• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Edible Garden
  • Popular Categories
    • Dal Recipes
    • Chicken Recipes
    • Egg Recipes
    • Indo-Chinese Recipes
    • Mushroom Recipes
  • Kerala Recipes
  • Chocolate
  • About
You are here: Home / Chana or Chickpeas Recipes / Punjabi Chole Masala (Channa / Chana / Chickpeas) Recipe

Punjabi Chole Masala (Channa / Chana / Chickpeas) Recipe

November 24, 2015 42 Comments

TwitterFacebook113PinterestTelegramWhatsAppYummly
113
SHARES
Punjabi chole or chana masala recipe with spices, an aromatic Indian vegetarian recipe made Punjabi-style. 

Although I am always tempted to order chana masala when we out to eat, TH hardly ever agrees, saying “it’s something we can make at home”. Not that we can’t make any of the other dishes at home, but somehow, dal and channa masala is a no-go for him.

Punjabi Chole Masala RecipePin

While a regular chana masala is delicious in its simplicity and forms the better part of chana bhatura, I also love this Punjabi chole masala for its depth of flavour. Using black cardamom is key and I highly recommend sourcing it if you don’t have some in your pantry. For the deep colour of chickpeas in this recipe, I use a tea bag when pressure cooking them which adds the colour but none of the flavour in the final dish – trust me.

Punjabi Chole Masala RecipePin

Chana capsicum curry
Chana pitlai
Punjabi chole masala
Kerala kadala curry

Punjabi Chole Masala Recipe

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Serves 4-6
Adapted from: A Mad Tea Party

INGREDIENTS:
1.5 cups of dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
1 tea bag (optional)
1/2 tsp of baking soda (optional)
1″ piece of ginger, grated
2 onions, chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
2 tsp of red chilli powder
2 tbsp of oil
1 tsp of garam masala (I used Kitchen King Masala)
To Dry Roast:
3 tbsp of coriander seeds
A small piece of Indian cinnamon
4 cloves
1 tsp of whole black pepper
3 black cardamom
2 tsp of cumin seeds (jeera)
1 bay leaf
1-2 dry red chillies

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Drain the soaked chickpeas and rinse it once or twice. Add enough water it cover it by an inch and add the baking soda (I don’t generally do this but you can if you want the chickpeas to cook up quicker and softer) and a tea bag (this is for the deep colour which I love in Channa Masala – totally optional). Pressure cook for 4-5 whistles or partially cover and cook in a pan until soft.

Punjabi Chole Masala RecipePin

2. Dry roast the listed ingredients taking care not to burn any of them. I made the mistake of adding coarsely ground jeera which turned a bit bitter. Don’t make that mistake, add whole jeera.

Punjabi Chole Masala RecipePin

Cool, grind, and set this masala powder aside.

Punjabi Chole Masala RecipePin

3. Heat oil in the same pan and add the grated ginger. Fry for 30 seconds until fragrant.

Punjabi Chole Masala RecipePin

Add the onions next and fry until it turns pink and transparent. Next, add the tomatoes.

Punjabi Chole Masala RecipePin

Cook until the onions and tomatoes turn mushy and the oil separates. As Anita says “there isn’t much oil to separate here” so just do this for 15 mins or so (if you are impatient like me) and get on with the rest of the process.

Punjabi Chole Masala RecipePin

4. Add the ground masala powder, red chilli powder and garam masala to the onion-tomato mixture. Stir well for a few mins until this mixture turns dark and fragrant (I let it cook together for about 3-4 mins).

Punjabi Chole Masala RecipePin

5. Now, add the cooked, drained channa and combine well.

Punjabi Chole Masala RecipePin

6. Add about 3 cups of water and salt to this and cook in the open pan for 10-15 mins until your desired consistency is reached. Since I served it with chapati, I wanted it to be a bit on the “watery” side but not too much.

Punjabi Chole Masala RecipePin

You must serve this channa masala with hot chapatis and raw, sliced onions. It tastes fantastic!

Punjabi Chole Masala RecipePin

Prop Alert: The battered brass-copper bowl is from FabIndia – Rs. 750
Brown base material is a throw from Ikea

Text art on the first pic by the uber-talented Sindhu.

TwitterFacebook113PinterestTelegramWhatsAppYummly
113
SHARES

By nags Filed Under: Chana or Chickpeas Recipes, Gravy Vegetarian Side Dishes, Punjabi Recipes, Uncategorized

Previous Post: « Pepper Rasam Recipe | Easy Milagu Rasam Recipe
Next Post: Ragi Semiya Upma Recipe (Vermicelli Upma) – Upma Recipe »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jeevitha

    June 30, 2016 at 7:41 pm

    Can u give some easy recipes
    to cook in 2-3 minutes…

    Reply
    • nags

      July 8, 2016 at 11:09 am

      2-3 minutes? instant noodles? 🙂

      Reply
  2. maybeinmadras

    January 31, 2013 at 2:36 am

    I just made this. The channa is still on the stove and I couldn't help but take a spoon. It tastes yum!

    Reply
    • Nagalakshmi V

      January 31, 2013 at 2:56 am

      oh my! now you have made me crave some chana masala too!

      Reply
  3. Shiva

    January 6, 2013 at 3:21 am

    Nice Recipe. Actually this recipe is called as Pindi Channa

    Reply
  4. DD

    October 13, 2012 at 2:30 pm

    Googled for channa masala while the channa was in the pressure cooker and landed on your page thankfully. It's turned out very well. Good recipe, great writing and presentation! Cheers, Deepa

    Reply
  5. Meryl Castelino

    October 3, 2012 at 3:41 pm

    Fantastic reciepe….cheers!!!

    Reply
« Older Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Hello!

I am Nags, the face behind Edible Garden, a food and recipes website for the busy (and sometimes lazy!) cook since 2007. My recipes are meant to be quick yet healthy and delicious - Nothing fancy, nothing too difficult. Follow Me On Instagram for real-time food and life updates.

Trending Recipes

paneer butter masala recipe restaurant style
Eggless No-Bake Mango Cheesecake Recipe Step by Step
Instant Oats Idli Recipe with Rava, Step by Step
Kerala plum cake recipe
Butter Chicken Recipe, Indian Butter Chicken Masala Recipe
dosa recipe-how to make dosa
pressure cooker eggless sponge cake recipe (no oven cake)
vegetable pulao recipe
garlic pull-apart rolls recipe, eggless

Browse Older Recipes

Copyright © 2023