chana masala recipe, how to make south indian chana masala recipe

July 17, 2016 by dassana amit 104 Comments

chana masala recipe with step by step photos – chana masala or chickpea curry is a regular dish at home. most of the times i cook the north indian punjabi chana masala.

chana masala recipe, how to make south indian chana masala recipe

the recipe posted here is a south indian version of chana masala. so as the name suggests, this chana masala recipe has south indian flavors. basically in this recipe, all the ingredients which are commonly used in south indian cooking are added, with grated coconut being one of the main ingredient.

in the punjabi style or north indian chana masala, onions, tomatoes, spices and dry pomegranate seeds or mango powder, make the masala paste and give a spicy and slight sour taste to the chana or chole recipe. apart from the above ingredients, garam masala powder or chole masala is also added to the punjabi chana masala recipe.

whereas in this chana masala the real flavor comes from the coconut and whole spices. you can actually get a distinct taste of coconut. there is a subtle sweetness and this chana masala is not sour or tangy.

the chana masala tastes spicy and goes well with rice, roti or poori. it can even go very well with bhature (leavened fried breads). if you are fond of chole bhature then you can consider serving this chana masala recipe with the homemade bhatura.

i make this chana masala, with mildly hot 2 red chilies for a low spiced version at times. and on occasions, i add 4 dry red chilies to make it spicy. so you can vary the amount of red chilies as per your taste, spice preference and the quality of red chilies. the same recipe can also be made with black chickpeas, potato or green peas.

chana masala recipe below:

4.4 from 21 reviews

chana masala recipe

prep time

9 hours

cook time

30 mins

total time

9 hours 30 mins

chana masala recipe - spicy south indian chickpea curry with coconut.

author: dassana

recipe type: main

cuisine: south indian

serves: 4

ingredients (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)

for pressure cooking the chana/chickpeas:

1 cup dried white chickpeas/kabuli chana or 180 grams of dried white chickpeas
3 cups water for pressure cooking the chana
½ tsp salt

for roasting the masala:

¾ to 1 cup fresh grated coconut
1 inch cinnamon/dal chini
½ tbsp fennel/saunf
½ tbsp cumin seeds/jeera
1 tbsp coriander seeds/sabut dhania
2 dry red chilies (3 or 4 chilies would make the dish spicy)
2-3 cloves/lavang
1 black cardamom/badi elachi
2 green cardamom/chotti elachi
4 to 5 whole black pepper
1 small piece of stone flower/dagad phool (optional)

other ingredients:

3 tbsp oil
1 small bay leaf/tej patta
½ tsp mustard seeds/rai
10-12 curry leaves/kadi patta
1 green chili, slit
50 grams onion, 1 medium onion or ⅓ cup chopped onion
80 grams tomatoes, 1 medium tomato or just about ½ cup chopped tomato
1 medium tomato, chopped
¼ or ½ tsp turmeric powder/haldi
a pinch of asafoetida/hing
½ inch ginger + 2-3 garlic - crushed or made into a paste in mortar-pestle, about 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 cup stock or stock+water
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves for garnishing
salt as required

how to make the recipe:

cooking the chana:

first rinse the 1 cup chana/dried chickpeas for a couple of times in water. then soak the chickpeas in enough water overnight or for 8 to 9 hours.
drain the water. rinse the chanas again for a couple of times.
again drain and add the soaked chanas in a pressure cooker.
add ½ tsp salt. add 3 cups water.
stir and pressure cook the chana for 18 to 20 whistles on medium to high flame.
if cooking in a pot, then add about 3.5 to 4 cups water with salt to the chickpeas. cover and cook the chickpeas till they softened.

preparing the masala:

when the chickpeas are cooking, in a pan or skillet, on a low flame dry roast the spices mentioned under the "roasting the masala" list, till they become fragrant. roast all spices except coconut.
then add ½ cup tightly packed grated coconut to the spices and begin to roast.
stir continuously while roasting the coconut, so that there is uniform browning.
roast till the coconut become golden. remove the pan and allow the this mixture to cool.
once the coconut-spice mixture is cooled, add them to wet grinder. remove the husk from the black cardamom and just add its seeds in the grinder.
add ⅔ to ¾ cup water and grind to a smooth paste. keep aside.

