Chana Masala – Recipe for Indian Chickpea Masala

Diwali is about as important for the Indians as Christmas is for us. Accordingly, it is usually well served and eaten together. This year I was not only allowed to be present at a Diwali festival in Düsseldorf, but also to help with the preparations for some delicious dishes.

Besides the Pav Bhaji, Pragya also conjured up this Chana Masala, also called Chole, an Indian standard recipe, which is often served with Diwali in India. It is based on chickpeas and tomatoes cooked with a bunch of different spices. Which spices are important in the Indian kitchen and Indian recipes you can read in my article about Indian food and cooking.

This recipe may seem a bit intimidating at first due to the long list of Indian spices, but it is worth the effort to bring a small portion of India home.

Preparation of the Chana Masala

1. Wash and drain the chickpeas. In the meantime, peel the onions, garlic and ginger and cut them into small pieces.

2. Heat a small pan and roast the chili, coriander, cumin, fennel, pepper and a piece of cardamom in it for about 30 seconds dry and without oil.

3. Chop the spices with a blender to create a nice mixture of spices. By the way, different spice mixtures are called masala in India. Translated Masala means as much as „ingredients“ or „spices“.

4. Heat oil in a large pan and sweat the garlic, onions and ginger.

5. Puree the sweaty vegetables together in a blender. And I know that this does not look delicious ^^.

6. Heat some oil in a large pot and fry the other pieces of cardamom, the cinnamon and the bay leaf very briefly. Then add the pureed onions, garlic and ginger and fry everything together for a while.

7. Cut the tomato into pieces and add them to the pot and mix everything well.

8. Now stir in the homemade spice mixture, 2 teaspoons of turmeric and 1 teaspoon of coriander. From the Chana Masala now an aromatic and seductive scent emanates through the whole spices.

9. The chickpeas are the last to be cooked, which are now added to the pot together with 300 ml water. Let everything simmer for about 10-15 minutes at medium heat until you can serve the Chana Masala or Chole together with rice.

Indian Chana Masala – My conclusion about the chole

I have to admit that the Chana Masala recipe seems a bit elaborate because of all the spices and is probably not really suitable for beginners. Because if you want to venture into Indian and Asian cuisine, you should definitely have a well-equipped spice rack.

But the somewhat greater effort is worth it. If you have a few basic Indian spices, you can easily implement this Chole recipe and bring a small portion of India to your home.

What do you think about Indian cuisine? Do you have many spices at home or do you prefer to use ready-made spice mixtures? I am looking forward to your comments.

You can find more recipes and articles here:

• Indian food and cooking – from spices to food culture
• Rasgulla – Indian dessert with only 3 ingredients
• Green Chutney – An Indian herb dip
• Balila – Chickpeas from the Levantine kitchen
• Pav Bhaji – Indian vegetable stew with bread
• Indian Palak Dal – Vegan specialty with lentils and spinach