Chana masala
Chickpeas simmered in a tangy, deeply spiced tomato and onion gravy with ginger and a squeeze of lemon, the North Indian classic that tastes better than takeout and costs a fraction.
- 45 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $1.41 a serving
- 370 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegan
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped (optional)
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 can diced tomatoes, not drained
- 2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 tsp garam masala
- ½ lemon
- 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 cup water
- 1¼ tsp salt
Each serving has about 370 calories, 15 g protein, 46 g carbs and 15 g fat, and costs about $1.41 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No diced tomatoes? Crushed tomatoes work.
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, 8 to 10 minutes, until .
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Medium heatTimer: 9 min
Dolly’s tip: This is where the flavor comes from. Pale onion makes a flat curry, so give it the time.Stir in the garlic, ginger and jalapeño and cook 1 minute.
Medium heat
Add the cumin, coriander, turmeric, paprika and cayenne and stir 30 seconds, .
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Medium heat
Dolly’s tip: If the spices start to stick, add a tablespoon of water and keep stirring.Add the tomatoes with their juice and cook 6 to 8 minutes, mashing with your spoon, until thick and little pools of oil show at the edges.
Medium heatTimer: 7 min
Add the chickpeas, water and salt and .
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Cover, turn the heat to low and 15 minutes.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
Mash about ½ cup of chickpeas against the side of the pot to the sauce, then stir in the garam masala and the lemon juice. Taste for salt.
Thicken. Thickening means cooking a sauce or soup until it’s less runny, by simmering it down or adding something like cornstarch. A thicker sauce clings to food instead of pooling on the plate.
How you’ll know: It coats the back of a spoon, and a line drawn through it with your finger holds its shape.
Serve with cilantro on top, over rice if you have some.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
