It transpires that the internet has a lot to say about Chana Masala. It feels like the dish itself has achieved the status of a mere template for those who produce it to fill in with their own ingredients, quantities and techniques. Maybe this sounds aggravating if you're just trying to find the "best" recipe to follow (rule #1: be wary of recipes which claim superlatives), but to a food writer the chance to summarise the literature and see where you slot in is an exciting one.
I have to share this nonpareil summary by Felicity Cloake (click here!) who has practically done the legwork for us in the pursuit of the chana masala review. This is one article in an ongoing series by Cloake produced for The Guardian newspaper called "How to cook the perfect..." which condenses the work of leading writers on the particular topic into an editorial and a recipe. This may seem somewhat at variance with my earlier refutation of superlatives (rule #2: just... look the other way when I contradict myself), but these articles are all deep fonts of wisdom; if someone were to trap me in a padded cell for 24 hours with just these articles, I doubt that I would protest.
When you're presented with the work of multiple writers, it just so happens that the recipe that you produce has a multiplicity of influencers (old school influencers; not vloggers on YouTube reviewing different types of slime - yes, I watched that entire video). I took Rick Stein's advice to add a tablespoon of lemon juice, because I feel a compulsion to acidify anything I cook. From Kaushy Patel and Maunika Gowardhan I added half a teaspoon of sugar, as citric acid needs it's cousin, sweetness, to truly shine. I use slightly less than they do, however, to preserve a hint of acerbity. In terms of the spice profile, I went with Madhur Jaffrey's inclination towards ground cardamom. If this dish was a section of a PhD thesis, it would be the literature review.
While Cloake's article is comprehensive, there are other sources of Chana Masala wisdom available on the resource-rich rainforest of online food blogging. I do love Molly Wizenberg's suggestion to crush canned tomatoes, either with a potato masher or with your hands. Although I didn't have any to hand, I'm very curious to give Meera Sodha's suggestion of adding bicarbonate of soda to the soaking chickpeas a go. Sodha also refers to chana masala as "workers curry" and, more illustratively, "the coals of India's engine room".
With that being said, there are parts of this recipe that come from my own tastes (and store cupboard limitations). Toasted and ground fenugreek seeds might possibly be my favourite spice from the South Asian canon (rule #3: don't ask me what my favourite spice is; I will dissolve into a primordial puddle of indecision), so I threw some into a pan with coriander seeds, milled them down and threw them in. As much as I'd love to try the recipe with amchoor powder (as the veritable Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen suggests) or dried pomegranate seeds, I'd feel dishonest trying to pass that off as being adherent to my own predilections.
One of the most interesting things about the virtual chana masala-sphere is the lack of consensus between the dried/canned/jarred chickpea debate. Usually, this is an issue to stoke the wildly burning flames of opinion but, like most other aspects of the dish, it really is up for you to determine. I used the dried variety, which is marginally cheaper than using canned and much cheaper than using jarred, because for once we had them in the house. These do require an overnight soak, though all you will be doing in that time is sleeping so I don't think this is too much of an impediment. However, if you wake up to find that the chickpeas are still not ready like I did, this may cause an unwelcome realisation that you should be sleeping more (rule #4: don't comment on my sleeping patterns).
So, I hope after all that you feel you can trust me to create a decent chana masala? Well, if that isn't the case then at least I've provided you with a glut of alternatives. Happy to settle with me? I'm thankful. Scroll on down for my own particular distillation.
Chana Masala (Chickpea Curry)
Preparation time: 15 minutes (not including chickpea soaking)
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 2-3 people
Ingredients
500g of canned or rehydrated chickpeas
2 white onions
3 cloves of garlic
1 inch piece of ginger
3 green finger chillis
15g of fresh coriander
1 400g tin of peeled plum tomatoes
1 1/2 tsps of fenugreek seeds
1 tsp of coriander seeds
3 cardamom pods
1 1/2 tbsps of sunflower spread
1 1/2 tsps of turmeric
1 tsp of paprika
3/4 tsp of cumin
1/2 tsp of chilli powder
1 tsp of garam masala
1 tbsp of lemon juice
1/2 tsp of sugar
Salt
If you are using dried chickpeas, these will need to be soaked prior to cooking for at least eight hours. This can be done overnight, or if you will be preparing this for an evening meal then this can also be done in the morning (depending on what time you get up!)
Chop your onions. I prefer to slice this into long strips by cutting down the side of each layer which gives the onion the role of vegetable as well as an aromatic. If you're not so keen on onions, then chop into finer pieces.
Crush and finely mince each garlic clove, and slice the ginger into similarly sliced pieces
Behead the green chillis and slice them into roughly 1/2 centimetre cross-sections. Do not de-seed them.
Remove the stalks from the coriander (don't be too zealous - when I'm feeling lazy I just chop the stalks up with the leaves...) and finely slice the leaves.
Warm a frying pan to a medium head before adding the fenugreek seeds and the coriander seeds. Toast them until the fenugreek has darkened to a chestnut brown colour. Add the seeds to a pestle and mortar.
Remove the seeds from the cardamom pod and add into the pestle and mortar. Grind everything down to a coarse powder. If you have a spice grinder, you could also use this.
Add the remaining ground spices into the mortar for the sake of having them all in one place.
Empty the canned tomatoes into a bowl and crush them with a potato masher (or with your hands if you feel so inclined). You could also blend them, but this will create more washing up at the end.
Melt the sunflower spread on a medium heat in a large wok or saucepan until it has melted completely. Add the onions and turn up to a medium-high heat. Fry for 8-10 minutes, or until softened. If you have finely chopped your onions, this will only take around 4-5 minutes.
Add the garlic, ginger and chillis and fry for an additional 1 minute.
Add in the spices and fry for 2 minutes.
Stir in the lemon juice and the sugar, before adding the chickpeas. Stir through until the chickpeas are coated with the spice mixture, and then fry for 2 minutes.
Add the crushed tomatoes and stir in thoroughly. Bring the pan to the boil before turning down to a medium heat and cooking for an additional 5 minutes.
Stir in the chopped coriander and add salt to taste, before cooking for an extra 1 minute.
Leave to cool for a few minutes before serving with rice and/or flatbread.
Notes & Adjustments
If coriander isn't something that you can eat then leave the fresh stuff out. However, don't omit the coriander seeds as they taste totally different.
The amount of chilli you use is variable. I've specified three based on my tastes, and I like a bit of heat. If you aren't so keen, I'd say reduce the amount to two. You could even go up to four if you like it fiery.
You can look for other suggestions in the articles I've linked to!
Also, for the first time, I am happy to welcome friend-of-the-blog Keith, who is here to suggest an accompanying cocktail to suit the flavour profile of chana masala. He suggests a Bombay Sapphire gin & tonic with a twist of lime. This makes a lot of sense; you are likely to eat chana masala in Mumbai, and my recipe is indeed a gem. Personally, when I have anything spicy, the alcohol I'd instinctively go for is a light, golden beer but my drinks tastes are pretty limited. When I had this, I skillfully paired it with a freshly poured glass of tap water, so that's 3 suggestions in one for you.
Also, not that I think anyone would believe this blog is popular enough for product placement, but I just want to disclaim that the above was NOT an advertisement for Bombay Sapphire gin. FOTB Keith just knows his preferences!
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