Serves 6 to 8
Time: 1 hour || Active time: 30 minutes
This chana masala 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.
I have my way of making it, but this recipe is very flexible, so let’s discuss. Some things you can swap out, some are non-negotiable.
The spices are the heart of the dish and absolutely essential. I like to measure them out all together while the aromatics cook so that everything goes in at once. The 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 from feeling heavy. These are non-negotiable.
And speaking of freshness, I use fresh tomatoes when I can because canned tomatoes can give marinara vibes. 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. Same goes for the tamarind — I love the tanginess but lime juice is a perfectly good substitute.
When chickpeas are the star of the show, I prefer to cook dried ones. The taste is fresher and the texture is meatier. But, again, you can’t beat the convenience of canned chickpeas so don’t mind me being a hippie homemaker with my pot of chickpeas. Use a can!
This is one of those one-pot recipes that will fine-tune 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. Serve with basmati rice and naan if you’re feeling ambitious. Garnish with plenty of cilantro.
Vegan Chana Masala FAQ
Can I use canned tomatoes instead of fresh? Yup yup yup. Use a 28 oz can of whole tomatoes and crush them up, or diced with some liquid drained off. Fresh tomatoes are ideal in summer but canned works year round.
Can I use canned chickpeas? For sure. Two 15 oz cans rinsed and drained equals about 3 cups. Dried chickpeas give you a meatier texture but canned is perfectly good and much faster.
What’s the difference between lime juice and tamarind? Lime juice is brighter and more citrusy. Tamarind is deeper, more sour, and a little funky in the best way. Both balance the dish but tamarind is closer to what you’d get at a restaurant. Worth tracking down if you can find it.
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 a different oil? Yes. Vegetable oil or canola work fine. Coconut oil adds a richness that’s worth it if you have it.
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.
What do I serve with chana masala? Basmati rice is the classic move. Naan if you’re feeling ambitious. Both if you’re feeling very ambitious.
How did I end up here? You were probably searching for “chana masala,” “vegan chana masala,” 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
Ingredients
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!
Yum!! I make variation after variation of this with so many different ingredients… and I just love it. Chana Masala is one of my fav foods ever.. and I totally agree about the coconut oil.. so good! I’ve been using my homemade coconut butter in place of the oil with GREAT results too.. and I think it out with chickpea cooking liquid..
ohh golly! do i ever need to make this
BTW, I love the plate!
Can’t wait to try this! Out of curiosity. Do you have a favorite INdian place on CIA?
No, all the places I grew up with are long gone as far as I know.
Im surely going to try this version and gives me another reason to play with naan (manjulaskitchen showed me how to make naan with her kinda-best-ya-can-do-without-a-tandoor method). happy tums.
Yum! How timely. I just tried to make some chana masala in my crockpot and accidentally burnt the shenanigans out of it. After reading your recipe, I’m eager to try again and will definitely be trying a couple of your touches like the coconut oil and lime juice!
This sounds fantastic. I’m semi new to vegetarianism and Indian food, so this will be a challenge. BUT, I am excited about it nonetheless.
Love your site by the way. Found it through Zen Habits and am thoroughly enjoying it so far.
This looks wonderful! I can’t wait to try it!
Mmmm I love a good chana masala. So healthy!
I made this tonight and it came out awesome mine came out a little mushier because I used some overcooked chickpeas. My next project is gonna be the Romesco Pizza which should be a hit cause my roommate and I love Chickpeas Romesco.
looks wonderful, i am on a diet and want to know if there is a way to make it without the oil?
Sure, you can water saute, or just use a much smaller amount. I would recommend 2 teaspoons oil, since it is 10 serving, that won’t be very much and you can still get all the necessary browning.
This looks awesome! Going to make this soon.
You wouldn’t happen to have a recipe for Chana Saag? That’s my favorite Indian dish.
Amchur/amchoor (powdered green mango) is another good substitute for the lime or tamarind. Start at a tsp and adjust.
I first read this as “Chandra” Masala & I think that’s just fine.
I am in the midst of making my first batch of CHANDRA Masala (thanks @AbbyBean) and had to cough like crazy at the deglazing point! So excited for my supper noms!
Question: Is the spice blend similar to garam masala? Could you substitute it with that? Thanks, looks delish!
One of my all time favourite Indian dishes!
YUM. YUM. YUM
Looooooove this! I love Indian food, really.
I made this tonight, it was amazing, I didn’t have jalapenos but I did have 2 Big Red Chillies, i cut them up seeds and all–that makes the dish have a warning for those that may be pregnant or have heart problems–it was deliciously hot. I also realized halfway through that I didn’t have any minced ginger, or agave syrup, so i chopped up some crystalized ginger that I happened to have on hand, which added the gingery flavor i needed as well as a touch of sweetness. I also used whatever tomatoes I had on hand, between 1/4 pound of cherry tomatoes, 1 big regular tomato and some diced canned variety it worked out. Definitely going to try again and maybe only one small red chilli instead of 2 big ones.
This is exactly the sort of thing I love when it comes to Indian food. Heavily spiced with lots of chickpeas and that telltale turmeric color…mmm!
