"Chana Masala or Chole (chickpeas) Masala is a very popular North Indian street food full of flavors. It has a lot of spices in the special spice mix called the Chana Masala mix. You can make that spice at home with ingredients from an Indian pantry or buy it readymade from the shop. Traditionally the first step to making Chana Masala is soaking the chick peas overnight and then slow cooking it in a pan or a pressure cooker. The good thing about using a slow cooker is that you can literally turn it on, set a timer and go about your business-there is no babysitting involved and trying to make sure nothing gets burnt etc. Also, there is no frying or sautéing anything beforehand in this recipe. You can make the Chana Masala powder in bulk and store in the fridge or a dark cupboard."
No Oil Chana Masala
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- Recipe Card
Prep time: 10mins
Cook time: 2hrs
Serves or Makes: 2
Recipe Card
ingredients
- 1 can chick peas
- 1 small chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder
- 2 teaspoons red chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin powder
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- Channa masala powder (see below for recipe)
- 3 chopped green chilies
- 1 small for garnish onion
- 2 tablespoons for garnish (optional) coriander leaf
- for garnish lemon wedges
- 1 ciabatta
- 1 tablespoon flat leaf parsley
- for garnish parmesan
- for drizzle and seving avocado oil
Method
Step 1
Drain chicken peas (don’t throw the water out. You can whip it up with sugar to make aquafaba meringues).
Step 2
Put slow cooker on. Put in drained chick peas, chopped onions, tomato paste, Chana masala powder, turmeric, salt, coriander powder, ginger, garlic, cumin powder, red chili powder. Add 1 cup of water. Mix.
Step 3
Set the timer on high for 2 hours. At the end of two hours, using a potato masher gently mash some of the chana to make the gravy a bit thick.
Step 4
Serve on a bowl. Top with chopped onions, lemon wedges, chopped coriander leaf and fresh green and red chilies.
Step 5
Cut a large ciabatta into half. Cut each half lengthwise into halves. Toast the ciabatta slices in the toaster at the highest setting till golden and crunchy.
Step 6
Drizzle ciabatta with avocado oil. Top with grated Parmesan and some fresh leaf parsley. I also serve some avocado oil with the bread.
ingredients
Chana Masala Powder
- 3 dried whole chilies
- 1/2 teaspoon asafetida
- 1 cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
- 10 black peppercorns
- 4 cloves
- 1 tablespoon pomegranate seeds
- 1 black cardamom
- salt
- 2 teaspoons turmeric
- 3 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon dried ginger
- 1 teaspoon carom seeds
- 1 tablespoon dried mango powder
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 green cardamom pods
For Chana Masala powder
Step 1
On a low medium flame in a non stick pan roast each spice except dried mango, salt, turmeric, ginger and asafetida.
Step 2
The spices will slightly change color and turn aromatic. Turn the heat off. Cool.
Step 3
Using a coffee grinder grind the mixture to a smooth powder. Add salt, turmeric, mango powder and asafetida.
Step 4
Store the mixture in a airtight container in a dark cupboard to retain maximum freshness.