Chana Masala

Serves 6 to 8
Time: 1 hour || Active time: 30 minutes

This easy vegan chana masala recipe is spicy, tangy, and fragrant. You could say perfumed even, with sweet spices like cardamom and cinnamon and a little fennel seed. It’s one of the very first dishes I ever tried to recreate at home, and I’ve been tweaking it for decades. I probably started out with a recipe from somewhere, but I just kept adjusting until it tasted like what I would get at the Indian restaurants on Coney Island Avenue, where I grew up. The jalapeños probably have no place in traditional chana masala, but hey, tell that to me 20 years ago. They stayed.

This is one of those one-pot recipes that fine-tunes your taste buds. Look for the spicy, the sour, the salty, and adjust until you’re thoroughly pleased. It also freezes beautifully and tastes even better the next day, which is dangerous information.

Why This Recipe Rocks

• Spicy, tangy, fragrant, and the kind of dish you eat standing at the stove because you can’t wait
• Built on fresh ginger, fresh cilantro, and a careful blend of warm spices
• One pot, weeknight-friendly, and freezer-friendly
• Endlessly flexible — fresh or canned tomatoes, dried or canned chickpeas, lime or tamarind
• Tastes even better the next day
• Pairs beautifully with basmati rice and naan

What’s in Vegan Chana Masala?

I have my way of making it, but this recipe is flexible. Some things you can swap, some are non-negotiable.

Spices are the heart of the dish and absolutely essential. Cumin, coriander, turmeric, fennel seed, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and cayenne. Measure them out all together while the aromatics cook so everything goes in at once.

Fresh ginger and cilantro are what make this chana masala feel so vibrant. Fresh ginger has a sharp heat and floral quality that dried can’t touch, and the cilantro adds a brightness that keeps the whole dish feeling fresh. Non-negotiable.

Tomatoes can be fresh or canned. I use fresh when I can because canned tomatoes can give marinara vibes, and fresh tomato shines here just a bit brighter. But don’t worry too much about it. If you’ve got canned whole tomatoes, go for it. Use a 28 oz can and crush them up. You can even use diced, just drain a bit of the liquid.

Coconut oil gives chana masala a richness that other oils don’t, but vegetable oil works if that’s what you’ve got.

Tamarind brings a deep, sour, slightly funky note that’s closer to what you’d get at a restaurant. Lime juice is a perfectly good substitute and a little brighter. Either works.

Chickpeas can be dried or canned. When chickpeas are the star of the show, I prefer to cook dried ones. The taste is fresher and the texture is meatier. But you can’t beat the convenience of canned chickpeas, so don’t mind me being a hippie homemaker with my pot of chickpeas. Use canned.

Jalapeños probably have no place in traditional chana masala but they stayed. Skip them, reduce them, or sub in a spicier chili if you want more heat.

Serving

Serve with basmati rice and naan if you’re feeling ambitious. Garnish with plenty of cilantro and extra lime for squeezing.

Chana Masala Modifications

Once you’re comfortable with the base recipe, here’s where it can go. These technically aren’t chana masala anymore, but that’s ok because it was never authentic anyway. The bones of the recipe (vegan bones of course) are flexible and the spice blend works beautifully with other additions.

Chana saag (or chana palak) — Add a few big handfuls of fresh spinach in the last 5 minutes of cooking and let it wilt into the sauce. For a deeper saag, use a 10 oz package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry. The dish becomes richer and the spinach soaks up all the spice.

Add potatoes — Diced potatoes added with the tomatoes will cook into the sauce and make it heartier. Now you’ve got chana aloo, which is a beautiful place to be.

Add cauliflower — Roast some and add in the last 5 minutes of cooking. It soaks up the sauce gorgeously and won’t break apart the way it would if you added it raw.

Add peas — Frozen peas can go in during the last 5 minutes for a little color and sweetness.

Add tofu — Cubed tofu acts as kind of a paneer. Add a cubed-up block during the 20 minute simmer, no need to bake beforehand. Be careful when mixing so you don’t break it up.

Vegan Chana Masala FAQ

Can I make this less spicy? For sure. Skip the cayenne and deseed the jalapeños thoroughly. You can also reduce the jalapeños to one or skip them entirely. They’re not traditional anyway.

Can I make this spicier? Hells yeah. Leave the jalapeño seeds in, add more cayenne, or add a serrano instead of jalapeño.

Can I use garam masala instead of measuring out all the individual spices? You can in a pinch. Use 2 to 3 teaspoons of garam masala in place of the cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and fennel, and keep the cumin, coriander, turmeric, and cayenne separate so you can control the heat. It won’t be quite the same since garam masala blends vary wildly brand to brand, but it’ll get you somewhere good.

My sauce is too watery. What do I do? Take the lid off and keep simmering. Tomatoes hold a lot of water and sometimes need extra time to cook down. You want a saucy consistency, thicker than a soup but looser than a marinara.

My sauce is too thick. What do I do? Add a splash of water or vegetable broth and stir. Easy fix.

Does this freeze well? Yup yup yup. Freeze in portions for up to 3 months. It actually tastes better the next day and even better after that. Dangerous information.

How did I get here? You were probably searching for “easy chana masala recipe,” “vegan chana masala recipe,” or “chickpea curry.” Maybe “easy Indian chickpea recipe” or “homemade chana masala.” This is the one you’ll keep coming back to. Welcome.

Chana Masala

Isa Chandra

Spicy, tangy and fragrant. An easy chana masala recipe with a homemade spice blend, fresh tomatoes, jalapeño, ginger, and cilantro. A vegan chickpea curry that freezes beautifully and tastes even better the next day.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

  

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Spice blend:

• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne (optional, and more or less to taste)

For everything else:

• 3 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 large onion sliced in medium pieces
• 2 jalapenos deseeded and thinly sliced
• 5 cloves garlic minced
• 1 heaping tablespoon fresh ginger minced
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro finely chopped
• 3 lbs tomatoes diced
• Fresh black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups cooked chickpeas (or two cans, rinsed and drained) note: 2 cups dried will give you the right amount
• 1 teaspoon agave or sugar
• Juice of one lime, or 1 teaspoon tamarind concentrate

Instructions

 

• Preheat a large pan over medium heat. I prefer a pan to a pot, because it gets the tomatoes to cook down faster.
• Meanwhile, mix together the spice blend in a small bowl.
• When the pan is hot, saute the onion in the coconut oil for about 10 minutes, until nicely browned. While it’s sauteeing you can prep the rest of the veggies.
• Add the jalapeno, garlic and ginger, and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the cilantro and saute until wilted. Add the spice blend and toss to coat the onions, letting the spices toast a bit (about a minute or so).
• Add the tomatoes and mix well, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Add salt and pepper, chickpeas and agave. Cover the pan and bring heat up a bit. The tomatoes should take about 10 minutes to breakdown and get saucy. Remove the lid, and cook for about 20 more minutes on low heat, so that the flavors meld and the sauce thickens. It shouldn’t be too thick (like a marinara), but it shouldn’t be watery, either.
• Add lime juice or tamarind concentrate. Taste for seasoning, you might want to add a little of this or that. Let sit for 10 minutes or so off the heat before serving. Serve with basmati rice and garnished with extra cilantro, if you like!

Keyword vegan chana masala, chickpea curry, easy chana masala recipe, homemade chana masala, Indian chickpea curry, vegan chickpea curry

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