This vegetarian main dish is fragrant with warm Indian spices and full of healthy protein from chickpeas. Chopping the aromatic vegetables in the blender saves time – and some tears from the onion! A pot of white or brown basmati rice makes an excellent accompaniment, in addition to naan; just put the rice on to cook when you start the chana masala.
Satisfy your sweet tooth with this easy-to-make recipe for Easy Indian Chana Masala.
1. Info for Easy Indian Chana Masala
- Cook Time: 1 Hr 0 Min
- Total Time: 1 Hr 0 Min
- Servings: 5
- Calories: 485.77 kcal
2. Ingredients for Easy Indian Chana Masala
- 1 inch fresh ginger
- 1 jalapeño chili
- 5 garlic cloves
- 1 medium onion
- 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1 tsp. salt (for simmering)
- 1 Tbsp. garam masala
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. ground coriander
- 1 can whole peeled tomatoes (1 can is 28 oz.)
- 2 cans chickpeas (1 can is 14 oz.)
- 1 tsp. hot sauce (for simmering)
- 1/2 cup cilantro (leaves and tender sprigs; 1/2 cup is 1/4 cup chopped; for simmering)
- 2 Tbsp. lemon juice (plus more to taste)
- Salt (for serving)
- Hot sauce (for serving)
- 2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro (for garnish)
- 4 large pieces naan bread
- Steamed white rice (or brown rice)
3. Directions:
- Scrape the ginger with a paring knife to remove peel. Slice ginger into 1/8-inch coins. Smash with the back (the spine) of a chef’s knife to get it nicely broken up. Add to blender.
- Cut jalapeño in half lengthwise, cut out core, and remove seeds. Roughly chop the chili. Smash the garlic. Add garlic and chili to the blender. Pulse a few times to chop, scraping down sides of blender as needed.
- Roughly chop the onion. Add onion to blender and pulse several more times until mixture is finely chopped, scraping down sides of blender as needed.
- Heat oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high. Add onion mixture and salt. Saute until onion is soft, fragrant, and beginning to turn golden but not brown, about 15 minutes.
- Add garam masala, cumin, and coriander and saute gently until spices are very fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the tomatoes and their juices. With a wooden spoon, break tomatoes into smaller pieces.
- Rinse and drain the chickpeas. Add chickpeas and hot sauce to skillet. Cover, adjust heat to a simmer, and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Chop the cilantro. Remove lid from skillet and add half of the cilantro, reserving the other half for the next step. Keep simmering, uncovered, until liquid has reduced and mixture is nicely stew-like, another 10 minutes.
- Add the reserved cilantro and the lemon juice. Taste and add more salt, hot sauce, or lemon juice to taste.
- Spoon chana masala into bowls and top with cilantro. Serve with naan and rice. Chana masala can be stored in the refrigerator up to 3 days.