Kala chana masala or black chickpeas masala – flavorful and delicious North Indian style black chickpeas gravy recipe. This kala chana masala recipe has black chickpeas in a spiced tomato based gravy.
Dals are an integral part of Indian cuisine. They are very essential especially for a vegetarian or vegan diet as they are a good source of proteins. While I usually use moong dal as in pressure cooker dal palak for a simple everyday meal,
I occasionally use the other dals like desi kala chana which are protein-rich as well as rich in fiber. One of the kala chana recipes that I make often is black chickpeas in yogurt gravy that goes well with both rotis and rice. This black chickpeas masala curry is an onion and tomato based gravy that goes equally well with chapathis and rice. It even goes well with pooris.
This healthy kala chana masala gravy is easy to make. Kala chana needs to be soaked first and then pressure cooked till it turns soft. Meanwhile the onion and tomato based gravy with spices is prepared and the cooked chana is added to it and simmered.
For other dal recipes do check out
- radish greens dal
- green gram coconut curry
- black-eyed peas gravy
- carrot kootu
- snake gourd moong dal curry
Black chickpeas or garbanzo beans are low in fat and are a rich source of proteins and fiber. They are also a good source of calcium and iron. Its great to include them in our diet to get its nutrition benefits. Lets move on to the recipe for easy kala chana masala.
how to make kala chana masala step by step
- Firstly, wash kala chana and soak them overnight or around 7-8 hours. Drain the soaked chickpeas. Take the chickpeas in a pressure cooker.
- Pressure cook the chickpeas with salt and 2 cups water for 5 whistles or till it turns soft. Once pressure has released by itself, drain the water and transfer the cooked chickpeas to a bowl. Reserve the water so that it can be used in the gravy.
- Heat oil in a pan. Add cinnamon and cloves and saute for a few seconds. Then add the cumin seeds and once they crackle and change color slightly, add the finely chopped onion.
- Saute till onions turn translucent. Then add the finely chopped ginger, garlic and green chillies.
- Fry till the onions turn dark brown on the edges.
- Chop the tomatoes and blend them to a paste in a blender or mixer. Add this ground tomato paste and let it cook for 2 minutes.
- Next add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder and amchur powder. Also add salt accordingly ( with this in mind that little salt was already added when the kala chana was pressure-cooked ).
- Stir well and let it cook for a minute.
- Finally add the cooked black chickpeas and mix well. Mash a few chickpeas with the back of a ladle to make the gravy little thicker. Add 1 cup of water ( make use of the reserved water in which the kala chana was pressure-cooked ).
- Stir well and once the gravy comes to a boil, let it simmer on low heat for 7-8 minutes or till the gravy reaches the desired consistency. Remove from heat and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Black chickpeas masala or kala chana masala is ready to be served.
Kala Chana Masala | Black Chickpeas Curry Recipe
( 1 cup = 250 ml )
Kala Chana Masala ( Black Chickpeas Curry ) recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup kala chana / black chickpeas
- 1 onion medium-sized
- 1 green chilli
- 2 tomatoes medium-sized
- 1 tsp finely chopped garlic / lahsun
- 1 tsp finely chopped ginger / adrak
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds / jeera
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder / haldi
- 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 1/2 tsp coriander powder / dhania powder
- 1/2 tsp amchur powder / dry mango powder
- 1 inch piece cinnamon / dalchini
- 2 cloves / laung
- Coriander leaves / cilantro for garnishing
- 1 tbsp oil
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- to prepare kala chana
- Wash the black chickpeas. Take the washed chickpeas in a bowl and add water to cover them by 3 inches. Let the chickpeas soak overnight or around 7-8 hours.
- Then drain the soaked chickpeas.
- Take the chickpeas along with salt in a pressure cooker. Add 2 cups water and pressure cook the chana for 5 whistles or till it turns soft. Remove from heat.
- When the pressure has released by itself, remove the lid of the pressure cooker.
- Drain the water and transfer the cooked chickpeas to a bowl. You can reserve the water to use in the gravy.
- Meanwhile peel the onion, ginger and garlic and finely chop them. Roughly chop the green chilli.
- Also roughly chop the tomatoes and blend the tomatoes to a paste in a blender or mixer. Set this tomato paste aside in a small bowl.
- Heat oil in a kadai or pan. Add cinnamon and cloves and saute for a few seconds.
- Then add the cumin seeds and once they crackle and change color slightly, add the finely chopped onion. Saute till onions turn translucent. Then add the finely chopped ginger and garlic. Also add the chopped green chillies.
- Fry till the onions turn dark brown on the edges.
- Now add the ground tomato paste and let it cook for 2 minutes.
- Then add the turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder and amchur powder. Also add salt ( keep in mind that salt was added when the kala chana was pressure-cooked ).
- Stir well and let it cook for a minute. Finally, add the cooked black chickpeas and mix well. Mash a few chickpeas with the back of a ladle to make the gravy little thicker. Add 1 cup of water ( you can use the reserved water in which the kala chana was pressure-cooked ).
- Stir well and once the gravy comes to a boil, let it simmer on low heat for 7-8 minutes or till the gravy reaches the desired consistency.
- Remove from heat and garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.
- Kala chana masala is ready to be served hot with chapathis or rice or pooris.
to prepare kala chana masala gravy
Nutrition Information
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