Chana masala recipe

hardly my best rendition but it'll do

I dedicate this post to my friend David Wright. I have had the pleasure of cooking for many friends by now, but David is unique in that he was persistent about asking for the recipe I cooked for him. I eventually sent him 15 hurried videos on Instagram. Some weeks later he called me and enthusiastically told me he was going to try my recipe, and even sent me photos. It is a pleasant memory.

INGREGIENTS for 2 servings

Onions, 2 medium/small or 1 humongous

Garlic, many cloves

Ginger, either paste or whole if you like chopping

Tomatoes, 2 medium

Oil, preferably canola or olive

Chickpeas, 1 large can (pre-cooked, i.e. not raw!)

Okra, Frozen, and good quality (optional)

SPICES (whatever you can manage)

Cumin seeds (whole)

Coriander powder

Red Chili powder

Turmeric powder

Cumin powder

“Curry” powder (it’s complicated why I put that in quotes)

Garam masala

STEP 0: Open your house’s windows

STEP 1: Prepare all ingredients

Finely chop your onions, garlic, and ginger

Chop your tomatoes

Drain and rinse your chickpeas

It’s nice to prepare your ingredients before you start cooking- this is called mise en place. I don’t really do it, but since I am documenting it for your sake, dear reader, I might as well write it in the best way possible.

STEP 2: Heat your pot/pan on medium heat

This pan has to be able to endure a decent amount of heat. I like to use a stainless-steel pressure cooker because it is large and can withstand plenty of heat. The additional depth of the pot also allows me to not worry about space management. I can also cover it which is nice.

STEP 3: Cumin seeds and onion

Once your pan is hot, add some cooking oil. I like to be pretty generous, and you can be too. Don’t be afraid. This is literally the only source of fat in this dish.

⚠️: Once the oil is hot, add many cumin seeds. These seeds are supposed to splutter. If they splutter too quickly then be prepared to add the onions. You don’t want to burn them!

Add all your chopped onion and give it a quick stir. Now you have to let all of this cook for a while. Anywhere between 5-8 minutes can work. The onions need to change color. Sometimes I like to cover the pan to let them cook a little quicker.

STEP 4: Garlic and ginger

Add the finely chopped garlic and ginger to the pan. You can let this cook for much less time, just don’t burn it I guess.

⚠️: You can add the spices I mention below now in order to “toast” them. You have to be careful, because depending on the heat of your pan, these can burn very quickly. If you are unsure/inexperienced, I wouldn’t try this just yet and would add everything with the tomatoes in STEP 5 instead.

                  Coriander powder

                  Cumin powder

                  Turmeric powder

                  Red Chili powder

STEP 5: Tomatoes

Once everything seems kind of well done, add your chopped tomatoes. You can consider increasing the heat to medium-high if you like. Just keep an eye on them.

Add curry powder. If you never added any of the previous spices you can add them here too.

Add some salt and maybe even pepper to taste.

You really need to let these tomatoes cook. A good way to know when they are done is to check for oil separation. If you see the oil start to separate at the top, then things are going well!

STEP 6: Add chickpeas

You should firstly taste whatever is in the pan. If it’s too bland then add some more powdered spices. If it’s too spicy then consider adding some water.

Add your drained and rinsed canned chickpeas. Mix everything together.

Add little bit of salt and perhaps even pepper to taste.

Keep stirring all of this as is for a minute or two.

Once you feel somewhat confident, add some water- as much as you like. This should be left to your desired consistency- some people like it more soupy and others more chunky.

If you like, add frozen okra. I just really love this vegetable and don’t mind eating it with this recipe. It can also increase the quantity. It may deteriorate the taste but if you don’t care about that then go ahead. Some other vegetables I would recommend include potatoes, and frozen kale/spinach.

In any case, let the whole thing reach a boil.

STEP 7: Let everything cook for a while

Once boiling, and if you are able to cover your pan/pot, do so, and simmer everything at a medium/lowish flame. 10 minutes or so.

You can consider cleaning your space during this time because there isn’t much to do right now.

STEP 8: 🛑 DO NOT ADD COCONUT MILK

🛑 I forbid you from adding coconut milk to this recipe! A lot of people from the West- including people from the Indian diaspora- add coconut milk to all kinds of Indian food!

🛑 Adding coconut milk to all Indian food is like adding Italian seasoning to all European cuisine! Just don’t do it! Please!

Although coconut milk is an integral part of South Indian cuisine, it is not a common ingredient in North Indian cuisine. So just skip it.

STEP 9: Garam masala/wrapping up

Open the lid and check on your culinary concoction. Check the consistency, taste for salt and stuff.

You can add a little bit of garam masala to this now. Be careful, this stuff can be intense (I am saying that as an Indian).

Let simmer for 5 more minutes. You can keep the lid open if you like.

STEP 10: Rest and serve

Hopefully everything went well. You should let this rest for a little while, maybe 3-5 minutes.

If you somehow made rice during this time, then you can eat it with rice.

If you are somewhat lazy like me then you can even eat it with untoasted bread. Or maybe consider toasting your bread for this special occasion.

I sometimes like to squeeze a bit of lemon on top because why not.

If you feel particularly enthusiastic about affirming your self-bestowed global citizenship, then you can even add some West African piri-piri seasoning on top, or maybe eat some Korean kimchi alongside this.

BONUS: Cucumber salad

I love cucumbers. Slice the cucumbers in ‘fingers’.

Transfer to a bowl.

Add some salt, and a tiny bit of red chili powder.

DRENCH with lemon juice (not concentrate, but real lemon juice).

Mix everything

Serve with your food.

Indian food is probably my all-time favorite cuisine. I don’t eat it too often because my reference point for it is too high, and my own cooking hardly ever match my expectations, which are far too high thanks to my mom’s cooking. Having said that I think I can still make it more suited to my palette compared to what I have found at Indian restaurants in the US and Spain. It is a pleasure having good friends over and cooking for them. In case I never invite you just follow this recipe and you should be all set.