Punjabi Chana Masala (Chickpea Curry)

Punjabi chana masala is one of my husbands favourite dishes to order when we go out for an Indian meal. He orders it every single time. He enjoys it with flatbread and the kids tend to fight over it too. I have recreated his favourite meal and hope you enjoy it as much as he does.

The ingredients

Some of the key ingredients for chana masala are the whole spices. Whole black cardamom is one of those ingredients.

The Ingredients List for Punjabi Chana Masala:

• 4 cups chickpeas – cooked
• 4 tablespoons oil – vegetable or olive
• 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
• 1 large red onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 inch ginger grated
• 1 red chili
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 large stick of cinnamon
• 2 black cardamom pods (whole)
• 4 whole cloves
• 1 tablespoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder (optional)
• 4 tablespoons tomato paste

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Making the masala

Let’s make the spice mix. Mine is made by blending together:

• 1 large red onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 red chili
• 1 inch of ginger

• Roughly chop the onion, and peel the ginger and garlic.
• Put all three ingredients and 1 red chili into a food processor.
• Add 4 tablespoons of water to the blender and blend to get a fine paste.

Cooking Process:

• Heat 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a heavy-bottomed pan.
• Add 1 teaspoon of whole cumin seeds to the pan and let them pop.
• Add two whole black cardamom pods
• 4 whole cloves
• 1 large whole cinnamon stick
• Let these cook for a couple of mins.

Once the cumin seeds have popped:

• Add the onion blend into the pot.
• Cook the onions for about 7-8 mins.
• Allow the liquid to dry up as the onions cook. Once the onion mix has cooked, the color changes to a dark greenish-brown.

It’s time to add the dry ingredients. To the pot:

• Add 1 tablespoon of garam masala
• 1 teaspoon of coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon of cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon of red chili powder (or paprika for a milder version).
• Mix well and cook for about 2 mins allowing the spices to amalgamate.

Now we are ready to add the tomato paste.

• Add 4 tablespoons of tomato paste to the pot directly,
• Cook for about 4-5 mins until you see the oil start to separate a little.

Next, we can:

• Add 4 cups of cooked chickpeas to the pan and mix well.
• Add 1 cup of water.
• Mix well and let it cook for about 5-6 minutes.
• At this point, you can add 1 tablespoon of ghee (if using).

This dish tastes best the next day. I usually cook it first thing in the morning and serve it for dinner that day. This gives the recipe a few hours to sit and rest. The one thing about Indian food is that it always tastes better after a few hours or the next day.

Serving Options for this Vegetarian recipe:

Once it’s ready, finely chop some red (or white) onion and put it on top as you serve. You can add a few slivers of fresh ginger as well. Serve with

• Roti – thin Indian flatbread made on a skillet.
• Naan – thick Indian flatbread made on a skillet, or oven.
• Bhatura – another type of Indian flatbread that is deep fried. Traditionally bhatura is what this type of recipe is served with.
• Rice – basmati white or brown rice.
• Tapioca patties – try them with my potato and tapioca patties that go amazingly with this vegetarian recipe.

Tried and Liked the Recipe?

Scroll to the bottom of the page, and past the recipe to find the comment form. Please fill out details of what you liked and what you would like to see improved. Comments are loved! I look forward to hearing how much you enjoyed the recipe!

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