In this post, I am sharing 2 super delicious chana masala recipes.

• Authentic Punjabi Chana Masala – Made in a pan on the stovetop with freshly ground spices.
• Instant Pot Chana Masala (Home Style) – One pot, super easy and does not require the special chana masala spice blend or powder.

Both the recipes are shared with step by step photos and taste awesome. So you can make either of them depending upon the gadgets and time you have.

About Punjabi Chana Masala

This Punjabi Chole Masala is an Authentic North Indian Style Chickpea Curry made with white chickpeas, freshly powdered spices, onions, tomatoes and herbs.

This is one easy and yet lip smacking Punjabi chana masala recipe which tastes awesome. It is one of the most tried and tested delicious chickpea curry recipe on the blog. It has been tried not only by me innumerable times, but also by many readers.

There are many variations of making chole masala. But I liked this Punjabi chole recipe the most. It tastes like the Punjabi chole you get in the streets of Delhi and Punjab. 

This chickpea curry recipe has been adapted from Anita’s blog. Over a period of six years from the time I adapted this recipe, I made some changes in proportions as well as ingredients.

After so many changes, here is a recipe that gives a good balance of spiciness, taste and flavor. so I decided to update this in the post too.

The original chole recipe on this blog was published on Aug 20 2009. Its 8 years now and I have now updated the recipe with the variations and with step by step pics.

However, keeping the old pic of the spices I took with mobile when I started the blog in 2009, just as a memoir.

Chole bhature is mine and the family’s favorite dish. When living in Delhi and Gurgaon, we would get awesome chole bhature In many places.

Since I do not live in these places any more, I make this recipe often which tastes exactly like the street side chole, minus the heat. Since we don’t prefer too spicy food. But you can increase the quantity of red chili powder and garam masala powder to get the extra spice and heat.

Serve this delicious chana masala with tandoori rotis or phulka or kulcha or bhatura or poori or naan, along with sliced onions and lime. It also tastes good with plain rice or jeera rice.

How to make chana masala

For ease of understanding, I have divided this post into 3 steps.

• Step 1 – soaking and cooking chickpeas
• Step 2 – roasting spices to make chole masala powder
• Step 3 – making chole gravy

Lets begin with step 1 – soaking and pressure cooking chickpeas

1. Wash and soak 1 cup chickpeas (chana or chole) in enough water overnight. Add enough amount of water as the chickpeas increase in size after soaking it. Rinse the soaked chickpeas in water. Pic of rinsed & soaked chickpeas.

2. To give a dark color to the chickpeas, traditionally dried amla (Indian gooseberries) are added. These also give a faint sourness to the stock. If you do not have dried amla, then add 1 black tea bag. You can also just cook the chickpeas with salt and water.

3. In a pressure cooker add the chickpeas along with the 2 to 3 dried amla pieces or a tea bag. Taj tea bags work very well. Then pour 2.5 to 3 cups water.

4. Season with ½ tsp salt. Stir very well.

5. Pressure cook the chickpeas for 12 to 15 whistles. The chickpeas should be cooked well an softened. The chickpeas should be soft when you mash it with a spoon. The chickpeas should not give you a bite when you eat it. If you do not have a pressure cooker, then cook the chickpeas in a pot with plenty of water. Depending on the quality of chickpeas, it can take less or more time.

Making chole masala powder

6. Meanwhile, in a pan, take all the whole spices for the chole masala and on a low heat begin to roast them. The spices used for masala are following:

• 2 black cardamoms
• 1 inch cinnamon (dalchini)
• 3 to 4 peppercorns
• 2 cloves
• 1 medium Indian bay leaf/tej patta or 2 small tej patta
• ¼ tsp carom seeds/ajwain
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• ½ tsp dry pomegranate seeds
• 1 or 2 dry red chilies

7. stir often and roast the spices till they get extra browned. Don’t burn them. You have to go beyond a point roasting them, even after they become fragrant and they get more browned than what is the norm usually.

8. The extra browned & roasted spices below.

9. let these roasted spices cool and then grind them finely in a coffee grinder or in a dry grinder.

