Chana Masala

On my first date with Noel, way back in February of 2004, he took me to an Indian restaurant before we went to see a production of Sweeney Todd. Anxious to impress this guy that I knew I really, really liked, I didn’t have the nerve to tell him that I had never had Indian food before.

But I think my bluff that I *looooved* Indian food soon became apparent, when I clearly had no clue what anything on the menu was. So I ordered something with chicken and called it a night, and Noel and I were off on our whirlwind romance. Soon we were spending every spare second together, and ordering Indian takeout every chance we got. As my love for Noel grew, so did my love for Indian food.

Then came graduate school at Maryland. I was poor and the co-op was cheap, so I started eating their hot lunch whenever I was on campus. My favorite quickly became chana masala, a big dish of curried chickpeas. When my two years at Maryland were over, I was happy to discover a local restaurant (the now defunct) Mehek where I could get my chana masala fix. After Mehek closed, I was in a void. Where could I go to satisfy my need for curried chickpeas?

Finally, after nearly a year of searching, and much tasting of inferior dishes, a solution. Make it myself!

Chana Masala
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

When I saw that Deb posted a recipe for homemade chana masala, I did a little happy dance, then sent the recipe on to Noel who insisted we try it AT ONCE! This recipe is well spiced, with some nice heat. It’s easy and relatively quick to put together, and unlike takeout Indian, there are no puddles of oil floating on top! Serve with hot basmati rice and a spoonful of yogurt for a perfect mid-winter dinner.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 medium onions, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger or powdered ginger (we used powdered)
1 fresh, hot green chili pepper, minced (we used a jalapeno)
1 tablespoon ground coriander
4 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (you can adjust this to control the heat of the dish, use less if you want something less spicy)
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 cups tomatoes, chopped small or 1 15-ounce can of whole tomatoes with their juices, chopped small
2/3 cup water
4 cups cooked chickpeas (which are 2 cups dry–I cooked my dry ones in the crockpot on high for about three hours with just enough water to cover them) or 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 teaspoon salt
juice from 1 lemon

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion, garlic, ginger and pepper and sauté over medium heat until browned. Turn heat down to medium-low and add the coriander, cumin, cayenne, paprika and garam masala. Cook onion mixture with spices for a minute or two, then add the tomatoes and their juice. Add the water and chickpeas. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, then stir in salt and lemon juice.

Special thanks to Tony G for being guest photographer on this post!

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