Chickpea Curry Recipe | Coconut Chickpea Curry
While chickpeas made in a curried way is most popular in the northern part of India, this one here is a South Indian style Chickpea Curry Recipe. A highly protein laden dish, this Coconut Chickpea Curry is a spicy and super delicious curry preparation made with healthy white chickpeas, bold spices and fragrant coconut. This is even vegan. Also, don’t get intimidated with the long list of ingredients. If you follow the recipe well, making this curry is not that difficult.
About Chickpea Curry
In my personal collection of recipes, I have quite a few varieties of the Chickpea Curry which I make regularly at home.
My all-time favorite is this robust and flavorsome one, the authentic Punjabi Chole Masala. This recipe has a good balance of spiciness and tanginess, which enhances the overall flavors too. It is just like the Chickpea Curry you get on the streets of Delhi and Punjab.
However, the Coconut Chickpea Curry recipe that I have here on this post is a South Indian version. So, the real taste comes from the coconut and whole spices that are used in this particular variation of the dish.
The distinct taste of coconut is quite dominant in this South Indian variant. Also, there is a subtle sweetness in this preparation, and it is not sour or tangy.
Basically, in this Chickpea Curry recipe, all commonly used ingredients of South Indian cooking are added. The grated coconut being one of the main ingredients which just makes the dish awesome.
You can also experiment and make the same recipe with black chickpeas, green peas or cauliflower or potato as well.
The masala paste of the Punjabi or North Indian style Chickpea Curry uses onions, tomatoes, spices, dried pomegranate seeds or dried mango powder. This also imparts the desired spiciness spicy and sourness in the curry.
Along with these ingredients, garam masala powder or chana masala powder is also primary in this typical way of preparing the dish.
But in this Coconut Chickpea Curry recipe from the South Indian cuisine, I add 2 mildly hot dried red chilies for a lesser spicy version at times.
On some other occasions, I add 4 dried red chilies to increase the fieriness. So, you can vary the quantity of red chilies as per your taste, spice preference and the quality of red chilies.
Dried Chickpeas or Canned Chickpeas
I always use dried chickpeas when making any recipe with it. Soaking dried chickpeas and then cooking them is an additional prep work that you need to do. But my recipe works great with canned chickpeas too.
The coconut and spices curry base is so flavorful, that once you add water, simply add the canned chickpeas (after draining the liquids and rinsing). Mix and stir to combine and simmer for some minutes.
To make Chickpea Coconut Curry with canned chickpeas, add 3 cups of the canned chickpeas. Remember to drain all the liquids from the canned chickpeas and thoroughly rinse the chickpeas a few times in water, before you add them to the curry base.
How to make Chickpea Curry
Pressure Cook Chickpeas
1. First, rinse 1 cup dried white chickpeas for a couple of times in water. Then, soak the chickpeas in 3 cups water overnight or for 8 to 9 hours. Below is a photo of the soaked chickpeas.
Tip: If you have forgotten to soak the chickpeas, soak them in hot water for 2 hours.
2. Drain the water. Rinse the chickpeas again a couple of times.
3. Again drain all of the water and add the soaked chickpeas in a 3 litre stovetop pressure cooker. Add ½ teaspoon salt.
If you do not have a stovetop pressure cooker, cook chickpeas in a pot or pan covering them with 3.5 to 4 cups of water. Or opt to cook them in the Instant Pot adding 3 cups of water.
5. Add 3 cups water.
6. Stir to mix. Cover tightly with the pressure cooker’s lid. Pressure cook the chickpeas for about 20 to 22 minutes or 18 to 20 whistles on medium to high heat. The chickpeas should be completely cooked and have a melt-in-mouth consistency.
Note: If cooking chickpeas in a pot, add about 3.5 to 4 cups water with salt to the chickpeas. Cover and cook the chickpeas till softened.
Make Chickpea Curry Base
7. While the chickpeas are cooking, prepare the curry base. Gather the spices listed below:
- ½ tablespoon fennel seeds
- ½ tablespoon cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 4 to 5 black peppercorns
- 2 green cardamoms
- 2 to 3 cloves
- 1 black cardamom
- 1 inch cinnamon
- 2 dried red chilies (mild to medium hot), seeds removed
- 1 small piece stone flower (dagad phool), optional
For a spicy taste, add about 3 to 4 dried red chilies. The amount of red chilies to be added depends on the heat quotient in the chilies.
