Chana Masala | Curried Chickpeas
by Kimberley S in Rouxbe Videos
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Chana Masala | Curried Chickpeasby Kimberley S in Rouxbe Videos Healthy chickpeas are added to slowly-cooked onions, tomatoes and freshly-ground spices. Finished with lemon, yogurt and cilantro, this tangy and pleasantly-spicy curry dish makes a perfect side or main course.
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Step 1: Cooking the Onions
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To start, first finely dice the onions. Then heat a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low heat and melt the ghee. Once melted, add the onions followed by the salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes or until soft and golden. Meanwhile, prepare the rest of your mise en place.
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Step 2: Preparing Your Mise en Place
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To prepare your mise en place, first crush the garlic into a paste. Then finely chop the ginger and mince the chilies. Depending on how spicy you like your curry, you may want to remove some of the ribs and seeds. Next, core and dice the tomatoes into medium dice. Drain and rinse the chickpeas under cold water and set aside. *Note: For the best flavor and results, soak and cook about 1 cup or so of dried chickpeas from scratch. Using canned chickpeas is faster but the flavor and texture of the dish is not as good. Remember to stir the onions occasionally and adjust the heat downward, if necessary. They need to cook slowly until they become a nice, even golden color. Next, using a spice grinder or mortar and pestle, finely grind the coriander followed by the cumin. Lastly measure out the cayenne, turmeric and Kashmiri powder. *Kashmiri powder can be substituted with regular chili powder.
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Step 3: Cooking the Dish
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Once the onions are soft and golden, add the garlic, ginger and chilies. Stir to coat with the butter and let cook for a minute or so until they release their aroma. Then add the spices and fry just until they release their fragrance. Next, turn the heat up to medium, add the tomatoes and stir to combine. Then add the salt and cook until the tomatoes start to break down and soften, about 10 minutes. Once the tomatoes are soft, add the chickpeas and water. Stir to coat with the onions and spices. Bring the mixture to a quick boil and then turn down the heat to low. Cover but leave the lid slightly ajar. This will allow the moisture to evaporate very slowly, while the chickpeas cook. Let this simmer and cook for about 20 minutes in total, stirring occasionally to ensure nothing is sticking. After about 10 minutes, check to see how much moisture remains. You want it to reduce and thicken, but still have some liquid. Meanwhile, you can prepare the garnish. |
Step 4: Finishing the Dish
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While the chickpeas cook, roll the lemon to release its juices and then cut in half. Roughly chop the cilantro and measure out the yogurt. Check on the chickpeas. Once almost all of the liquid has evaporated, squeeze the lemon juice over top and let cook for another minute or so. To finish the dish, turn off the heat and stir in the yogurt. Just before serving, fold in the cilantro and test for seasoning. Served with rice, this delicious vegetarian dish is hearty enough to be served as a main course. However, it’s also great served with a variety of other dishes such as dal and grilled pappadums.
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Notes
Dried chickpeas that have been soaked and cooked can definitely be used for this dish. Canned chickpeas are much quicker and still produce great results.
Go to the Rouxbe Cooking School and Learn About:
How to Use and Cook with Herbs
How to Sweat Ingredients
How to Cook Dried Legumes
Submersion Cooking Methods
Comments
I often try to prepare Indian recipes. Chickpeas are a classic in their cuisine. Your recipe is very well presented and prepared. Also the ginger-garlic paste is wonderfully done. So, thanks for sharing with us this dish!!!
Chickpeas have never tasted so good! I used thick greek yogurt and it really brought the dish together. Leftover were super yummy too.
what a great dish!! I made it last night and wish I would've made the whole recipe. I made half 'cause I thought it would be enough for just the two of us but today I wish I had leftovers!!
I skipped the chilies though, for my son, and he loved the chickpeas, he kept saying hmm hmmm =D
Thank you for this delicious dish
I think the dish was very good, but one entire lemon is to much acid for this dish. The next time I will drop the lemon.
Just happen to have all of the ingredients in the fridge, so I decided to make this for lunch...super!
Instead of fresh tomatoes, I used a can of whole tomatoes (juice and all) that I had opened. The color was just a bit more red, but the dish was nice with the extra "tomato gravy".
Me quedaron buenos los garbanzos. Lo único que no seguí al pie de la letra fue lo de comprar los garbanzos en conserva, los compré secos y sin piel ya que me salieron más baratos :) tuve que dejar remojando un poco los garbanzos y sirvió igual. Todo lo demás lo seguí como dijeron y todo perfecto. Gracias!
