Chana Masala also known Chole Masala - delicious vegetarian chickpea curry full of flavours. It can be served as a main meal or a side dish. This can be eaten with rice, naan, poori or plain pilau rice.
These are the ingredients I have used.
Slice the onions in thin slices, chop the coriander finely and grate the ginger.
Chillies can be adjusted to your taste and you can also use homemade ginger paste, I prefer to use homemade paste.
Only frozen ginger and garlic cubes I would recommend are of the Taj brand.
In a non stick pan add the oil, please adjust the oil if you need to. You can start off using the amount I mentioned, but add more if you find it is too little.
Once you have added the the oil, add the onions, chillies, salt and ginger. Salt can be adjusted later on, so do not add too much.
Put the gas on high heat and mix this in. Once you've mixed it in, cover and and let this cook under medium heat. Make sure to stir often and cook until the onions are soft.
If the mixture seems too dry, then add a little amount of hot boiled water and cook during this time.
Once the onions are done, add in the spices:
Tumeric powder 1/3 Tsp
Coriander powder 3/4 Tsp
Cumin powder 3/4 Tsp
Chilli powder 1/2 Tsp
Hot/Mild curry powder 2 full Tsp
I used a normal teaspoon to measure the spices. Adjust any of the spices if you like.
Put the gas up and mix this in.
Put the gas down and let this cook for about 5-8 minutes on low heat. If the spices become dry during this stage then add a little amount of hot boiled water to prevent it from burning.
Add half of the chopped tomatoes.
Mix it in, let this cook for 10 minutes on low heat and make sure to stir often.
Add the chickpeas in. I always rinse them before adding it in.
Put the gas up and mix it in.
Once you've mixed it in, put the gas down to medium heat and let this cook for 12-15 minutes. Stir often and feel free to adjust the heat if required.
Once the chickpeas look done to you, add 1 & 1/4 cup of hot boiled water to the chickpeas.
Mix this in, put the gas up on high heat and bring this to boil.
Once it comes to boil, add the rest of the chopped tomatoes.
You can also add extra chillies if you like, mix this in and cook on high heat for 5-6 minutes. Towards the end of this cooking time you can taste the dish, check the salt and adjust if required.
After cooking it for 5-6 minutes on high heat, garnish with fresh coriander and mix it in. Cook for a further 2-4 minutes and turn the heat off.
Serve and enjoy with some nan bread!
Servings 6