So, if you use red chilies which have a high heat quotient, then just 1 or 2 dried red chilies would be fine.
8. You need to toast or roast the spices first. In a frying pan or skillet, dry roast all the spices stirring often on low heat till they become fragrant – taking care that you do not burn them.
9. Next, add ½ cup tightly packed grated fresh coconut and continue to roast.
Do not worry if you do not have fresh coconut. Instead add about ⅓ cup of unsweetened desiccated or shredded coconut.
10. Stir continuously while roasting the coconut, so that there is uniform browning.
11. Roast till the coconut becomes golden. Remove the pan from heat and allow this mixture to cool.
12. Once the coconut-spice mixture is cooled, add it to a high-speed blender or a mixer-grinder jar.
Also remember to remove the husk from the black cardamom and just add its seeds in the blender or grinder.
13. Add about ⅔ to ¾ cup water and grind to a fine and smooth paste. Ensure that the curry paste is not gritty or has fine chunks of the spices or coconut. Set aside.
Make Coconut Chickpea Curry
14. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a pan. Keeping heat to a low, add ½ teaspoon mustard seeds and allow them to crackle.
16. Then, add 1 tej patta (Indian bay leaf) and stir.
17. Add ⅓ cup finely chopped onions.
18. Stir and sauté till the onions turn translucent and soften on low to medium heat.
19. Add the below listed ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder (ground turmeric)
- 1 pinch of asafoetida (hing)
- 10 to 12 curry leaves
20. Stir and sauté on low heat for a few seconds or until the raw aroma of ginger-garlic goes away.
21. Add ½ cup chopped tomatoes.
22. Sauté on low to medium heat for about 2 to 3 minutes or till the tomatoes soften.
23. Add the prepared curry paste.
24. Stir very well to combine with the rest of the sautéed ingredients.
25. Then, add the drained and cooked chickpeas.
26. Stir well again and sauté for a minute.
27. Now, add 1 cup water and 1 or 2 slit green chilies.
28. Season with salt as required. Mix again.
29. First bring to a boil on medium heat and later simmer the curry on low to medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes; or till the curry thickens a bit and you see some oil floating on top.
Mash a few chickpeas with the back of the spoon to thicken the curry. Check the seasonings and add more salt as per your taste. Add more water, if needed depending on the consistency you prefer.
30. Lastly, switch off the heat and add 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves (cilantro). Stir well.
31. Serve Chickpea Curry hot with Indian breads like poori, Naan, tandoori roti, bhatura, aloo paratha, bread, jeera rice or steamed rice accompanied with lemon wedges and onion slices.
Expert Tips for Chickpea Curry
- Chickpea Quality: Remember to always use fresh dried white chickpeas and the ones which are in their shelf period. If you use aged chickpeas, it will take more time to cook and the dish will not even taste good.
- Swapping with Canned Chickpeas: In case you have canned chickpeas at home over dried chickpeas, you can make the dish with it as well. You may use about 3 cups canned chickpeas in that case.
- Cooking Chickpeas in a pan: If you plan to cook the chickpeas in a pot, add about 3.5 to 4 cups water and salt to the chickpeas. Then, cover and cook till the chickpeas soften.
- Spiciness: Make the curry less or more spicy by adding less or more dried red chilies. The quantity will also depend on the spice and heat quotient of the chilies.
- Fats: You can use ghee in place of oil to cook this recipe. In this case, it will not be vegan. The recipe is also possible with black chickpeas instead of white chickpeas. You can also add make the same curry cauliflower, potatoes or green peas.
- Leftovers: The leftover curry can be refrigerated for 1 to 2 days. However, I recommend you consume it the same day to avoid any digestion-related issues. Before serving the refrigerated curry, gently reheat it in a pan. If the curry has become too thick, add some water to dilute the consistency a bit and then reheat.
FAQs
Can I make this recipe without dry roasting the spices for the coconut curry base?
You may try. But I suggest you do as a curry base prepared with freshly toasted/roasted and ground spices imparts a different and unique flavor in the dish as compared to the one made with pre-ground spices.
How can I store the leftover curry?
This Coconut Chickpea Curry will stay good in the refrigerator for about 1 to 2 days.Just make sure to reheat it properly before serving.
I want to use canned chickpeas to make this recipe. How do I go about it?
