Chickpea Curry (Chana Masala)

When I decided to make the butter chicken I had an idea about what I wanted to do with the leftovers but the butter chicken was only the first component that I required. Up next I wanted a bean dish and I immediately thought about doing a simple chickpea curry or a chana masala. Having made a few Indian curry dishes I noticed that chickpea curries have a lot of common ingredients so I was pretty familiar with the base of the recipe already. One things that did stand out was the use of amchoor or dried mango powder which I had never used before. Luckily I was able to track some amchoor down but if you cannot find it, some lemon juice should work as a substitute. (The amchoor adds a sour or tart note to the dish without adding any extra liquids.) Once again, despite having a long list of ingredients, this recipe is really easy to make and it takes very little time to do so. This chickpea curry is amazing by itself and it could easily served as a main or a side dish. I made sure to make and extra large batch so that I would have plenty of leftovers to use in my next dish.

Chickpea Curry (Chana Masala)

A quick, easy and tasty chickpea curry.

Servings: makes 6 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 1 tablespoon garlic, grated
• 1 tablespoon ginger, grated
• 2 green chilies such as birds eye or chilies de arbol, chopped
• 2 teaspoons cumin, toasted and ground
• 2 teaspoons coriander, toasted and ground
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon amchoor powder (optional)
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 2 cups tomato, diced or 1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 (19 ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• salt to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• cilantro (optional for garnish), chopped

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat.
2. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
3. Add the garlic, ginger, chilies, cumin, coriander, cayenne, turmeric, amchoor and garam masala and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
4. Add the tomatoes, water and chickpeas and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes.
5. Add the salt, garam masala and lemon juice and remove from heat.

Use in:
Butter Chicken Burritos

Similar Recipes:
Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry
Curried Cauliflower Rice
Palak Dal
Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)