Yum to the yum. This looks flipping amazing. Is it weird that I think I can smell it? We make a lot of coconut curry indian-spiced stir fries, but I’m always scared of making chana masala. This is going to be my inspiration!
I was told this is the best meal I’ve ever cooked. Thank you. “And it’s VEGAN!” is what he said.
made this tonight! Yummy!served it with chapati.
This was so delicious! Thank you!!!
I’m doing the recipe this weekend! 🙂 I love anything with tomatoes, so thanks for sharing!
Ooooh, I just went on a spice splurge and have been looking for a great Indian recipe that includes cardomom and coriander. I can’t WAIT to make this! Looks amazing!
[…] inspiration, I used this amazing recipe. Many thanks to Isa <3 I didn’t have all the ingredients on hand so I went with what I […]
did it the day before yesterday and I STILL can´t get over the delicious awesomeness!
This recipe was full of win! A big plus was that it made great use of our garden’s bumper crop of tomatoes. It thickened beautifully over night too so the leftover are even better!
I’ve been in search of an easyish chana masala recipe for YEARS (and years), so I’m so grateful to you for this. I can find all of these ingredients at my co-op, and I don’t need a pressure cooker or a zillion steps or a day and a half to prepare it. Thank you! Thanks, too, for tips about tasting for the salty, spicy, and sour and adjusting. Advice like that has made me a better cook, because it gives me skills I can use with other dishes.
So, I’ve made this twice, half batches both times, because I’m cooking for one and with 8 to 10 servings I would’ve been eating it every day for a week. I found the recipe not quite as spicy as I like, maybe because I’m used to spice-inflated versions at the restaurants I go to, so the second time instead of halving the original amount, I used 2/3 (for the salt and lime juice too) and left out the agave altogether. Just right! Yum. Also, my portion sizes may be off (when I eat chana masala, i don’t mess around), but my half-batches gave me only three moderate entree-size portions. If I were serving this for four people, I definitely would not halve it, especially because I assume most people would want seconds, because it’s delicious.
Ahhhhh…..I cooked this tonight, and my husband says it’s the most authentic, yummy dish he’s had since we lived in India! Thank you…and mmmm.
I made this last night with naan and rice. The combination of spices with coconut oil and fresh lime juice was amazing. I agree that the recipe makes a huge amount but I froze half and will see how that works out in a couple of weeks.
I made this and was a little overwhelmed by dicing 3 lbs of tomatoes, but I got through it. I don’t like fennel seed so left it out. I could not find cardamom so I had to use a garam masala spice mix I had with cardamom as the main ingredient. My grocery store also didn’t have coconut oil the one time I went to go buy it… can you believe my luck? I put some coconut milk because I like my curries that way and I could adjust the consistancy to my liking very easily.
This is a forgiving recipe that is easy to modify to your taste or ingredients.
When I thaw the extra I have I’m adding more cayenne, and making some naan to go alongside.
This was so good. We used the left overs as “taco” filling inside a corn shell the next night. Amazing!
Man, thanks so much. I enjoy your inventions (innovations!) so much. this one and the mac and shews have really turned me on to how great it can be to take part in *vegan cuisine*. I’ve been vegetarian at least for 8 years, and of course I’ve looked through different resources and websites; i’ve found yours as one of the most reliable, reasonable, and exciting resources. I guess I also enjoy the name 🙂 Thanks for all your work here (!!)
Sampled this in the pan and wasn’t entirely sold. Then I got it on the rice and nearly died of joy. Thank you for providing an even-tastier version of my takeout favorite.
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Looks tasty! I have always been fond of Indian foods and thanks to this blog I can now get a taste of Indian foods.
This didn’t really work for me. The coconut oil was overwhelming and it seemed under-spiced. At least now I have a base, though because the spice combination is excellent.
I made this tonight and it was really delicious. It could have been spicier but I put a little bit less pepper than required. I would also put a little bit less lime.
Made this the other night — delightful, rich and worthwhile. CAUTION: Do not touch raw jalapeno seeds!! My hands are still on fire and it’s been like 4 days! I even got a little in my eye 🙁
That gorgeous burst of scents when I added the spice mix to the pan made me smile in anticipation and the deliciousness of the finished dish lived up to that glorious smell.
made this tonight for dinner… yum yum yum. definitely going in the rotation.
[…] Chana masala, Indian takeout at home. The Post Punk Kitchen blog never ceases to amaze me. It was one of the first recipes sites I stumbled upon when beginning my journey into veganism, and I still look forward to new posts. Isa’s pictures are breathtaking and drool-worthy every time, which is befitting of her recipes. The minute I saw this one, I had to have it. I had to stop at the farm stand down the street and get a big honkin’ tomato. I had to break out the coconut oil and do everything up right. […]
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finally got around to making this. apart from having to soak and cook the chickpeas (which i did the day before, and was well worth the effort for someone used to using canned beans!), this was surprisingly easy. and so delicious. thanks again, isa. this and the cashew korma are so good, and make me feel accomplished!
Does anyone know if the tomatoes should be seeded?
Nope, just chop em!
This was wicked good.
I loved this. My non-vegan husband thought it was great too!
I think this should go into the Gluten Free section as well. Look sGluten Free to me unless I’m missing something.