Since canned chickpeas are pre-cooked, you just have to prepare the base curry. Once you make it, add the canned chickpeas in it and let the curry simmer for a some minutes or until it is slightly thickened or reached the desired consistency.
Can I prepare this curry in ghee?
Yes, you can certainly prepare the curry in ghee. Note, then it won’t be anymore vegan.
Step by Step Photo Guide Above
Chickpea Curry Recipe | Coconut Chickpea Curry
Ingredients
For soaking & pressure cooking chickpeas
- 1 cup dried white chickpeas (kabuli chana or safed chana) – 180 grams
- 3 cups water – for soaking
- 3 cups water – for pressure cooking
- ½ teaspoon salt
For toasting or roasting spices
- ½ cup fresh grated coconut – tightly-packed
- 1 inch cinnamon
- ½ tablespoon fennel seeds
- ½ tablespoon cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 2 dry red chilies or 3 to 4 chillies – would make the dish spicy. remove the seeds.
- 2 to 3 cloves
- 1 black cardamom
- 2 green cardamoms
- 4 to 5 black peppercorns
- 1 small piece stone flower (dagad phool, pathar phool), optional
Other ingredients to make curry
- 3 tablespoons oil
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 tej patta (Indian bay leaf), small-sized
- ⅓ cup onions – finely chopped, 50 grams or 1 medium-sized
- 1 teaspoon Ginger Garlic Paste or 2 to 3 small to medium, peeled garlic cloves and ½ inch peeled ginger crushed or made into a paste in mortar-pestle
- ¼ or ½ teaspoon turmeric powder (ground turmeric)
- 1 pinch asafoetida (hing), optional
- 10 to 12 curry leaves
- ½ cup tomatoes – finely chopped, 80 grams or 1 medium-sized
- 1 cup water or add as required
- 1 green chilli – slit
- 2 tablespoons coriander leaves (cilantro) – chopped, for garnish
- salt as required
Instructions
Cooking chickpeas
- First rinse the dried chickpeas for a couple of times in water. Then soak the chickpeas in 3 cups of water overnight or for 8 to 9 hours.
- Drain the water. Rinse the chickpeas again for a couple of times.
- Again drain all the water and add the soaked chickpeas in a 3 litre stovetop pressure cooker.
- Add ½ teaspoon salt and 3 cups water. Stir to mix.
- Pressure cook the chickpeas for 20 to 22 minutes or 18 to 20 whistles on medium to high heat.
- If cooking chickpeas in a pot, then add about 3.5 to 4 cups water and salt to the chickpeas. Cover and cook the chickpeas till they softened.
Making curry paste
- When the chickpeas are cooking, you can roast or toast the spices. Gather all the spices you will need and set them aside.
- In a pan or skillet, on a low heat dry roast the spices except coconut – listed under the "toasting or roasting the spices" heading above, till they become fragrant. Take care not to burn them, so roast them on low heat and stir often.Remember to roast all spices except coconut.
- Once the spices smell fragrant, add the fresh grated coconut to the spices and begin to roast or toast on low heat.Note you could use either fresh grated coconut or frozen shredded coconut and even ⅓ cup of unsweetened shredded or desiccated coconut.
- Stir continuously while roasting the coconut, so that there is uniform and even cooking.
- Roast till the coconut become golden. Remove the pan from the stovetop allow the this mixture to cool at room temperature.
- Once the coconut-spice mixture is cooled, add them to a high-speed blender or mixer-grinder. Make a note to remove the husks from the black cardamom and just add its seeds in the blender or grinder.
- Add ⅔ to ¾ cup water and grind to a smooth and fine consistency making sure the curry paste does not have any small chunks or bits of the spices and coconut.
Making chickpea curry
- Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a pan. Keep heat to a low or medium-low.
- Add the mustard seeds and allow them to crackle. Then add tejpatta and stir.
- Next add the finely chopped onions. Stir and sauté on low to medium heat till the onions turn translucent and soften.
- Add ginger-garlic paste, turmeric power, asafoetida and curry leaves.
- Stir and sauté for a few seconds on low heat till the raw aroma of ginger-garlic goes away.
- Add the chopped tomatoes. Sauté on a low to medium heat, for about 2 to 3 minutes till the tomatoes soften.
- Add the ground coconut and spices curry paste. Stir very well to combine.
- Then add the drained and cooked chickpeas. Stir again well and saute for a minute.
