeas along with the cooked water. At this stage, taste and adjust salt.

Cover the kadai with a lid and reduce the heat to very low and cook the gravy for 10 minutes for the flavours to mix in with the chickpeas perfectly.

After 10 minutes, add the jaggery and butter. Mix well and cook for another 7 minutes.

When the oil specks on the top of the gravy turn off the heat and add chopped coriander leaves. Serve chana masala with poori or chapathi.

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