Black Chickpea Masala
Chana Masala is a delicious Indian curry made with black chickpeas and basic pantry staples. It is a gluten-free, vegan and a good source of vegetarian protein dish. Black chickpea masala is a perfect curry to pair with roti or steam rice.
Chana masala is a very popular and healthy dish prepared with kala chana (black chickpea). It’s easy, simple, delicious dish made using basic ingredients which is easily available in our pantry.
The chickpeas are soaked for 3-4 hours or probably overnight. The soaked chickpeas are then cook in pressure cooker. The cooked chickpeas are further cooked in with onion, tomato and basic spice ingredients and tuned it into a flavorful dry curry.
WHAT IS KALA CHANA (BLACK CHICKPEA)?
Kala refers to black and chana refers to chickpeas in Hindi. So kala chana means black chickpea. Black chickpea is also known as Bengal Gram in English. It is also referred to as desi chickpeas or desi chana. Although they are called kala chana but they are actually brown to dark brown in color. It’s mostly grown in the Indian subcontinent.
Black chickpeas are similar to the traditional yellow chickpeas, or garbanzo beans. However, black chickpeas are smaller and dark brown or black in color. When cooked, they are slightly nuttier, firmer, and rougher than regular garbanzo beans.
In India black chickpea are easily available in local grocery stores and supermarkets but in other countries black chickpeas tend to be rarer than yellow chickpeas. However black chickpea can be used in all the same ways as the traditional bean, i.e. falafel, salad, chaat, and curries.
Kala chana is a good source of protein. Low in fat, high in dietary fiber and rich in vitamins and minerals, black chickpeas can indeed be a healthy addition to your diet.
A fuss free and super easy recipe. We just need to soak the kala chana for 5-6 hours or best is soak overnight and followed by pressure cooking it before making the chana masala. Pressure cooking will hasten the cooking process.
This kala chana masala can be made in dry, semi gravy or curry version but I personally love to make it as semi-gravy curry. Chickpea Soya Curry is again one of my personal curry. It can be served with steamed rice, any Indian flat breads and even good with flavoured rice like jeera rice and ghee rice.
Kala chana is widely used in many Indian dishes such as curries, kebab, tikki(cutlet), chole masala, salad and chaat items like pani puri, dahi puri chaat, kala chana chaat and sundal (South Indian stir-fry) etc.
A bowl of black chickpea curry is warm, hearty, and super nutritious making it perfect for cold weather days!
I’d love to know your thought about this recipe! Please don’t forget to share your thoughts in the comment box below.
HOW TO MAKE KALA CHANA MASALA?
Here’s a step by step pictorial instructions to make this hearty and scrumptious black chickpea curry.
Ingredients for Chana Masala :
Chickpeas – 1 cup soaked
Cumin seeds – ¼ teaspoon
Green Chilly – 1 chopped and 1 cut into thin slit
Bay leaf – 1 small
Onion – 1 large chopped
Ginger garlic paste – 1½ teaspoon
Tomato – 1 medium chopped
Turmeric – 1 teaspoon
Chilly powder – 1 teaspoon
Garam masala powder – 1 teaspoon
Cumin powder – ½ teaspoon
Coriander powder – ½ teaspoon
Amchur powder (dry mango powder) – ¼ teaspoon optional
Tea leaf – ½ teaspoon
Oil – 2 tablespoon
Salt to taste
Water as required
Method :
First boil the tea leaf in 1 cup water for few mins. Strain and keep aside.
Take the soaked Chickpeas in a pressure cooker, add little salt, add the strained tea, and pressure cook for 3-4 whistles. Let the pressure release, take out the chickpeas and retain the water if any.
Heat oil in a pan. Add the onion, chopped green chilly, ginger garlic paste and fry for 2 minute.
Add the tomatoes and fry till it turns mushy.
Now add the powdered masalas and fry for 2 minutes.
Add the cooked chole and mix well with the masalas and fry for few minutes.
Add the retained water and add little water if required and cook for around 5 minutes. Adjust the gravy consistency as required.
In a sauce pan heat 1 tsp oil. Add the cumin seeds and slit green chilly and let it sizzle.
Pour the tadka over the chana masala and cook for a minute or two and take off the heat.
More Vegan Recipes You Might Love To Try
Chickpea Soya Curry
Bitter Gourd Stir Fry
Panch Phoran Potato Brinjal Fry
Amaranth Greens Stir Fry
Mushroom Pepper Fry
Mixed Vegetable Fry
Aloo Pitika (Mashed Potato)
Potato Cauliflower Curry
Okra Stir Fry
Karamani Sundal (Black Eyed Peas Sundal)
Radish Stir Fry
All of the above recipes are super easy to prepare, ready in no time, and will never disappoint you.
RECIPE CARD
Chana Masala (Black Chickpea Masala)
Equipment
- pressure cooker
- frying pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup kala chana (black chickpea) soaked
- ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 nos green chilly (1 chppped and 1 slit)
- 1 small bay leaf
- 1 large onion chopped
- 1 teaspoon ginger gatrlic paste
- 1 medium tomato chopped
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon red chilly powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder
- ¼ teaspoon amchur powder (dry mango powder) optional
- ½ teaspoon tea leaf
- 1-2 tablespoon oil
- salt to taste
- water as required
Instructions
- First boil the tea leaf in 1 cup water for few mins. Strain and keep aside.
- Take the soaked Chickpeas in a pressure cooker, add little salt, add the strained tea, and pressure cook for 3-4 whistles. Let the pressure release, take out the chickpeas and retain the water if any.
- Heat oil in a pan. Add the onion, chopped green chilly, ginger garlic paste and fry for 2 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes and fry till it turns mushy.
- Now add the powdered masalas and fry for 2 minutes.
- Add the cooked chole and mix well with the masalas and fry for few minutes.
- Add the retained water and add little water if required and cook for around 5 minutes. Adjust the gravy consistency as required.
- In a sauce pan heat 1 tsp oil. Add the cumin seeds and slit green chilly and let it sizzle.
- Pour the tadka over the chana masala and cook for a min or two and take off the heat.
- Enjoy with steam rice, variety rice or flatbreads.
Thank you so much for stopping by my blog. I hope you liked the recipe. Your valuable feedbacks are always welcome, I love hearing from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every one of you.
Happy cooking!
Love Akum
Can this be made with regular light brown chickpeas? My pressure cooker doesn whistle. How long should I cook it in the pressure cooker? Sounds and looks great!