- Now add 1 cup of water and 1 or 2 slit green chilies.
- Season with salt as required.
- Give a boil first and then simmer the curry for 10 to 15 minutes on a low to medium heat or till the gravy thickens a bit and you see some oil floating on top.
- Mash a few chickpeas with the sides of the spoon to thicken the gravy. Check the seasonings and add more salt if you prefer.
- Switch off the heat. Lastly add chopped coriander leaves. Stir well.
- Serve Chickpea Curry hot with chapati, poori, bread or steamed rice accompanied with lemon wedges and thin onion slices or a side of vegetable salad.
Notes
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Dried Chickpeas: Use 3 cups of canned chickpeas.
- Stone flower: Can be skipped.
- Asafoetida: Optional ingredient and can be left out.
- Fresh Coconut: Swap with ⅓ cup of unsweetened shredded coconut or can make the curry paste with frozen shredded coconut.
- Curry leaves: Gives a lot of flavor to the curry, so do not omit it from the recipe. You could also add dried curry leaves instead.
- Black mustard seeds: Swap with small yellow mustard seeds.
- Dry red chillies: Add chillies which are less spicy or medium-spicy. You could also use the Indian variety of Kashmiri red chillies. If out of red chillies, add ½ teaspoon red chilli powder or cayenne pepper or paprika when you add turmeric powder to the softened onions.
Recipe Notes
- If you have forgotten to soak chickpeas, soak them in hot water for 2 hours.
- For a less spicy curry, add only 1 red chilli or half of one chilli.
- Since coconut is one of the important ingredient in the recipe, make sure it is fresh and not rancid. The coconut should have a mild sweet taste.
- You can cook chickpeas in an Instant Pot or in a pan on the stovetop adding water as needed.
- If using canned chickpeas, add them when you add water to the curry paste. Simmer for some minutes until the curry thickens a bit and the chickpeas absorb the flavor of the curry.
- Leftovers can be refrigerated for 1 to 2 days.
- For a gluten-free curry, do not add asafoetida (hing).
Nutrition
This Chickpea Curry recipe from the blog archives, first published in July 2013 has been republished and updated on December 2022.
wonderful dish!! i love adding coconut to recipes
Thank you for all your recipes. I always find them easy to follow and adapt to ingredients I have available. I am keen on trying this recipe. Do you think I can use store bought chana masala powder with coconut in place of the whole spices?
Thanks a lot. Yes you can do that. The flavor and taste of the curry will depend on the quality, aroma and flavors of the masala powder added.
Thank you. Looking forward to trying this out ?
I tried yesterday. Turned out awesome ?. Thanks for the lovely recipe. Everyone liked a lot. Super taste.
Thank you for the rating and the review on the recipe. Glad to know. Happy cooking.
The aroma whilst cooking was so enticing, that I was salivating!
I cooked this for friends and everybody loved it.
Thank you soo much for such delicious curry.
Welcome Vikram. Nice to know this.
Hello dassanaji!!! Wondering how I have never viewed did recipe even though I m following u for yrs…..hope ur new year is going good….gonna try did recipe as soon as possible. Sorry 4 asking u again n again pls share the recipe of eggless vattalappam recipe with us dassana ji if possible….. Thanks a ton!!!
thanks aishu. it happens. the structure of website is such that many recipe get hidden. this is a very good curry and you can try at home. i have got a couple of requests for vattalappam. in fact i had an eggless version in one of the hotels in kumarakom in kerala and it was very good. so i will try to add the recipe in some time.
Thanks for sharing this recipe. It is really very nice.
Welcome AGS
Thank you for all your amazing recipes.
One point missing in this recipe is the number of whistles needed for cooking the chana. All your other recipes I have tried mentions this.
Thank you once again
Roshni
Welcome Roshni. Usually I try to mention. However the time to cook chana varies as it depends upon many factor like size of cooker, age of chana and intensity of flame. older the chana, the more time it takes to cook.
Thank you for this detailed recipe which turned out awesome, followed exactly step by step and the result was outstanding ????
Welcome Shuba. Thanks for your positive comment on chana masala recipe.
In the recipe, you mention “pressure cook the chana for 18 to 20 whistles”. How many minutes would 18 to 20 whistles convert? (I prefer to take my attention off cooking while pressure cooker is doing its job. If you specify the minutes it is convenient to come back after the specified number of minutes)
Appreciate this awesome recipe. Thank you in advance
thanks. 18 to 20 whistles is about 20 to 22 minutes.
