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Recipe-1 › Curries of the world › Chana masala

Punjab, India

Chana masala (Chole)

Chickpeas in a tangy, spiced onion-tomato gravy, the everyday favourite of North India and Pakistan. It fits the base recipe almost exactly: the chickpeas simply take the place of the vegetables.

Close to the base recipe Medium

Too hot for you? Use half the chilli (powder, paste or fresh chillies) and leave out the green chillies.

New here? How this page works

Recipe-1 is one simple curry recipe in nine steps: fry onions and green chillies, add your vegetables or meat, add chilli powder and turmeric, then water and salt, and boil. With small changes the same nine steps make curries from all over the world.

This page takes those nine steps and shows what to change to make Chana masala. You don’t need to read anything else first: every base step is written out below. The changes are worked out on paper from what is typical for this dish; not yet kitchen-tested. Cooked it? Tell others how it went.

Green: the base recipe step (crossed out = do not use it for this dish)Red: what to do instead for Chana masala

See the full base recipe (with timers and tips) · See all curries on the world map

You’ll need

How many people?4

The amounts change with the number of people; cooking times stay about the same (use a bigger pot for more). Taste as you go: you can always add more chilli or salt, but you cannot take it out.

Main ingredient: 500 g Cooked chickpeas (soaked overnight and boiled, or from a tin).

From the base recipe

  • 2 Onions
  • 2 Green chillies
  • 3 tbsp Cooking oil
  • 1 tsp Red chilli powder
  • ½ tsp Turmeric
  • 1 tsp · 300 ml Salt and water
  • 1 tbsp Ginger garlic paste
  • Cloves, cardamom and cinnamon not used
  • 1 tsp Garam masala (optional)

Add for Chana masala

  • 2 Tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 tsp · 1 tsp Ground cumin and coriander
  • 1 tsp Amchur (dry mango powder) or a squeeze of lemon
  • 2 cm Ginger
  • 1 tbsp Chana masala powder (optional)
  • 1 handful Fresh coriander leaves

Leave out

  • Nothing: use it all.

The nine steps, with the changes

Where a step has a red line, do the red line and not the crossed-out green base step. Steps with only green are done just as in the base recipe.

  1. Cut onions and chillies.

  2. Base step: do not useFry in some oil for around 4 minutes on medium-high heat.

    Chana masala: do thisFry the onions a little longer, until golden. Add ginger garlic paste.

  3. Base step: do not useCut the vegetable(s) of your choice.

    Chana masala: do thisUse the cooked chickpeas, plus 2 chopped tomatoes.

  4. Base step: do not useAdd them and fry for around 4 minutes on medium-high heat.

    Chana masala: do thisFry the tomatoes first until soft, then add the chickpeas.

  5. Base step: do not useAdd red chilli powder and turmeric.

    Chana masala: do thisAdd chilli powder and turmeric, plus ground cumin and coriander, and chana masala or garam masala.

  6. Keep frying until just before they start browning.

  7. Add some water.

  8. Add salt.

  9. Base step: do not useBoil until the gravy is as thick as you like.

    Chana masala: do thisBoil for 10–15 minutes, mashing a few chickpeas to thicken the gravy. Finish with amchur or lemon and coriander leaves.

Serve: With bhature, puri, roti or rice.

For meat and seafood, make sure it is cooked through: chicken until no pink remains inside; mutton, goat and beef need long, slow cooking.

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