Chana masala recipe: chickpea curry, and what chana dal is

Chana masala (chole) is an Indian curry of whole chickpeas simmered in a thick sauce of onion, tomato, ginger and spices. Chana is Hindi for chickpea. The dish comes from North India, especially Punjab, and is served with rice, with bhatura bread or with chapati. Chickpeas in Polish are "ciecierzyca", so that is the word to look for on Polish packs and tins.

Chana, chana dal and chanachur

The word chana is on many Indian products, and each is something different.

• Kabuli chana (white chana): large, pale chickpeas, the same as in Polish supermarkets. Chana masala is made from these.
• Kala chana: small, dark brown chickpeas with a thicker skin. Used for dry curries and salads.
• Chana dal: kala chana with the skin removed, split in half. It is yellow and looks like yellow split peas (Polish: groch łuskany), but after cooking it keeps its shape better and tastes nutty. It is cooked as dal and used in fillings. Ground chana dal becomes besan, gram flour.
• Chanachur: a crunchy, spicy snack mix of fried gram-flour noodles, lentils, peanuts and spices. It is known from Bangladesh, for example under the Pran brand.

For chana masala you need whole chickpeas (kabuli chana), dried or tinned. Chana dal does not work in this recipe, because its taste, shape and cooking time are different.

Chana masala recipe

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 250 g dried chickpeas (or 2 tins of 400 g, drained)
• 2 tablespoons oil or ghee
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste (or 3 cloves garlic and a piece of ginger, grated)
• 1 green chilli, chopped
• 3 ripe tomatoes, grated (or 1 tin chopped tomatoes)
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• ½ teaspoon chilli powder
• 2 tablespoons chana masala spice mix
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon garam masala
• a handful of fresh coriander, juice of ½ lemon

Method:

1. Chickpeas. Rinse dried chickpeas and soak them in plenty of cold water for 8 to 12 hours. Drain, cover with fresh water and cook until soft: about 1 to 1.5 hours in a pan, much less in a pressure cooker. Keep a glass of the cooking water. Tinned chickpeas only need rinsing.
2. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the cumin seeds and fry for a few seconds, until they sizzle.
3. Add the onion. Fry on a medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown. This step matters, because the onion gives the sauce its colour and taste.
4. Add the ginger-garlic paste and green chilli. Fry for a minute.
5. Add the turmeric, coriander, chilli and chana masala. Stir for half a minute.
6. Add the tomatoes and salt. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until the sauce thickens and oil starts to separate at the edges.
7. Add the chickpeas and about a glass of the cooking water (or plain water). Crush a few chickpeas against the side of the pan with a spoon, to thicken the sauce.
8. Cover and simmer on a low heat for 15 to 20 minutes.
9. Finish with the garam masala and lemon juice. Scatter over fresh coriander.

Chana masala tastes even better the next day. Kept in a closed container in the fridge, it lasts 2 to 3 days.

What to use instead of chana masala spice mix

A ready chana masala mix usually contains coriander, cumin, dried mango (amchur), chilli, black pepper, ginger and black salt (kala namak). It gives a slightly sour taste. If you do not have it, use 1 teaspoon garam masala and ½ teaspoon amchur; without amchur, add more lemon juice.

Where to buy chickpeas and chana dal in Poland

Little India sells TRS chickpeas 1 kg for chana masala and MDH chana masala spice mix. There is also TRS chana dal and TRS yellow split peas, which are worth telling apart on the shelf. For the crunchy snack, try Pran Barbeque Chanachur. Little India has shops in Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław and Gdańsk and ships orders across Poland.

For other pulses, read types of dal, and for chickpea flour, gram flour (besan).