Liked your capsicum curry, channa masala, the way you have given instructions is very good, Thanku
thank you swetha. do try the other recipes as well. happy cooking.
Hi! What do you mean by stock? Vegetable stock?
here in this recipe the stock is the water in which in the chickpeas were cooked.
For the wet grinder, is it the same device you use for dry grinding, and you just add water before grinding? Or is it a different device?
i use the same device and jar for both wet grinding and dry grinding. for wet grinding, i do add water before grinding. here is link to the grinder i use – https://www.amazon.in/Preethi-Blue-Leaf-Platinum-139/dp/B008LN5D4G
Is there any substitute of coconut
you can use coconut milk. also instead of fresh coconut, you can use desiccated coconut.
I can’t wait to try and make this version tonight. I made the Punjabi-style from your website several times, and it simply amazing.
I was just curious, do you ever add anything else to the chickpeas when you cook them? I have read/seen the addition of baking soda helps cooks the peas more quickly, and cooks the inside without drying. In addition to the beautiful color the tea/gooseberries provides, the theory is it also counteracts the bitter tasting baking soda.
Could anything be used for the same effect?
thanks bryan. while cooking chickpeas, i usually do not add baking soda. but yes on rare occasions i have added baking soda and it does help the chickpeas to have a soft melt in the mouth texture. just add a pinch of baking soda. this much does not give any bitter taste. if more is added, then yes bitter taste will be felt. there is nothing that can replace baking soda.
I tried Channa Masala today for Aapams.. They just turned out to be Wow….I don’t cook onion and garlic.. I omitted the onion and garlic and remaining ingredients were all the same.. It was Superb. We offered it to lord Jaganath today..Thank you Dassana!
Welcome Preeja. Glad to know this. Thanks for sharing that without onion garlic the recipe still taste yum.
Thanks for this recipe. I made it (minus black cardamon and mustard seed, which I didn’t have) and found it delicious. It reminded me very much of a chana served with appam in Chennai saravana bhavan. (that is meant to be a compliment)
thank you minnmichelle. i have never had any dishes from saravana bhavan, but heard a lot about them. thanks for the compliment ????
Tried this recipe today and my family loved it! thank you so much 🙂
Welcome Tanusha. Nice to know that you all liked chana masala recipe.
Goodness me, your recipe tastes absolutely wonderful! Thank you for such detailed yet utterly clear instructions, it turned out absolutely perfectly.
I did have to make a couple of amendments, mainly because I don’t have a wet grinder. I toasted the spices and ground them in a coffee grinder, then made a paste with water. For the coconut I had to use a creamed coconut block which I finely grated and added to the ingredients.
Before adding the chick peas I used a hand blender to make sure everything was as finely paste as possible. The end result was not grainy at all, so this method will work if you don’t have a wet grinder.
Also, as I had them in the cupboard, I added the juice of half a lemon, and a tiny pot’s worth of mango chutney. These additions certainly didn’t hurt the flavour.
Once again, thanks you so much! I can’t wait to try more of your recipes.
thanks a lot lee. i am amazed at the small and useful steps you have implemented in the absence of a wet grinder. great 🙂
thanks for sharing all the methods and variations you have done as this will help readers who do not have a wet grinder. do try the other recipes as well. happy cooking.
I’m getting so hungry looking at this recipe, I’m dying to make it! But I have no stone flower, curry leaves, hing, or cardamom pods. I do have cardamom seeds, though. How much seed should I use, & are there any substitutes for the flower, leaves, & hing? Or should I try a different recipe?
druid, for some reason, your comments were in the spam folder. not sure why.
you can skip stone flower and hing. curry leaves gives their aroma and taste, so my suggestion would be not to skip it. but if you do not get them where you live, then you do not have any option, but to make the chana masala without curry leaves.
for cardamom seeds, you can add 2 to 3 cardamom seeds. there is no substitute for curry leaves, stone flower.
you can try this recipe as i feel these ingredients will not be difficult for you to have or get – https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/punjabi-chole-chickpeas-in-a-spicy-gravy/
Hi. Do you have a suggestion for a wet grinder?
by wet grinder, you mean the table top grinder (for grinding idli & dosa batter) or the mixer-grinder used in indian homes for grinding, blending and juicing?
