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.
Jump to:
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.
How to make homemade cholle masala ?
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.
Equipment
- pressure cooker or Instant pot
- pan for roasting spices
- 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 home made chana masala powder ( as per above steps )
- Coriander seeds or dhaniya
- 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 with some salt and saute on low/medium heat until brown
Cook until the onions turn brown, add ginger and chilles.
Add the tomatoes with little salt.
Continue cooking with little salt, once tomatoes have soften.
Add the spices. Add ½ to 1 tablespoon of the homemade masala(adjust as per taste)
Continue cooking until the masala has mixed well.
Add the chickpeas with 2 cups of water, Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes.
Add kasoori methi and let it cook for few minutes. Turn off the heat.
How to cook vegan chana masala?
Vegan Chana Masala recipe
Equipment
- pressure cooker
- pan for roasting spices
- grinder to prepare masala
Ingredients
- 200 grams chickpeas 400 grams when soaked
- 2 medium onions diced
- 3-4 tablespoon oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste
- 1 teaspoon green chilli chopped
- 2 tablespoon coriander powder
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon red chilly powder
- 1 cup tomato puree/ diced tomatoes
- Salt as per taste
- 2 cup water
Chole masala ingredients
- ¼ tsp. cumin seeds or jeera
- 1 bay leaf or tej patta
- 1 Small cardamom green or elaichi
- 1 Black cardamom or badi elaichi
- 2 pepper corns or kali mirch
- 1 small stick Cinnamon or dalchini
- 1-2 cloves or laung
- ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds methi dana
Instructions
Chana masala powder Recipe
- Dry roast the spices in a metal pan, allow it to cool.
- Grind the spices in a dry grinder,store extra chole masala powder in an air tight container or zip lock.
- You may store the extra chana masala mix powder in the freezer for long term use
- Use 1 to 2 teaspoon of chana masala powder as per your taste. You can use the store bought masala or garam masala.
Punjabi chole masala recipe
- 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 with some salt and saute on low/medium heat until brown
- Cook until the onions turn brown, add ginger and chilles.
- Add the tomatoes with little salt.
- Continue cooking with little salt, once tomatoes have soften.
- Add the spices. Add ½ to 1 tablespoon of the homemade masala(adjust as per taste)
- Add the chickpeas with 2 cups of water, Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes.
- Add kasuri methi and let it cook for few minutes. 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
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
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 the 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.
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.
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.
For more Punjabi recipes click Punjabi.
Related links
FAQs
atleast 2-4 hrs
If you press a chickpea, it should be soft and mushy.
Please share your inputs..