This Authentic & Easy Chana Masala is so delicious and flavorful! This recipe is packed with lots of comforting flavors and nutrients! Plus, it’s pretty quick to make, which makes it a perfect weeknight dinner!
I looove any dish that has chickpeas (chanay) in it. I also love any type of curry and masala.
So, combining the 2? Definitely a winner.
I especially love this one because its made mainly with pantry ingredients, which makes it easy and affordable!
I feel like a lot of recipes I see online basically only use curry powder, which is fine, but I find it kind of boring. Also, I grew up eating Indian and Pakistani food, and we never used curry powder, so I don’t use it too often!
I love to add in a tooon of spices, but you definitely don’t have to! I noted the essentials below!
You definitely won’t miss the takeout once you make this, trust me!
Main Ingredients in the Authentic & Easy Chana Masala:
I love that this Chana Masala is made with mainly affordable pantry staples – making it super accessible and beginner friendly!
Canned Chickpeas: Use any type of canned chickpeas you have! I usually opt for a lower sodium one, but any will work!
Canned Diced Tomatoes: Again, any canned diced tomatoes should work! You should also be able to substitute with canned crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce! You probably just won’t have to wait for the tomatoes to break down.
Fresh Aromatics: Pretty essential to any Indian and Pakistani dish. Pretty much the basics, onion, garlic, and ginger.
Whole Spices: I love frying up some whole spices in my dishes because I feel like it makes it so much more flavorful! I started off with the whole dried red chilis, green cardamoms, and a small cinnamon stick. If you don’t have these don’t worry! These aren’t essential! If you have the ground versions, just add ½ tsp – 1 tsp of red chili flakes, ¼ tsp ground cardamom, and ¼ tsp of cinnamon when you’re adding the ground spices!
I also add coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and curry leaves. I personally think these are all essential, but you can use 1/4 tsp of ground coriander and ½ tsp ground cumin instead. If you don’t have curry leaves, it’s fine, but if you do, I would highly suggest adding them!
Ground Spices: I add dry mango powder (amchur), ground cloves, red chili powder, garam masala, turmeric, black pepper, and salt. The dry mango powder and turmeric are not necessary (and can omit red chili powder if you don’t want any more spice)! I would just add if you have it, otherwise, it’s still really good without!
Garnishes: I love to top off my masala with some fenugreek leaves and cilantro, but again, also optional!
How to make Authentic & Easy Chana Masala:
Prepare: Chop up the onion, garlic, and ginger. In a small bowl, place all the whole spices. In another small bowl, place all the powdered spices.
Fry: Heat some oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Once hot, add in the onion and sauté until lightly browned. Then, add in the ginger, garlic, and whole spices sauté for another 45 seconds – 1 minute until fragrant. Finally add in the ground spices and sauté for another 30-45 seconds. If the spices are sticking to the bottom of the pan, add a little water to unstick the spices from the pan.
Add: Add in the diced tomatoes and cook for 5-10 minutes until broken down. Once they’re broken down, add in the canned chickpeas and a little water if you think you need it.
Cook: Bring the pot to a simmer, then lower the heat, cover, and let it cook for 40 – 50 minutes.
Garnish & Enjoy: Once you see that the chickpeas have softened and the masala has thickened, garnish with cilantro and fenugreek leaves, and enjoy hot with rice or bread!
Why is this Authentic & Easy Chana Masala Balanced?
One reason I love curries and masalas is because it’s so easy to make a wholesome balanced and meal out of them without thinking too much about it!
Protein: The Chana (chickpeas) are giving us lots of protein to make this meal hearty!
Carbs: While chickpeas do have some carbs, I like serving this masala with rice to make the meal more filling and yummy!
Fats: The masala doesn’t have too much fat in it, so I like to top off my plate with some tahini or avocado to make the meal more flavorful and satiating!
Storage:
This keeps well in the fridge for 3-4 days!
If you like this recipe, make sure to check out:
Creamy Coconut Red Lentil Curry (Dal)
Authentic Masala Tofu Scramble
Authentic & Easy Chana Masala
Ingredients
- 1 ½ tbsp avocado oil
- 1 small yellow onion
- 2 tsp minced garlic 4 cloves
- 1 inch ginger
- 4 dried red chilies can sub with ½ - 3/4 tsp red chilli flakes
- 4 green cardamoms
- 1 cinnamon stick
- ½ tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 5-7 curry leaves
- 1 tsp amchur powder
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- ½ tsp garam masala
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 15 oz can chickpeas
- 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
- 2 tsp fenugreek leaves
- 3 tbsp chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Chop up the onion, garlic, and ginger.
- In a small bowl, place all the whole spices. In another small bowl, place all the powdered spices.
- Heat some oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Once hot, add in the onion and sauté until lightly browned.
- Add in the ginger, garlic, and whole spices sauté for another 45 seconds - 1 minute until fragrant.
- Add in the ground spices and sauté for another 30-45 seconds. If the spices are sticking to the bottom of the pan, add a little water to unstick the spices from the pan.
- Add in the diced tomatoes and cook for 5-10 minutes until broken down. Once they’re broken down, add in the canned chickpeas and a little water if you think you need it.
- Bring the pot to a simmer, then lower the heat, cover, and let it cook for 40 – 50 minutes.
- Keep stirring every 10 minutes or so to make sure nothing burns,
- Once you see that the chickpeas have softened and the masala has thickened, garnish with cilantro and fenugreek leaves, and enjoy hot with rice or bread!
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