Too good, but if possible translate the words which can be know easy
in which language. hindi or other language.
Tried it out and my entire family loved ur awesome recipe. Thanks Dassana. Keep it going.
nice to know sai and thanks for sharing.
replace coconut with kaju paste and it is super delicious. spices and kaju to be ground separately.
thanks sandhya for sharing your suggestions, indeed kaju paste will add rich flavor and texture. traditionally coconut is added.
Thanks for posting such superb reciepes, your webpage is my go to place whenever I cook something new and it turns out delicious and awesome.I tried this chole reciepe today and it turned out excellent tastewise but somehow the texture of the gravy came out to be granular and inconsistent, what should I do to get a smooth, consistent, well bound thick gravy?
Is it that I need to grind all coconut gravy ingredients for some more time till they become fine and smooth?
Thanks dassana madam and keep posting such beautiful, neatly presented and well articulated recipes. 🙂
thanks a lot chaaya. the coconut masala needs to be ground fine. if the coconut and spices are not ground fine, the granular or gritty effect will be felt in the gravy. the coconut-spice paste should be smooth. this is applicable for most coconut based gravies, unless otherwise mentioned in the recipe.
verry nice …
thank you ankit 🙂
Thanks Dassanna
It was awesome
Welcome Nisha
Hi.. superb one. I just love all your recipes. Let me try this chana masala tonight for chapati.
Could u pls let know what is “stock” mentioned in the last point ? Thanks
thanks harini. the stock is the water in which the chana are cooked.
What a Great Recipe…… Awesome taste Dassana…. Loved it…..
thanks a lot kavita.
I was interested as the recipe is a variation of the regular chole masala,but all the recipes I have read so far have onion and garlic. How about giving alternative spices as quite a few of us are no onion no garlic people. Thanks
i do plan to add a no onion no garlic version of chole masala. about giving alternatives in a recipe containing onion garlic can be tricky as the other ingredients required have to be used in precision, so that there is an overall good balance of taste and flavor in the dish.
HI,
I love the recipe but I was wondering if I can substitute for some of the ingredients if I can’t find them like the curry leaves or asafoetida.
you cannot substitute asofoetida and curry leaves as they have their own property and characteristics. hope this help’s you 🙂 at the most you could skip them but that would impact the taste of the recipe.
Thanks for one’s marvelous posting! I certainly enjoyed reading it, you
are a great author. I will be sure to bookmark your blog and definitely will come back in the future.
I want to encourage you to definitely continue your great job, have a
nice morning!
thankyou harga for your mind words 🙂
Hi, Can I know what stock is being used in this recipe?
its the stock in which the chickpeas are cooked.
Looks yumm gonna surely try tomorrow
Kept chickpea for soaking overnight
Can’t wait for the taste. I basically don’t use coconut in curries but I’m using it as it has to be used in this recipe let’s see he outcome
I’m sure it will taste best thnx 4 d recipe 🙂
thanks sadiya. the recipe is good and i hope you like it.
I always like to try your recipes as they are very simple and easy to make .and very tasty. I have tried 3 receipes .they were very tasty and my children couldn’t believe it was home made.II got a lot of praises . thanks a lot. I’ll try this too today.
very pleased to know this laxmi 🙂 thankyou for trying the recipes and glad your kids liked them and you are always welcome.
Loved this recipe and the food. I don’t know what it was but the flavor was unique compare to chana masala i’ve made before. Perhaps it was the coconut flakes.
thanks puru. yes you are right. coconut changes the flavor.
Very special to my kitchen thanks
welcome anu
Hi Dassana,
I want to try this recipe. Looks very yummy! I have never made with fresh coconut. Is it okay to use dry coconut?
thanks aparna. yes its alright.
I just made this and it tasted amazing! What kind of wet grinder do you use? I tried to make the paste in my blender but could not get it so smooth! Help please!
thanks ashlee. i use an indian brand ‘preethi’. its a good grinder.
Very tasty recipe and other recipes also very good
Namaste dassana, I have found your beautiful blog searching for chana masala recipe and I immediately understood to be in the right place. Your post is so true and familiar that I had the sensation to be with a real Indian chef while cooking chana masala in my kitchen… And what a delicious dinner! Thank you for sharing your talent.
welcome. thanks for sharing positive feedback and your kind words.