preparing the chana masala gravy or curry:

heat 3 tbsp oil in a pan.
add ½ tsp mustard seeds and allow them to crackle.
then add tejpatta and stir.
add ⅓ cup chopped onion.
stir and saute till the onions turn translucent and soften.
then add 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste, ¼ tsp turmeric power, a pinch of asafoetida and 10-12 curry leaves.
stir and saute till the raw aroma of ginger-garlic disappears.
add ½ cup chopped tomato. saute for about 2 to 3 minutes till the tomatoes soften.
add the ground masala paste. stir very well.
then add the drained chanas. stir again well and saute for a minute.
now add 1 cup stock or stock+water and 1 or 2 slit green chilies.
season with salt as required. do keep a check on salt as the stock already has salt.
give a boil and then simmer for 12-15 minutes on a low to medium flame or more 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 seasoning and add more salt as per your taste.
switch off the flame & lastly add 2 tbsp coriander leaves. stir well.
serve chana masala hot with pooris, chapatis, bread or steamed rice accompanied with lemon & onion slices.

Update: due to recent policies of facebook, many of you are not getting update from Veg Recipes of India facebook page. to keep getting updates, kindly go to our facebook page and click on “Liked” option and then select “See First” option under the drop down menu “IN YOUR NEWS FEED“.

lets start step by step chana masala recipe:

1. first rinse 1 cup chana/dried chickpeas for a couple of times in water. then soak the chickpeas in enough water overnight or for 8 to 9 hours. below is a pic of soaked chickpeas.

2. drain the water. rinse the chickpeas again for a couple of times.

3. again drain and add the soaked chickpeas in a pressure cooker.

4. add ½ tsp salt.

5. add 3 cups water.

6. stir and pressure cook the chickpeas for 18 to 20 whistles on medium to high flame. the chickpeas should be completely cooked and have a melt in mouth consistency.

7. when the chickpeas are cooking, you can prepare the masala. here are the spices that we will roast first – ½ tbsp fennel, ½ tbsp cumin seeds, 1 small piece of stone flower/dagad phool (optional), 4 to 5 black peppercorns, 2 green cardamoms, 2-3 cloves, 1 tbsp coriander seeds, 1 black cardamom, 1 inch cinnamon, 2 dry red chilies. for a spicy chana, add about 3 to 4 dry red chilies. the amount of red chilies to be added depends on heat quotient in the chilies. so if you use red chilies which have a high heat quotient, then just 1 or 2 dry red chilies would be fine.

8. in a pan or skillet, on a low flame dry roast the spices till they become fragrant.

9. then add ½ cup tightly packed grated coconut to the spices and begin to roast.

10. stir continuously while roasting the coconut, so that there is uniform browning.

11. roast till the coconut become golden. remove the pan and allow the this mixture to cool.

12. once the coconut-spice mixture is cooled, add them to a wet grinder jar. remove the husk from the black cardamom and just add its seeds in the grinder.

13. add about ⅔ to ¾ cup water and grind to a smooth paste. keep aside.

14. heat 3 tbsp oil in a pan.

15. add ½ tsp mustard seeds and allow them to crackle.

16. then add 1 tejpatta and stir.

17. add ⅓ cup chopped onion.

18. stir and saute till the onions turn translucent and soften.

19. then add 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste, ¼ tsp turmeric power, a pinch of asafoetida and 10-12 curry leaves.

20. stir and saute till the raw aroma of ginger-garlic disappears.

21. add ½ cup chopped tomato.

22. saute for about 2 to 3 minutes till the tomatoes soften.

23. add the ground masala paste.

24. stir very well.

25. then add the drained chickpeas. reserve the stock.

26. stir again well and saute for a minute.

27. now add 1 cup stock or stock+water and 1 or 2 slit green chilies.

28. season with salt as required. do keep a check on salt as the stock already has salt.

29. give a boil and then simmer the gravy on a low to medium flame for 12-15 minutes or more 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 seasoning and add more salt as per your taste. add more water if required.

30. lastly, switch off the flame & lastly add 2 tbsp coriander leaves. stir well.

31. serve chana masala hot with pooris, chapatis, bread or steamed rice accompanied with lemon & onion slices.

Install Free iOS App for Veg Recipes of India Recipes
Install Free Android App for Veg Recipes of India Recipes

Share this recipe - Spread the joy of cooking
Follow us on Social Media

{ 104 Responses }