Chana Masala Recipe: Chickpea Curry From Dried Chickpeas

Chana masala is a chickpea curry popular in north India and Pakistan: chickpeas simmered in a spiced onion and tomato sauce and finished with garam masala. This chana masala recipe starts from dried chickpeas, serves 4 and needs an overnight soak, then about 2¼ hours’ cooking; with tinned chickpeas it takes about an hour. Below: the spices, kala chana, adjusting the heat, serving and storing.

What is chana masala?

Chana means chickpea, a word borrowed from Hindi, says Merriam-Webster, and a masala is “a varying blend of spices used in Indian cooking”. America’s Test Kitchen calls chana masala “arguably one of North India’s most popular vegetarian dishes”, and Felicity Cloake, comparing recipes for the Guardian, lists chole masala, channay and chholay among its other names. Citing the chef Cyrus Todiwala, she calls it a fixture at “ceremonies and festive occasions” in the Punjab and Pakistan.

There is no single recipe. In those Cloake tested, onion, ginger and green chilli form the base, garlic and tomato join them in almost all, and cumin, coriander, turmeric and chilli powder are “fairly universal”. The sour note varies: Todiwala uses chaat masala, usually based on amchoor (dried green mango powder), and Maunika Gowardhan ground dried pomegranate seeds, while Rick Stein, like us, uses lemon juice.

Chana masala recipe (serves 4)

Serves: 4. Soaking: 8–12 hours (overnight). Prep: 15 minutes. Cook: about 2¼ hours: 60–90 minutes for the chickpeas, then about 45 minutes for the masala. Total: about 10½ hours, including 8 hours’ soaking; about 1 hour with tinned chickpeas.

Ingredients

• 200g dried chickpeas (kabuli chana), or two 400g tins (see below)
• 3 tablespoons vegetable or sunflower oil
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 2 Taj Garlic and Ginger Paste cubes, or 4 garlic cloves and 4cm of ginger, grated
• 1 green chilli, finely chopped (optional)
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• ½ teaspoon hot chilli powder, or up to 1 teaspoon for more heat
• a 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 300ml of the chickpea cooking liquid or water
• 1–2 teaspoons garam masala
• the juice of ½ lemon
• a handful of chopped fresh coriander, to serve

Method

1. Soak the chickpeas. The night before, rinse the chickpeas and cover them with plenty of cold water in a large bowl. Leave them for 8–12 hours, in the fridge if your kitchen is warm.
2. Cook the chickpeas. Drain and rinse them, cover with fresh cold water by 5cm and bring to the boil, skimming off any foam. Simmer gently for 60–90 minutes, topping up with boiling water, until they squash easily with no chalky centre. Drain, keeping 300ml of the liquid.
3. Fry the onions. Heat the oil in a large, heavy pan over a medium heat and cook the onions, stirring often, for about 10 minutes, until soft and golden brown.
4. Add the garlic, ginger and spices. Add the garlic and ginger cubes from frozen (or as your pack directs), and the chilli if using, and stir for 1–2 minutes until fragrant. Turn the heat down, add the cumin, coriander, turmeric and chilli powder and stir for 30 seconds, adding a splash of water if they catch.
5. Cook the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes and salt and cook, stirring often, for 8–10 minutes, until thick and the oil starts to separate at the edges.
6. Simmer. Add the chickpeas and the 300ml of liquid or water, bring to the boil and simmer gently for about 20 minutes, stirring now and then, until the sauce has thickened. Press a few chickpeas against the side of the pan to thicken it more.
7. Finish. Stir in the garam masala and simmer for 2–3 minutes. Check the curry is steaming hot, taste for salt, then add the lemon juice and scatter over the coriander.

Why these steps: burnt spices taste bitter, and garam masala goes in last so its aroma stays fresh, as our garam masala guide explains. Cooking the tomato until it separates from the oil is Samira Nanda’s cue in her chana masala for SBS Food. Our Taj page says to add the cubes straight from frozen; your pack’s instructions come first.

Short of time? Pressure-cook the soaked chickpeas for 15–20 minutes, following your cooker’s manual, or cook them a day ahead and refrigerate them within 2 hours: see our guide to cooking chickpeas.

