Chana Masala or Punjabi Chole or Chole Masala or Pindi Chole – this quintessentially Indian chickpea curry is known by many names. It is a Punjabi dish from the northern parts of India. Fiery spices and chili can make it as hot and spicy as you want it. Or you can tone them down to suit your palette. When served with hot rotis, parathas, naan or rice, this makes a satisfying and filling vegetarian or vegan meal. And it is good for you, as you will see for yourself (surprise ahead).

Any Indian restaurant menu is bound to have chana masala on it. Chickpeas are wonderfully versatile and I love using them in salads, curries, falafel or just about anything. I blogged about my Zero Oil Chana Masala a few years ago, but I hadn’t posted the traditional recipe yet. So I finally decided its time!

There is a rustic way to do this, and I often go for the quick and rustic version. But if you want a thick sauce or masala curry, you must use a food processor or blender to make a masala paste. The trick is in frying the masala paste patiently until it is cooked through. Canned chickpeas and canned diced tomatoes or crushed tomatoes can make this even easier to make on the go. I have done that many a weeknight when I didn’t feel like cooking much. But if you want a chana masala in its real glory, take the extra effort to make a spice paste.

My recipe uses all fresh ingredients and this is a ‘from scratch’ recipe. I always always advocate using fresh ginger and garlic. Garam Masala can be substituted for the whole spices, but it won’t really give the same flavor.
Amchur or dry mango powder is another ethnic ingredient that will make this dish shine.

And the Surprise! I have long intended to include nutrition info along with my recipes. I am not sure if I can do it for all the old ones, but I will definitely try to get the nutrition info henceforth. Now remember that I am not a nutrition or health professional, so use it only as a guideline. I am using a third party tool so the information is also largely dependent on how the tool works to calculate nutrition info.

I hope that giving nutrition info will help me and my readers get an idea of what they are eating, especially when it comes to Indian recipes. The serving size here is 1 cup which is a lot, but I think a good eater will at least consume that much as part of the meal, especially when it is the main dish.

Hot and spicy Chana Masala recipe is here –

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:76]

Here is the nutrition info I promised!

Try this out, and let me know how you liked it. Its not that hard, really (the recipe)!