All of the spices taste amazing! I ended up using my Vitamix to blend/grind the coconut and spices. It was pretty smooth, but in wasn’t as smooth as tomato paste. Should it be? Thank you for such a yummy recipe!
welcome joyce. yes it should be smooth and fine.
This recipe is brilliant … seriously bang on .. followed it point by point and was completely impressed by how awesome it was. Loved it
Nice stuff, ill try some other recipes on this website (this was the first i tried)
thanks devon. glad to know that you liked the recipe.
I make this recipe whole family likes masala chana love it
thanks pinaki
hi!
can i use frozen channa which i previously soaked a few days ago but was not able to use?
thanks
welcome sach. yes you can use. provided they are still in good condition.
Hi dassana . I just tried this recipe came out very well. Superb.. Thank u .. Do posting many reciepes…
welcome sriranjani. glad to know this.
simple….. and beautifully presented….. thank you soo much for the wonderful recipie…<3 🙂
welcome nishan
Chana, I love, my favorite. You can cook Chana in anyway you want and you won’t hurt my feeling. Thank you. Lok Patel
welcome lokanath
Looks yummy..Wanna try it..Can I use frozen coconut instead of fresh?will it taste good too?
yes you can use frozen coconut. but fresh coconut always taste better.
I used unsweetened coconut flakes from baking aisle and it tastes just as great.
thanks for sharing your feedback.
Nice. Simple but taste yummy. Thanks for recipes
welcome jennifer
Thank u ! That Was a perfect recipie . Keep posting
welcome vani
It’s tasty
thanks shabana
Greetings. I just made this recipe, tasted a bit when done and it seemed great. Question: I see turmeric in the ingredients list but not in the directions. When should it be added? I threw it in together with the asafoetida, since it is also a powdered dry spice, but cannot be sure if that was right.
As an aside, I will need to get a proper spice grinder; my combination of mortar and pestle followed by blender did not really produce the desired results for texture! But I think the flavors came through nicely nonetheless.
thanks for the feedback nels and also for letting us know about the turmeric bit. i have updated in the post. you can add turmeric along with the asafoetida. its right. one needs a good grinder or a blender to make a smooth masala paste. for making indian food on a regular basis, which require a thorough grinding of coconut or spices, an indian brand of mixer-grinder is a good investment.
Thank you for this delicious recipe. I cooked this for my friends and everybody loved it!
welcome hanneke
I cooked this for my friends and they loved it! Thanks!
welcome hanneke
it”s zoo good.i put this recipe to my hubby.he loved me & recipe too
thanks harini for sharing positive feedback.
I just discovered this blog and LOVE it!
I was hoping to make this recipe for dinner, but I don’t have time to soak the chickpeas. Would I be able to cheat and either use canned chickpeas or cook the chick peas in boiling water for a couple minutes and then let them sit in the hot water for an hour? Love the recipes!
thanks. you can use canned chickpeas. also you can boil water and allow to soak the chickpeas for at least 2 hours.
Its yummy
thanks chaithra
hi dassana, awesome recipe.the gravy was very much tasty and sufficient for 5 of us, i was able to serve more unlike the onion based channa masala.i have to use more onions for that.but this recipe requires very little amount of onion.the coconut gives the more volume i think.thanks for the recipe.my family just loved it.
welcome harini. thanks for sharing positive feedback.
Dassna, this recipe was just amazing! Thank you. I was looking for alternatives for the regular north indian/punjabi garam masala and this was awesome!
welcome aarthi
Hi Dassana thank u for a lip smacking yummmmmm recipe. made it twice already.absolutely loved it .Would give it a 100 stars if i cud(it was tat gud ) .wanna try the palak paneer recipe next.
thanks sania for this awesome feedback.
Hi dassanna,
Gonna try this channa masala..I have some doubts before trying it..can I temper the whole spices like cloves,cardamom instead of roasting and grinding?also both green and black cardamom won’t make over powerful aroma? We like the flavour of those whole spices to be mild..suggest me whether to reduce the whole spices and grind it or to temper..
hi viji, if you temper the full flavors & taste won’t come through. the usp of this recipe is the roasting and grinding of the whole spices and the coconut. both the cardamoms don’t give a powerful aroma as coconut is added, which also balances the intensity of the spices. but for a milder version, you reduce the spices. just skip the black cardamom in this case.
