Chana Masala ⋆

Tags: Vegetarian | Prep time: 10 minutes | Cook time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

2 tablespoon oil as needed
1 small bay leaf
1½ cups onions, finely chopped
1 tablespoon ginger, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
28 oz diced tomatoes
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon turmeric
1½ teaspoons Kashmiri red chili powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 teaspoon coriander powder
½ teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) (optional)
¼ teaspoon amchur (dried mango powder) (optional)
1 28 oz can chickpeas
1½ cups water

Cooking Directions

Heat a large pot and pour oil. When the oil turns slightly hot, add the onions and bay leaf. Sauté until onions turn light golden.

Add ginger and garlic and sauté for a minute without burning.

Add tomatoes and salt. Let cook until mushy, pulpy and thick.

Stir in red chili powder, turmeric, garam masala, coriander powder and cumin powder. Sauté until the masala begins to smell good, for about 3 to 4 mins.

Add the canned chickpeas along with the chana stock or water (1¼ cups). Pour another ¾ to 1 cup water. If using canned chickpeas, drain and rinse them before adding with 1¾ cups water. Mix well. Taste test and add more salt. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

When the consistency is thick, add amchur powder and kasuri methi.

Garnish chana masala with coriander leaves. Sprinkle some lemon juice if required. Serve with rice.

Notes

For enough spice for 16 batches, use the following:

4 teaspoons tumeric 8 tablespoons kashmiri chili powder 16 teaspoons garam masala 11 tablespoons coriander powder 8 teaspoons cumin powder 16 teaspoons kasuri methi 4 teaspoons amchur

Then I use about 2 tablespoons of this whole mixture for one recipe.