10. By now the chickpeas is cooked. Pic below. You will see a darker brown shade in the white chickpeas. Remove the amla pieces which would have softened by now or the tea bag from the stock.

Making chole masala

11. heat 1.5 to 2 tbsp oil in a pan or kadai. add ½ tsp ginger-garlic paste and saute till their raw aroma goes away.

12. then add 1 medium sized finely chopped onion and saute till the onions turn translucent or light brown.

13. add 1 medium sized finely chopped tomato.

14. saute the tomatoes till they soften and the oil starts to leave the sides of the masala.

15. then add the powdered spices that we made, along with ½ tsp red chili powder and ¼ tsp turmeric powder.

16. Stir well. Then add 2 to 3 slit green chilies to the onion-ginger-tomato mixture.

17. Add the cooked & drained chickpeas. Reserve the stock.

18. stir well.

19. Season with salt as per requirement. Stir. Keep the addition of salt in check as salt is also there in the stock.

20. Add about 1 to 1.25 cups of the reserved stock or water. Stir well.

Cooking Chole Masala

21. Cover and simmer on a low to medium flame. You can also cook chickpeas without the lid. The gravy will thicken and reduce. Mash a few chickpeas. This will help thicken the chickpea curry. You can keep the consistency you prefer. At home, we prefer chole with a bit of gravy.

22. In case, you have not added dry pomegranate seeds while roasting the spices, then you need to add amchur powder (dry mango powder) now. About 1 tsp amchur powder is enough. However, you can add less or more of it as per your taste. Stir the gravy very well.

23. The chana masala is ready to be served.

24. Garnish with chopped onions and coriander leaves. Serve the Punjabi chole with kulcha or bhaturas or aloo bhatura or poori or naan or roti, along with sliced onions and lime. This chickpea curry also tastes good with plain rice or cumin rice.

Tips to make Punjabi Chana Masala

• I use dried amla (dried Indian gooseberry) and dry pomegranate seeds. The dried amla gives a dark color to the chole, along with a light tang. The pomegranate seeds give a sour taste.
• Now I know that these two ingredients are not easily available everywhere in India as well as in the world. So as a substitute, when I did not get these, two ingredients, I would add Dry mango powder (amchur powder) towards the end. In the absence of amchur powder, you can also squeeze some lime juice towards the end.
• If you are not fussy about the dark color, then just plainly cook the chickpeas in water with some salt. A pinch of baking soda added while cooking, makes the chickpeas light and soft. I usually do not add baking soda.
• What contributes to the flavors and aroma of the chhole is the freshly ground chole masala. The spices are roasted till they get extra browned and are later ground. This chole masala is then blended with sauteed onion-ginger-tomato mixture. This makes the chickpea curry more flavorsome.

I have shared many different types of chickpea curries. Few of the popular one are:

1. Pindi Chole – Easiest and tasty vegan chana recipe to make. As no grinding, no long frying or sauteing is required.
2. Amritsari Chole – Tastes similar to the chole masala one gets in the Punjabi joints on the streets of Delhi.
3. Aloo Chole – Potato and Chickpea Curry
4. Palak Chole – Spinach and Chickpea Curry
5. Paneer Chole – Cottage Cheese and Chickpea Curry

This recipe post is from the archives (August 2009) and has been republished and updated on 6th June 2020.

About Instant Pot Chana Masala

This Chana Masala recipe is one pot, super easy and does not require the special chana masala spice blend or powder.

You also don’t need to make this spice blend at home, as is done in Punjabi Chana Masala recipe shared above. The recipe is also gluten-free and vegan.

This is again my mother in law’s homely chickpea curry recipe that is so good when served with rice or had with naan or roti or poori (Indian fried bread). Since this recipe also happens to be our favorite chickpea curry, I often end up making this one at home in the Instant Pot.

This home style Punjabi chana masala recipe is simple in the sense that everything including the chickpeas are cooked together in the IP. Later everything is simmered till you get a medium consistency in the gravy. The recipe is also not spicy.

There is one special aromatic spice that is added to this chana masala gravy. Guess?