Thanks for this wonderful recipe, turned out great in my humble kitchen. I wonder, though, why you put the dry-roasted spices in water? I did it and tried blending, but didn’t get anywhere near a smooth paste.
It was quite chunky, even though it smelled and tasted great when I put it into the dish. (btw I used desiccated coconut). Would it be a good idea to put it through a sieve after blending?
I liked the recipe a lot to be clear, but other people may not like chunks of spices and coconut. That is why I am asking this 🙂
thanks milos. the spices including coconut needs to be ground very well. basically its the coconut which need to be ground to a smooth paste. generally western made blenders don’t do a thorough job of grinding coconut.
one needs a really & sturdy good mixer-grinder, preferably an indian make one. since i have used fresh coconut, it needs to be ground well in some water. the water helps in grinding the coconut easily. bit if use desiccated coconut, then no need to add any water while grinding.
use a good coffee grinder and grind the roasted spices with the coconut in batches to a fine mixture. i would not suggest to use a sieve as most of the flavors of the spices and coconut will be lost then. try using a coffee grinder or a spice grinder to powder the roasted spices and coconut.
I used desiccated coconut again, but without water, so as if making garam masala with coconut. It turned out without chunks and the taste was again wonderful, needless to say. I suppose this can be done when preparing any other curry?
You are right about a hand grinder, much better and more practical for small quantities of spices than a big blender.
yes, milos this method can be done when preparing any curry. desiccated coconut works very well in the absence of fresh coconut. again if you roast the coconut, it gives a wonderful aroma and flavor to the curry. yes, small grinders are better to grind small amount of spices than large blenders.
Very good systematic instructions.Excellent pics.Looks mouth-watering.
thanks.
Superrrrrr…
Can I substitute dried chickpeas with fresh ones? I found these beautiful and fresh chickpeas (still in the shell) at my local international market. I thought it will eliminate the pressure cook step and go straight to add fresh chickpeas on step 20. Do you think this will work? Thanks!
with fresh chickpeas, the texture as well as the taste would be different. i would still say go ahead with the recipe. it will taste good. you can also steam the fresh chickpeas before you add them at step 20.
Try this
Very tasty. The curry leaves are definitely “up front” on this dish. I used half a cup of desiccated coconut, which wasn’t nearly enough to be detectable. Overall very nice, but a lot different than the dish by the same name I’ve had in Indian restaurants in the US. Next time around I’ll knock down the curry leaves and increase the coconut. That should balance out the flavors.
thanks rob. glad to know that you liked the chana recipe.
Well this recipe is going to be my go-to chana dish, after six months and almost a dozen recipes tried. This time I added the curry leaves directly to the chutney. I decided to garnish with a few fried onions (in a bag from the local Indian store) and cilantro. Perhaps not very authentic, but it was crazy good.
thanks rob. this is also my go to chana dish with coconut 🙂
This is the second dish I’ve cooked from your website and just like the other it’s the best version of the dish I’ve ever tasted. I actually made it twice in one morning because the first time, after peeling and shredding and toasting the coconut and spices, I melted my spatula into it after picking up the wrong one :-O
Now I want to try all your recipes. 🙂
thanks a lot lucy. happens when cooking… the spatulas get interchanged 🙂
Jus tried it and my husband loved it. Got a little spicy so I added some flour mixture. Very easy to make, you’ve solved my problem of hesitating to buy the ready channa masala . Lovely, thank you for posting
thanks shankari. nice to know that you liked the chana masala recipe.
Hi
Just wondering, I can’t be certain how the fennel should be added. You say 1/2 tbsp.
I assume you mean 1/2 tbsp of fennel seeds?
Thanks!
fran, it is half table spoon of fennel.
thank you dassana!
In the ‘other ingredients’ list you have mentioned bayleaf, asafoetida and green chilli. But none of these is mentioned in the recipe. Pls clarify when these should be added. Thanks.
thanks nina for pointing out the mistake. i have updated the recipe detail. please check. green chili was already mentioned in step 20. do share your feedback once you try the chana masala recipe.
This looks wonderful–pinning now!
It is wonderful that you make the masala for the chana from scratch. The chana looks very tempting and in fact one almost feels like polishing it off right away from the screen!
I am yet to try your wheat flour Bhatura and here you are with a gorgeous looking channa masala recipe!!Got to try both soon!
Ooooh this looks so comforting and delicious! I cannot wait to try it!