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Hello there gorgeous vegan Chana Masala for veganMofo Post 3! I posted a couple of variations of Chana Masala. With some variations here and there, this curry tastes different and fabulous! All the chana masala fans.. raise your hand! We call any curry with chickpeas/garbanzo beans ..Chole.. so you will find that reference on the blog a couple of times. Jump to Recipe
Garbanzo Beans/Chickpeas are an amazing source of a good number of minerals and protein. They have a good amount of fiber to help your digestive tract, unique supply of anti-oxidants, help with better regulation of blood sugar and increased chances of satiety and hence weight control. What more could you want from a bean and it is one versatile bean easily incorporated in so many cuisines.
Some more vegan chana masala/chole recipes. Imli Chole (Sweet and sour Tamarind Garbanzo beans), Everyday Chole, Palak chole(Spinach and chickpea curry). Scroll down for your own home made Chana masala Spice blend!
Vegan Chana Masala/Chole (Chickpea Curry)
This is the Best Vegan Chana Masala you will ever make! Learn to make the Sour, tomatoey and thick sauce. chickpea curry. gluten-free soy-free Indian.
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
- pinch of asafetida, hing
- 3 medium tomatoes
- 1 inch ginger chopped, can be substituted with ginger paste
- 3-4 cloves of garlic peeled and chopped, can be substituted with garlic paste
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes or green chili, to taste
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 14 oz garbanzo beans washed and drained, or 1 cup dry chickpeas soaked overnight and pressure cooked for 4-5 whistles.
- 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon raw sugar
- 1 teaspoon Chana Masala powder or to taste, Recipe below or use the chana/chole masala blend from indian store.
Instructions
- In a blender, add 3 medium chopped tomatoes, ginger, garlic, chili, lemon juice, 1/4 can garbanzo beans(1/4 cup cooked chickpeas). Blend into a paste and keep aside.
- In a pressure cooker, add oil and onions. Switch on saute or over medium heat if it is a stove top pressure cooker.
- Cook until onions are translucent. Add in the spices, asofetida, chana masala blend and mix well.
- Add in the tomato puree and cook on medium low, partially covered with occasional stirring until the paste thickens and starts to leave oil (about 15 minutes)
- Add in the salt and remaining garbanzo beans and 1 to 1.5 cups water depending on your preference for thick or thin curry.
- Pressure cook for 2 whistles(10 minutes). or cook covered until chickpeas are easily mashable.
- Let the pressure cooker release pressure by itself(5 minutes). Adjust salt. Add more chana masala blend and chili flakes per taste. Mix well.
- Serve hot topped with chopped onions, lemon wedges, cilantro and Rotis or Naans or Basmati Rice!
- Saucepan: Use canned or slow cooker cooked chickpeas, or dry chickpeas soaked overnight. In a deep pan, make the tomato onion mixture as above. Add the chickpeas and 2 cups of water and cook for an hour or so, covered, until the chickpeas are tender. Mash some chickpeas and let cook for another 5-10 minutes uncovered. Adjust water for preferred consistency.
Notes
There are several types of pressure cookers. Some have different pressure settings. The one I use has a whistle top which acts as the pressure regulator(this model ). And it only has setting for high pressure. When the pressure inside builds up to high pressure, the pressure regulator automatically releases a little pressure at intervals to keep it maintained at a safe high pressure. That release sounds like a whistle because of the sudden steam release, which is counted to time the cooking as I have learnt from mom 🙂 For cooking the chickpeas, keep the pressure regulator at high pressure for 10 minutes (which is 2-3 whistles in the model I use) at high heat, then reduce the heat to low-medium and continue to cook for another 10.
Nutritional values are based on one serving
Nutrition
Calories: 137kcal, Carbohydrates: 20g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 4g, Sodium: 352mg, Potassium: 390mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 855IU, Vitamin C: 14.9mg, Calcium: 55mg, Iron: 1.8mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this recipe? Rate and comment below!