No, it is not black cardamoms or cloves or cinnamon. It is carom seed (ajwain or omam). Carom seeds also help in digestion. Now if you do not have carom seeds, kindly skip them altogether and the instant pot chickpea curry will still taste good.

Soaking Chickpeas

While making any chickpea or Rajma (Kidney Bean Curry), it is always better to soak them overnight or at least for 8 hours as then it is easier to cook them. Soaking beans or chickpeas reduce the phytic acid which causes bloating and flatulence.

Pro Tip: If you have forgotten to soak the chickpeas, then add the chickpeas to hot boiled water. Cover and soak for 1 to 2 hours. I would always suggest to soak chickpeas and not directly cook the dried chickpeas.

Soaking also reduces the cooking time and ensures that the chickpeas are really softened well. This not only gives a good texture but the chickpeas also become easy to digest.

Serve Instant Pot Chana Masala with finely chopped onions, green chilli and lemon wedges with a side of bread, dinner rolls, naan bread, roti, poori or steamed rice.

Topping with chopped onions or lemon juice on the chickpea curry really adds a lot of taste.

How to make Instant Pot Chana Masala

1. Rinse and then soak 1 cup dried white chickpeas overnight or for 8 to 9 hours in enough water. Rinse the soaked chickpeas in running water for a couple of times. Drain all the water and keep aside.

2. Switch on the IP and press the sauté button setting the time to 12 minutes on normal mode.

3. Heat oil. Let the oil become hot (but not sizzling or smoking hot). Add the whole spices – 1 inch cinnamon, 6 cloves, 1 tej patta (indian bay leaf), 2 black cardamoms, 1 teaspoon carom seeds (ajwain) and 1 teaspoon cumin seeds.

4. Let the spices crackle and splutter.

5. Then add ½ cup finely chopped onions.

6. Mix and begin to sauté the onions.

7. Sauté till the onions turn translucent.

8. Now add 2 teaspoons finely chopped ginger, 2 teaspoons finely garlic and 2 to 3 slit green chillies.

9. Sauté for about 6 to 7 seconds. While sautéing, if the ingredients start sticking or the heat is too much, then reduce the sauté setting to low. Alternatively you can sprinkle some water and deglaze the pan.

10. Add 1 cup finely chopped tomatoes.

11. Mix well and begin to sauté the tomatoes. If the tomatoes start sticking, then sprinkle some water. Mix and continue to sauté.

12. Sauté till tomatoes soften and become pulpy.

13. Add the spice powders – ½ teaspoon turmeric powder and 1 teaspoon kashmiri red chilli powder. If you do not have kashmiri red chilli powder, then add 1 teaspoon sweet paprika or ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper or ½ teaspoon red chilli powder.

14. Mix very well and sauté for 3 to 4 seconds.

15. Add soaked chickpeas.

16. Mix very well and deglaze the pan. Add salt as per taste.

17. Add 3 cups water.

18. Press the cancel button and press the pressure cook button. Select high pressure and set the time for 30 minutes.

19. Once the pressure cooking is complete and after the beep is heard, wait for 12 to 15 minutes or more for natural pressure release (NPR). If steam is there, then lift the valve and do a quick pressure release (QPR). Check to see if the chickpeas are cooked and softened. If the chickpeas are al dente or undercooked, then pressure cook for 5 minutes more. Note that aged or old chickpeas will take a lot of time to cook.

19. Now press the cancel button again and press the sauté button setting the time to 10 minutes on normal mode.

20. Let the curry come to a simmer. Mash a few chickpeas before the curry starts simmering. This helps in thickening the gravy.

21. Simmer till you get the desired gravy consistency (which is neither thin nor very thick).

22. Then add 1 teaspoon garam masala powder and 1 teaspoon dry mango powder. If you do not have dry mango powder, then add ½ to 1 teaspoon lemon juice.

23. Mix well. Simmer for a minute. If the gravy becomes too thick, then add some water.

24. Serve Instant Pot Chana Masala garnished with some coriander leaves (cilantro) with a side of steamed rice, cumin rice, bread, dinner rolls, roti, puri or bhatura. Do serve with a side of some finely chopped onions, lemon wedges and green chillies (optional).

 

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