Channa masala is an Indian chickpea curry. This easy recipe starts with a ground paste of onion, ginger, garlic, and spices. A little coconut milk for creaminess, dates for sweetness and tamarind for tangy. It takes only 15 minutes to cook and is absolutely delicious over my coconut turmeric rice.
The humble chickpea also known as chick peas or garbanzo beans. They are so versatile in so many cultures from the Middle Eastern Hummus to Indian channa masala.
Just as hummus is the Arabic word for chickpeas, channa is the Indian word for 'chickpeas' and masala simply refers to the 'gravy, curry or sauce.
If you've eaten channa masala in an Indian restaurant then you know it's a wonderful mix of sweet, spicy and tangy in a rich deep color sauce. While there is tomato in this dish it's not a tomato-based sauce rather the color comes from the rich paprika, cayenne or chilies. This can be a side dish to the main course but a perfect vegetarian main dish as well.
About this channa masala
Unlike my other Indian recipes where I try to make it as simple and easy as possible using easy to find ingredients in this channa masala, I've tried to bring you a little more authenticity.
While you can use paprika powder I have used the dry rehydrated paprika which gives a deep wonderful color and flavor. The dates add a touch of sweetness while the tamarind gives that distinct tang you don't get from vinegar or lemon juice.
The recipe is fairly simple, you don't need to chop many veggies because you just blend them in a food processor. The cooking itself takes 15 minutes because we use pre-cooked chickpeas.
Today I have served it over my flavorful coconut turmeric rice but it is absolutely delicious over fresh roti, chapati or even plain steamed rice.
The secret to cooking Indian food
The secret to cooking Indian food is to cook the spices well at every stage. Don't make haste saute onions until they are translucent, let ginger and garlic go fragrant. Let the tomatoes become soft so they disappear in the sauce. Cook the spices until they are fragrant. If you just add ingredients quickly to the pan and cook you will have a curry with color it will even taste good but you will lack that depth of flavor which gets builds at every stage in the cooking process.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Chickpeas - we need precooked chickpeas. I am using homemade soaked then boiled but you can use two, 15 oz cans as well.
- Paprika - I love using dried paprika but you can certainly use the paprika powder. You can also omit the hot and use only sweet paprika or use more hot paprika if you please
- Coconut milk - This is coconut milk, not cream. If you have to use cream - use just ¼ cup cream with ¼ cup water or it will be too rich.
- Tomato paste - I love the color and richness that the paste adds without all the skin and tomato juice. But you can certainly use 1 cup of finely chopped tomatoes. Make sure to saute it until the tomatoes are cooked thoroughly.
- Date - I've used a large Medjool date but you can use any dates, about 2 tbsp finely chopped should be good.
- Tamarind paste - very commonly used in Asian or Indian cooking. If you don't have tamarind use 1 tsp of vinegar or 1 tbsp of lemon juice.
Step by step instructions (Save/Pin)
For the ground masala paste
- Soak the sweet and hot paprika in a bowl with hot water for 10 minutes - then remove and discard the seed (you can keep the seeds if you want it extra spicy)
- In a food processor or blender - blend onion, garlic, ginger and both the soaked paprika.
- Use some coconut milk or water to help blend the paste.
- Then add the powders - coriander, cumin, garam masala, and turmeric - blend to a smooth paste.
Saute the channa masala
- In a heavy-bottom saute pan or cast-iron skillet
- Saute the prepared paste in cooking oil until fragrant.
- Add the remaining coconut milk and cook for 2 minutes more
- Then add the bay leaves, curry powder, and tomato paste. Cook for 2 minutes more.
- Next, add the chopped date and tamarind paste - saute 2 minutes mashing the date so it almost disappears
- Finally, add the cooked chickpeas.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Cover and let cook on medium-low for 10 minutes
- Taste and adjust seasoning and consistency. Add water for more gravy if serving over rice or keep it dryer if serving with chapati or roti.
- Garnish with fresh coriander leaves
Frequently asked questions
This channa masala recipe will keep in the fridge for 5 to 6 days. You can freeze it for up to a month too.
You can use dried chickpeas but you will need to rehydrate and cook them before you add them to this recipe. Chickpeas need to be soaked overnight to be rehydrated and then cooked in boiled water until tender.
Absolutely, this recipe is very simple and easy and can be multiplied a few times if you need to serve more people. Just change the number of servings in the recipe card below and it should calculate the recipe for you.
Soak the chickpeas in water overnight.
Drain them the next morning.
Put them in a large pot and top with fresh water about an inch higher than the chickpeas.
Bring the pot to a boil then lower the heat to gently simmer for two hours or until the chickpeas are tender
Make sure there is always enough liquid in there.
Channa means 'chickpeas' in India so this is a chickpea curry but, of course, you can use other beans and make a bean curry instead, using this recipe.
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Description
Video
Ingredients
FOR THE CHANNA MASALA
- 3 cups (3 cups) Chickpeas boiled (2 x 15 oz cans)
- 2 tbsp (2 tbsp) Cooking oil or ghee
- 3 (3 ) Bay leaves
- 4 (4 ) Curry leaves (optional)
- ½ cup (120 ml) Coconut milk
- 1 tbsp (1 tbsp) Tomato paste
- 1 (1 ) Medjool date chopped fine
- 1 tbsp (1 tbsp) Tamarind paste
- ½ tsp (½ tsp) Salt
- ¼ tsp (¼ tsp) Black pepper
GRIND TO A PASTE
- 1 cup (1 cup) Onion
- 1 tbsp (1 tbsp) Garlic chopped
- 1 tbsp (1 tbsp) Ginger chopped
- 2 (2 ) Sweet Paprika or (1 tsp powder)
- 1 (1 ) Hot Paprika or (½ tsp powder)
- 1 tsp (1 tsp) Coriander powder
- ½ tsp (½ tsp) Cumin powder
- ¼ tsp (¼ tsp) Garam masala powder
- ¼ tsp (¼ tsp) Turmeric powder
Instructions
FOR THE GROUND MASALA PASTE
- Soak the sweet and hot paprika in a bowl with hot water for 10 minutes – then remove and discard the seed (you can keep the seeds if you want it extra spicy)
- In a food processor or blender – blend onion, garlic, ginger and both the soaked paprika.
- Use some coconut milk or water to help blend the paste.
- Then add the powders – coriander, cumin, garam masala, and turmeric – blend to a smooth paste.
SAUTE THE CHANNA MASALA
- In a heavy-bottom saute pan or cast-iron skillet
- Saute the prepared paste in cooking oil until fragrant.
- Add the remaining coconut milk and cook for 2 minutes more
- Then add the bay leaves, curry powder, and tomato paste. Cook for 2 minutes more.
- Next, add the chopped date and tamarind paste – saute 2 minutes mashing the date so it almost disappears
- Finally, add the cooked chickpeas.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Cover and let cook on medium-low for 10 minutes
- Taste and adjust seasoning and consistency. Add water for more gravy if serving over rice or keep it dryer if serving with chapati or roti.
- Garnish with fresh coriander leaves
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
Tami Price
My husband made this last night with dinner and let me tell you the flavor is over the top! Thank you so much for sharing!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Tami. So happy to hear that you guys enjoyed this recipe. Thanks for coming back to write this feedback.