CHANNA MASALA – A DIFFERENT METHOD


I tasted this dish at my friend’s house recently. Initially when she served me this, I thought it was made with spinach. I couldn’t believe my friend when she told me that it was cilantro which gave the vibrant green color to the dish. It was so tasty and flavorful that I prepared it the same week. The key ingredient here is cilantro. I feel that adding tons of cilantro takes regular channa masala to a whole different level. The photo does not do any justice to the dish but most of the channa masala was devoured by my husband and me before I had a chance to take a click but I took a photograph anyway. I am sure everybody would love this once you gave it a try :)


INGREDIENTS:

  1. Dry chickpeas, ½ cup.
  2. Onion, medium-size, 1.
  3. Tomato, 1.
  4. Cilantro, 1 big bunch.
  5. Ginger-garlic paste, 1 teaspoon.
  6. Chili powder, 1 teaspoon.
  7. Coriander powder, 2 teaspoons.
  8. Garam masala or channa masala powder, 1 teaspoon.
  9. Cumin powder, ½ teaspoon.
  10. Salt as per taste.


PREPARATION:

Soak the chickpeas overnight or for 6-8 hours. Remove the cilantro leaves from the stems, wash them well and keep aside. Chop the onion and tomatoes into big chunks. Heat a pan with some oil. When the oil is hot enough, add the chopped onions and sauté for a couple of minutes until the onions are caramelized. Then add the tomatoes and ginger-garlic paste and keep sautéing until everything is well blended. Switch off the stove and let it cool. Once everything is cool, transfer the contents to a blender along with the chopped cilantro. Blend everything into a smooth paste. Transfer everything into a pressure cooker. Add the chick peas, all the powders, salt, and the chickpeas along with 1 cup of water. Pressure cook for 2-3 whistles until the chickpeas are cooked. Once the pressure is released, it can be served as it is with chapathis. If needed, the dish can be cooked in a pan for a few more minutes under low flame to get the desired consistency.

31 comments:

Usha said...

Cilantro is my favorite herb and I love the idea of using it in channa masala, I am so going to try this soon :-)

Priya Suresh said...

Adding cilantro leaves to channa masala seems definitely a great idea Gita...Channa masala looks too delicious..

Cham said...

The green gravy is quiet inviting and aromatic!

Vrinda said...

WOW..u made channa masala more colorful with cilantro..sounds gr8

Unknown said...

wow!!Channa masala with cliantro.. sounds interesting & looks yummy.:)

Tina said...

Channa with cilantro...great comb dear...Looks more deliciuos...

Shobana senthilkumar said...

Its diff gita...must make a try:)

Vijitha said...

Geets!
Nice post. Will try it for sure. I am on South Beach Diet from today. Channa dal is included in it so will try yours.

Sushma Mallya said...

Nice one with chickpeas...Liked ur version too with cilantro..really a good one as it looks delicious

Sarah Naveen said...

Cilantro in Chana masala is real new to me..
Sounds gr8 and looks really yummy...

Dhanya Ganesh said...

Adding cilantro does sounds interesting,Will try this version .Looks yummy and colorful:).

Anonymous said...

im sure it must have been tasty!

Kanchan said...

Green chole :D
Seems interesting will love to try this :)

kitchen queen said...

Lovely chickpeas with my favourite cilantro.

Shanthi Krishnakumar said...

Adding cilantro is different.

Nandinis food said...

This different method must make chana very tasty and yummy! Awesome and palatable!

Shri said...

It is a great twist indeed to the reg chick pea masala

Padma said...

Adding cilantro is really flavorful.. i try adding little of cilantro and also mint... looks delicious Gita :)

Recipeswap said...

Interesting one I must say!

Shama Nagarajan said...

it's really different dear..yummy too

Urmi said...

Chana masala looks delicious. Thanks for the new and lovely recipe.

Anonymous said...

welcome bak dear...diffnt one...tnx for the recipe...
pls do collect an award from my blog.

Preety said...

cilantro in chickpeas sounds fun

Suparna said...

hey gita,
indeed this is different from how we make chana usually :) I'd love to give it a try with cilantro as the main dominating ingredient.
Thanks. The simple pasta recipe am sure is a hit!
TC

Raje said...

Nice way to spice up the chana with cilantro. BTW first time here. You have a nice space. Doc heckout my blog when you have a chance.

Malar Gandhi said...

I just agree with you on cilantro flavour and its vibrat color, sure no alternate for that:) Bet it tasted wonderful and photo is also good:)

Vikis Kitchen said...

Always love that cilantro flavor and I bet it could have tasted great. Very nice variation to the regular one da.

My cooking experiments said...

A quick and tasty channa masala.Loved the green of the cilantro in the gravy!

Abhilash Pillai said...

indeed a new look...

I used to have daily chana masala months before...

Chitra said...

I too make like this sometimes :) Nice !!

Unknown said...

This sounds interesting....first time here...nice collection u have!