This recipe came about because there was very little food in the house! I found a jar of Bold Bean Co queen chickpeas and a tin of Mutti finely chopped tomatoes, so it had to be Chana Masala.
The masala base for this recipe, is a great one to know, as it's really versatile and can be easily adapted for use with other pulses and vegetables.
In this recipe, you can use a whole tin of finely chopped tomatoes, although traditionally in Indian cuisine, tomato puree and water are often used.
As an alternative, you can use half a tin of tomatoes and chickpea cooking liquid (if you're using jarred beans) or vegetable stock.
Chana Masala is delicious as a main meal, but is also great as a side dish or as part of a Thali.
4 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 large white onion
1 green chilli
2-3 teaspoons of fresh ginger
3 large cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon of turmeric
2 teaspoons of ground cumin
2 teaspoons of ground coriander
2 teaspoons of garam masala
1 teaspoon of chilli
400g of cooked chickpeas
400g tin of finely chopped tomatoes OR
200g chopped tomatoes and the jarred chickpea cooking liquid
Salt to taste
Fresh coriander to garnish
- Peel and dice the onion.
- Peel and grate the garlic and ginger.
- Remove the seeds from the chilli and finely dice.
- Drain the chickpeas if using tinned.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large lidded pan over a medium heat.
- Once the oil is hot , add the onion and ground cumin and sauté the onion until it becomes translucent, (adding more oil to the pan as needed).
- Add the garlic, ginger, dry spices (except the garam masala), green chilli and salt. Fry for 1-2 minutes, being careful not to burn the spices.
- Add the tomatoes and chickpeas, season well and stir to combine.
- Bring to a rolling simmer (almost boiling), then reduce the heat and cook for 20 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the garam masala.
- Leave to cool slightly before serving.
- Garnish with the chopped coriander leaves.
