Monday, January 14, 2008

Chana Masala - Chickpeas in gravy

Chana Masala is perhaps one of the best known Indian curries and it is available in all the Indian restaurants in one form or the other. It is a very versatile side dish and it goes great with rotis, rice or puris (fried roti) . It is also used to make spicy and tangy chat specialties like Samosa chat.


Ingredients

Chickpeas – 2 Cans washed and drained
Potato – 1 Large boiled and mashed
Ginger – 1 Tsp minced
Garlic – 1 Tsp minced
Onions – 2 Medium size diced
Tomato – 3 Plum finely chopped
Green Chilies – 3
Cumin Seeds – 1 Tsp
Turmeric Powder – ½ Tsp
Chana Masala Powder – 1 ½ Tsp
Chili Powder = ½ Tsp
Cardamom – 3 Pods
Cinnamon Stick – 1 cm
Cloves – 3
Cilantro – ¼ Cup finely chopped
Salt – To taste
Olive Oil – 2 tsp
Water – 2 Cups

Directions

  • Heat 1 Tsp of olive oil in a large sauce pan.
  • Add the onions, green chilies, ginger and garlic and sauté until the onions are translucent.
  • Add the cardamom, cinnamon stick and cloves and fry for 30 seconds.
  • Let cool for a few minutes and grind into a smooth paste.
  • Heat the remaining olive oil in the same pan and add cumin seeds.
  • Once the cumin splutters add the onion paste and sauté for a few minutes.
  • Add turmeric powder, Chana Masala powder and chili powder and fry for a few minutes until the oil separates.
  • Add the finely chopped tomatoes and cook until the tomato becomes soft.
  • Add the chickpeas, mashed potato, salt and water and simmer for 10 – 15 minutes.
  • Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve hot with rotis.

Servings : 4

Nutrition Facts Source : www.nutritiondata.com

Disclaimer: Nutrition Facts are approximate

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the recipe! I tried your Chana Masala today but I was a bit confused about the cardamom. Should I use green cardamom or black cardamom?

Asian Vegetarian said...

Hi,
I used green cardamom in my recipe. I hope you liked the recipe.

Thanks
AVR