Punjabi Chole or Vegan Chana masala or is a very wholesome and a filling curry. Instant pot chana masala is quite a hit these days. Indian chickpea recipe can be made in a pressure cooker or slow cooker too.
You can pair it with any flat bread be it 'Poori','Naan','Bhatura' and or basmati rice if you are gluten free. You can make this delicious Indian chickpeas curry in many ways. Simple chana masala saves the day when there are guests coming home. You may also make chana saag as a variation where we mix spinach with chickpeas. More Iron, more protein! Yay!
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Channa is easy to make. Full of protein too. Chickpeas are so wonderful and versatile. They are a great source of protein. You can make a hummus, falafel,salad and even make a pickle out of it. Boiled chickpeas make a great chaat after adding chopped coriander, onions & tomatoes, dash of fresh lemon juice and green chutney.
You know how popular this Indian dish is ,by its presence everywhere. You will find they serve there own style chana masala at both street food stalls and even classy restaurants. Everyone says, they look forward to this.Most kids are glad to eat this at a party. Easy chana masala served with bhature/poori. Saves the day every time when you have kids around. You can even serve it with roti or basmati rice on a weekday. I love even having it with bread. We call it chola double.
Chola meaning chickpeas, double meaning bread. In olden days bread was called double, as it doubles up when heated in an oven. This is a very Sindhi way of eating it.
Equipment
- pressure cooker or Instant pot
- grinder to prepare masala
Ingredients
- Dried chickpeas soaked overnight/ canned
- Onions diced
- Tomato puree/diced tomatoes
Spices
- Ginger paste
- Green chilli
- Red chilli powder
- Garam masala or chana masala powder
- Dry Coriander powder
- Turmeric powder
- Dry mango powder (optional, helpfull to get darker color)
- Salt as per taste
- Water
- Oil ( coconut oil/ vegetable oil/ sunflower oil)
how to make vegan chana masala? (step by step pictures)
Soak chickpeas overnight or at least for 4 hours in water for 2 hours in hot water. They swell and double in the size post soaking. If you want you can also use canned chickpeas for this curry.
Pressure cook the chickpeas with 3-4 cups of water and bit of salt for 3-4 whistles or in a covered pot, until soft
In a pan or a pot, heat oil. Add cumin seeds. Add onion,ginger,chillies with some salt and saute on low/medium heat until dark brown
- Cook until the onions turn brown(nicely brown/dark brown onions will give nice flavor and color), Add the tomato puree.
Continue cooking, add the spices.
Continue cooking until the masala has mixed well.
Add the chickpeas with 3 cups of water, Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes.
Add kasoori methi (optional) and let it cook for few minutes. Turn off the heat.
How to cook vegan chana masala?
Substitutions
You can also make it vegetarian by adding some ghee or butter in the end. That is strictly optional. Some people even add some paneer or spinach to make chola paneer or palak chole.
Variations
You can also make this by cooking onions light brown ,adding tomatoes and just curry powder. In that case the end result is not that dark in color.
Indian food can be customized according to your taste. That is why there is everything here.You can make the curry with or without tamarind. You can also make it with/without tea mix. If you like more darker version, make some black tea and add it to make a kali gravy.
You can also make it without onions and garlic. Just with some tomato paste. If you like it spicy, add more red chili powder or increase the green chillies in the recipe. If you like it milder, you may use Kashmiri red chilli powder or paprika. Adjust salt according to your taste. Adding a dash of lemon juice before you serve helps increase the taste.
If you forgot to soak chana overnight, soak them for an hour or two in hot water. You can also try using canned chickpeas for this recipe.
Storage
You can store the chana masala for 1-2 days in the refrigerator. It tastes even yummier the next day.
Whats a good cheap easy side dish to serve with chana masala besides rice and naan?
You can serve the curry with many other dishes as a chaat or Indian street food.
Related links
Vegan Chana Masala recipe
Equipment
- pressure cooker
- pan for roasting spices
- grinder to prepare masala
Ingredients
- 1 cup chickpeas 1 cup yields 3 cups boiled chickpeas.
- 3-4 tablespoon oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 medium onions diced
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste
- 1 teaspoon green chilli optional
- 1 cup tomato puree/ diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon red chilly powder or as per taste
- 1 tablespoon garam masala powder or chole masala,add more if you like it spicy
- 1 tablespoon dry mango powder amchur powder (optional), can be replaced with additional ½ cup tomato puree,helps to get darker color
- Salt as per taste
- 3 cups water
- 1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves optional / Kasuri methi.
Instructions
- Prep for chickpeas
- Soak chickpeas overnight or at least for 4 hours in water for 2 hours in hot water. They swell and double in the size post soaking. If you want you can also use canned chickpeas for this curry.
- Pressure cook the chickpeas with water (3 times the quantity of chickpeas) and bit of salt for 3-4 whistles or in a covered pot, until soft
Punjabi chole masala recipe
- In a pan or a pot, heat oil. Add cumin seeds. Add onion,ginger,chillies with some salt and saute on low/medium heat until dark brown
- Cook until the onions turn brown(nicely brown/dark brown onions will give nice flavor and color), Add the tomato puree.
- Continue cooking, add all the spices.
- Continue cooking until the masala has mixed well.
- Add the chickpeas with 3 cups of water, Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes.
- Adjust the spice level by adding more garam/chole masala. If its more spicy,add boiled potato ,this will help reduce the spice level.
- Add kasuri methi/dried fenugreek (optional) and let it cook for few minutes. This helps to balance the different flavors in the chana masala.Turn off the heat.
- Serve with Roti/Rice.
Notes
Press a chickpea and check if it is cooked well.In case you still feel it is a bit tough,pressure cook for 2-3 whistles more.
Nutrition
FAQs
atleast 2-4 hrs
If you press a chickpea, it should be soft and mushy.
How to make homemade cholle masala ?
Some people use branded chole masala for the curry but this is very easy to make at home. Once you start making your own simple chana masala powder, you will not depend on a market one. Just make a big batch and store in your freezer. It stays for months. This saves the day when you serve chana masla at a party.
This is optional, only if you want to experiment with spices. You can make your own chole masala if you do not have garam masala at home. Below are the main ingredients.
- Cumin seeds or jeera
- Bay leaf or tej patta
- Green cardamom or elaichi
- Black cardamom or badi elaichi
- Pepper corns or kali mirch
- Cinnamon stick or dalchini
- Cloves or laung
- Fenugreek seeds or Methi dana
Just roast them and grind it. Store it in a zip lock in your freezer. It stays for months. Homemade ground spices give it an amazing flavor.
Please share your inputs..