Allergens: our chickpea and kala chana pages say they contain none of the 14 major allergens but may contain traces of other pulses and cereals containing gluten. The Taj cubes may contain celery and peanuts. Greenfields lists none of the 14 in its turmeric but says some of its blends are made in a facility that also handles sesame, mustard and celery, and Sara garam masala shows allergens in bold on the pack label. Yoghurt contains milk; parathas contain wheat (gluten); some tinned chickpeas contain sulphites. Check every label if you are cooking for someone with an allergy.

Chana masala spices

All five spices are in our spices and herbs range; the notes and amounts are from our product pages.

For garam masala vs curry powder and other blends, see our guide to Indian spice blends.

Using tinned chickpeas

Two 400g tins, drained and rinsed, replace the 200g of dried chickpeas. CooksInfo gives 100g of dried chickpeas as 240g boiled, and a 400g tin of chickpeas in water typically drains to 240g, so two tins match the cooked weight: about 480g. Skip steps 1 and 2 and use 300ml of water in step 6. Cloake says that, texturally, she can’t tell the difference. Cooking from dried gives you the cooking liquid, and spare chickpeas freeze in 240g portions, one tin’s worth each, as our chickpeas guide suggests.

Kala chana curry (black chickpea masala)

For kala chana masala, swap in 200g of Sara Kala Chana: small, dark desi chickpeas with a nutty flavour and a firm bite that holds up in curries. Soak them for the same 8–12 hours. In a pressure cooker they take longer: 20–25 minutes, against 15–20 for kabuli chana, our product pages say. On the hob, our kala chana page gives the same 60–90 minutes but says they stay firmer than white chickpeas and that a pressure cooker gives the best results, so simmer until they are tender right through. Both chickpeas are in our pulses, rice and grains range.

How hot is chana masala?

With ½ teaspoon of hot chilli powder and one green chilli, we would call this medium; our chilli powder page says to start with a little and add more to taste. Garam masala adds warmth, not heat: our product pages call it aromatic and warming rather than chilli-hot.

• Milder: leave out the green chilli and use ¼ teaspoon of chilli powder, with plain yoghurt on the side (it contains milk).
• Hotter: use up to 1 teaspoon of chilli powder and a second green chilli.
• Adjusting: taste at step 5, with 20 minutes’ simmering still to go, and add more chilli powder then.

Wash your hands after using chilli powder and keep it away from your eyes, as its product page advises.

What to serve with chana masala

America’s Test Kitchen serves it with rice and naan or bhature, fried breads it calls a common accompaniment, and Cloake suggests fried or grilled flatbreads or steamed rice.

• Rice: ordinary basmati gives a softer grain with curry, while sella (parboiled) basmati cooks into firm, separate grains. Our guide to sella basmati rice explains both, and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) advice on leftover rice: chill it “as quickly as possible, ideally within one hour” and never reheat it more than once.
• Paratha: frozen paratha cooks in a few minutes in a hot frying pan or tawa. See our guide to cooking frozen paratha and our frozen Indian food range, and follow your pack.
• A spread: add our tarka dal and bhindi masala, with sliced red onion and lemon wedges.

Frequently asked questions

Is chana masala the same as chole?

Usually, yes. Chole (or chholay) is another name for chana masala, chickpeas in a spiced onion and tomato sauce: Felicity Cloake lists chole masala, channay and chholay among its many names. Our product pages suggest kabuli chana for chana masala and chole, and kala chana for kala chana masala, the black chickpea version.

Do you need to soak chickpeas for chana masala?

Only if they are dried: soak them in plenty of cold water for 8–12 hours (overnight), as our product pages advise, then drain, rinse and simmer them for 60–90 minutes until tender. Forgot? Our chickpeas guide has a quick soak. Tinned chickpeas need neither, as the FSA says canned beans bought in the supermarket “have been pre-soaked and boiled”.

How long does chana masala keep in the fridge?

The FSA says leftovers can be eaten cold if “cooked properly, cooled, and put in the fridge within two hours”, and advises: “Eat leftovers within 48 hours or freeze them if you think this won’t be possible.” Reheat it only once, stirring, until steaming hot throughout.

Can you freeze chana masala?

Yes. Cool it, divide it into portions and label them, as the FSA’s freezing advice suggests, with your freezer at “around -18°C”. Defrost it “in the fridge overnight”, use it within 24 hours of defrosting and reheat it only once, until steaming hot throughout. The FSA calls a freezer “a pause button”: most bacteria cannot grow in it. Freeze rice separately.