Chana Masala Spice blend/curry powder
A spice blend to add to any chunky bean/lentil soup
Ingredients
- 1/4 teaspoon Hing/Asofoetida
- 1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Dry ginger powder
- 1/2 teaspoon green cardamom, elaichi powder
- 1 teaspoon Pomegranate seeds powder/Anardana, Or 1 teaspoon dry mango powder/Amchur
- 1/2 teaspoon rock salt/kala namak
To Roast:
- 1 big Bay leaf/ Tej Patta
- 1 Tablespoon Coriander/dhania seeds
- 2 teaspoons Cumin/jeera seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon fennel/Saunf
- 1/2 teaspoon Black pepper corns, kali mirch dane or to taste
- 1/3 teaspoon clove/laung, 3-4 cloves
- 1 Dry red chili
- 1 stick Cinammon/dal chini , or 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- 2 teaspoons Dry Fenugreek leaves, Kasturi methi or 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
Instructions
- On a thick bottom pan dry roast ingredients one at a time on low-medium heat till you can smell their aroma and coriander seeds start to turn brown. Stir almost constantly. (3-5 minutes)
- Cool this mix and grind with the other ingredients. Adjust the spice(chili), and sour(pomegranate seeds and rock salt) to taste. We add a bit more spice and mom adds another teaspoon of dry mango powder for a more sour masala blend.
- Store in airtight container for a few months.
Nutrition
Calories: 66kcal, Carbohydrates: 12g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 2g, Sodium: 675mg, Potassium: 134mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 185IU, Vitamin C: 1.1mg, Calcium: 120mg, Iron: 4.4mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this recipe? Rate and comment below!
This is honestly the best chole recipe I’ve ever found – so simple yet so tasty, I keep coming back to it again and again and it never fails to disappoint! Thank you Richa! ❤️
thank you!
Hi, Richa, got some desi chana from Rando Gordo. Would you suggest using in this recipe? They remind me more of black beans than chickpeas. You are my go-to, plase advise!
Thank you!
Try my brown chickpea recipes! Veganricha.com/?s=brown+chickpea
The whole family loved it!
Looking forward to trying this. I have a bag of dry chana dal that I would like to use for this recipe. Do I treat that like dried chickpea and have to soak first or can I just add them to the pressure cooker as is? Any changes in amount of cooking time?
Thank you in advance for any guidance.
Dear Richa,
This must be my favorite Indian recipe ever, and thanks to it I found your blog years ago. I love cooking it! I also love your chole spice recipe. It is so unusual, interesting, and strong. It’s really something special. I am so proud that finally I found amchur (harder to find even than hing where I live) and now I officially have all the ingredients for it.
Since making this I have trouble liking any Indian restaurant chana masala!!!
I have just one question: when I cook the chickpeas from dried, do I throw out the water or use it, i.e. is it healthy with the minerals and nutrients of the chickpeas, or does it contain waste and toxins?
Thanks so much in advance!
All the best,
Ves
I use the same cooking water for the sauce. Its basically aquafaba, which people use to whip up like egg whites or use as egg substitutes in many recipes.
With dried chickpeas, i soak them overnight and throw the water they were soaked in and rinse them well. This helps remove some of the gas producing sugars. Use fresh water to cook them and that water can be used as the sauce base as well. If you didnt soak the beans, then you can discard the cooking water. Hope this helps!
Great recipe!!! The only thing I did differently was added some cilantro roots and stems to the tomato purée. Really delicious…your recipes never disappoint!!!
awesome! thanks!
I made your chana masala today. It did not disappoint! I cooked the dry chickpeas completely then made the sauce and it was perfect at that point. I did not need to pressure cook any longer. I have been searching for a recipe that was close to my local Indian restaurant version and I think blending the chickpeas into the sauce was the step I was missing. Thank you so much!
Thank you Toni! Usually the chickpeas are cooked until very soft,so some will break down during cooking and then some are mashed.
I can’t wait to try this! I have a question though. I don’t have green cardamom powder but I have whole pods. How many pods should I grind up and should I toast them first? Also, do you always take off the outer shell and only use the little seeds or do you use the whole pod?
powder just the seeds as they are easier to powder. You can crush them in a mortar pestle easily or put them in a blender or spice grinder. powder 2 pods and see how much they yield and powder more if needed 🙂 or you can powder a bunch of whole pods(i just put them in a blender) if you dont want to peel them and keep that powder handy for recipes. The seeds have a lot more flavor, but the peel has some flavor too.
I am not usually a fan of chickpeas, but I LOVED this recipe!! I doubled the chickpeas for extra protein and blended one Thai chili into the tomatoes mixture: It a gave it a really nice heat! Thank you so much!
I followed the ingredients exactly but made it in a slow cooker. Best Indian meal I’ve ever made and certainly best chana I have eaten! Better than any restaurant I’ve had. Amazing!
Only one other tiny change: I never add salt and tomato to pulses while cooking. They are added only after completely cooked because otherwise they stop the cooking of the bean. This does not hold for pressure cooking but for all other methods it does.
The ingredients list calls for 1 cup of dry chickpeas soaked overnight and cooked, therefore they should already be fully cooked before you mix them with the tomatoes :).