Chana Masālā!!
Hello all! You know what day it is! MEATLESS MONDAY! I have a brand new recipe to share with you all and couldn’t be more excited! Garbanzo beans, aka, chickpeas. Chickpeas are absolutely delicious and are so quick and easy to make.
A popular dish in North India, chana masālā has many variations and can be made wet or dry. My version is a family recipe that I learned from my mother and has a light spicy gravy. This meal is quick, easy and healthy and leaves a few extra dollars in your purse. At $0.88 a can, for chickpeas, you can feed a large group without compromising on taste and flavor.
First I started by grinding ginger and garlic together into a paste. This is a regular “add” in Indian cuisine, You should always have it on hand. I followed the paste by mincing onion and draining a few cans of chickpeas.
So, I know what you are thinking. She didn’t use fresh beans. I didn’t, but it really is ok! If you have fresh beans make sure you soak them for a few hours before cooking them. If you are using cans make sure you drain well. Using too much liquid from the can may cause a watery gravy.
I placed a pan to heat over a medium flame and added oil. Once heated I added the onions with a dash of salt until slightly mushy. By letting the onions sweat until they are super soft, it helps extract the bite of the onion. 
Once the onions have sweated themselves out I added the garlic and ginger paste, followed by the dry spices. The most important part of cooking Indian food is time. Letting the spices have time to release their flavor in the hot oil and onions is key. This is where the flavor matures and elevates from a chaos of blends to a beautiful harmony of flavor, aka, THE GOOD STUFF! 
The good stuff is where it is at! Once I reached this point I added the chickpeas in and let simmer until cooked.
This dish is so simple yet flavor. It can be ate with naan or served over rice. It is especially good the next day once all the masālā has set in.
- 2 cans chickpeas
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced,
- 1 piece of ginger, minced
- half a yellow onion, minced
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp garam masālā
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp chili powder (or to taste)
- Heat oil in pan over medium heat.
- Add onions and salt. Let cook until onions are soft and have a mush consistency. About 10 minutes.
- Add garlic-ginger paste. Cook for anther 5-6 minutes. Add dry spices. Continue to cook for 10-12 minutes until oil releases from spices.
- Add chickpeas and cook until beans are cooked through.
- Serve warm!
- The water from the chickpeas makes a perfect base to the gravy.
- Add canned whole tomatoes to give a fresh bright flavor to the dish and gravy.
- Boil a potato in a separate pan and add in to beans once cooked.