The peas came out great. The only thing I didn't do was buy the canned peas, instead I got the dry ones because they're cheaper :)
I just soaked them for a little bit and it was all the same. For everything else I followed your instructions step by step and came out perfect. Thanks!
I made this the other night and I received the best compliment I think a person could give, an Indian friend told me it was better than what his mom made... Wonderful recipe, thank you.
Try this one next if you haven't already. It's a great dish:
http://rouxbe.com/recipes/65/preview
I made the Chana Masala based on your recipe and it was fabulous - better than many Indian Restaurants I've been to. I made an omelet this morning using techniques I learned in your cooking school and it turned out just like the picture - man, I love this place!!!
This dish was better than I've had in most Indian Restaurants! I served it simply with some Naan and rice. My girlfriend thought it was the best Chana Masala she's ever eaten. I personally loved it, but to make it I cut down on the amount of onion in the beginning and only used half a lemon, but it came out perfectly for our tastes. Simply superb!
This is an amazing recipe. I have an East Indian friend who used to teach Indian cooking and she often brings me wonderful samples of her food. Unfortunately we had no leftovers but I can't wait to make it again so I can bring her some. I am certain she will be impressed:) I did leave out the cayenne though and found the chili powder and chillies gave it the right amount of heat for our tastes.
Can I just use regular unsalted butter? How would that affect everything?
You can use regular, unsalted butter, but just make sure that the onions are cooked at a very low temperature for a very long time to soften and slowly turn golden, as shown in the video. Make sure the heat is low enough so the milk solids in the butter don't burn.
For the best results, clarify the unsalted butter as shown in this drill down: How to Make Clarified Butter.
The most helpful thing about all of these video recipes (for me) is showing the "not right" or "not quite done" phase. This really helps me conceptualize the progression of the cooking process and increases my success.
I also want to emphasize how excellent this is. I have enjoyed Indian food for several years but have never felt confident/comfortable enough in attempting my own. That has all changed with this foray. Many thanks to Kimberly S.
I have had my fair share of horrible, lavendery, perfumy and/or heavy ginger on Sushi and Chinese food and have developed an aversion to it now. An unexpected dose of it - especially if it's strong - can actually make me nauseous.
Is there something to substitute for ginger? Or can you eliminate it altogether? Will it make a huge difference? I would probably like using no ginger at all - in anything.
No problem dropping the ginger altogether for this dish.
Last sunday I made this recipe for dinner and I had fun cooking it and it was wonderful to eat! Thanx for putting it on your website, I enjoy watching all the videos and getting inspiration along the way ... ;-)
Groeten uit Holland
Hello, Can this be made the day before and reheated in either a pot or a bane marie? You guys are the best thank you JoAnn
For sure this can be made the day before (in a pot on low over low heat or in a bain marie). Just be sure to wait on adding the cilantro. Once reheated then fold in the cilantro and enjoy!
Just licked the pot! It was better than I imagined it to be. I think I went a little overboard with adding a bit more ginger. It still tasted fantastic nonetheless.
I don't have a heavy bottom pot and I really want to make this soon. Do you think I can use a stainless steel pot instead or will it burn?
Keep an eye one it, control the heat and you should be fine, as long as your pot is not super thin, otherwise it could burn. Cheers!
Wow, this was such a delicious dish! I love the flavor that ghee gives to the masala, I was tasting it as I went and right before I added the yogurt I tasted it and thought that it wouldn't be good, but once added, the yogurt really combines the flavors together. I've made this twice since each time enjoying the yummy leftovers. Who knew vegetarian dishes tasted so great! Thanks!
I made this dish for the second time last night and it was delicious, again!
I'm wondering where I can find 'green chillies.' Are there different varieties of peppers that I might use or might they be named differently? I can't seem to find just plain 'green chillies.'
Secondly, could anyone explain how acid affects flavour? I tasted right before adding the lemon and then right after. The difference was incredible! The spicyness increased (or just became more apparent without being overpowering) and everything just popped.
The only thing I'll change is to cut back on the yogurt just a bit. The yogurt flavour overpowered the dish just a bit for my tastes.
Thanks for another great recipe!
Green chilies can be found in most Asian, Indian and also many larger grocery stores. If you cannot find them, you can substitute with jalapeno or Serrano peppers.
As for your second question - the thing about lemon is that it is almost magical. Sour notes are used to brighten and enhance dishes (and sauces) and to balance out flavors.
Ultimately, this is actually a bigger question and answer as most great dishes consist of the right balance of sweetness, saltiness, bitterness and sourness. In fact, there are entire books written about this. In the end it comes down to understanding the different components and the rolls they play and then adjusting the dish to your tastes (just like you intend to do with the yogurt next time). Hope this helps - Cheers!