Chana Masala Gravy, also known as Chole Masala or Punjabi Chole, is a beloved classic in Indian cuisine. Bold, flavorful, and comforting, this dish is a hearty blend of chickpeas (garbanzo beans) simmered in a richly spiced onion-tomato gravy. Packed with plant-based protein and aromatic spices, this dish, served with steamed rice, warm rotis, or fluffy naan, brings warmth and satisfaction to every palate!
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Why You'll Love Chana Masala Gravy?
- Perfect for Parties & Plant-Based Diets: It's great when hosting a dinner, attending a potluck, or cooking for family. This crowd-pleaser is vegetarian, protein-rich, and sure to satisfy everyone at the table.
- Perfectly Versatile: This universally loved North Indian dish pairs beautifully with naan, basmati rice, jeera rice, or soft rotis, making it a go-to for any meal, any day.
- Rich, Robust Flavor: Tender chickpeas are simmered in a spiced tomato-onion gravy infused with bold, aromatic Indian spices. Every bite is packed with warmth and depth of flavor.
- Easy to Make: Don't be intimidated by the spices and the steps to prepare; this dish is surprisingly simple to prepare! Just follow the step-by-step recipe, and you'll have a restaurant-style dish at home in no time!
Ingredients needed
- garbanzo soaked for 10 -12 hours
- medium-sized onion
- tomatoes
- ginger garlic paste
- Spices used - coriander powder, red chilly powder, turmeric powder, dry mango powder, amchur powder, pomegranate seeds powder, anardana powder, garam masala
- oil
How to make Chana Masala Gravy?
Steps 1 - 2) Soak the garbanzo beans overnight in a large bowl of water just as we did for rajma masala and dal moth. Wash it and pressure cook for about 20-25 minutes, or until you hear 5-6 whistles.
Steps 3 - 4)Grind the onion and tomatoes to a fine paste with minimum water. Heat a thick-bottomed pan, and add the ghee /oil.
Steps 5-8) Add cumin seeds once they splutter, add the tomato onion paste and ginger garlic paste. Sautée and cook until the oil oozes out and leaves the sides of the pan. This will take some time, and it is important to ensure all the water evaporates and the sides of the paste leave oil. Otherwise, you will get a raw taste.
Steps 9-10)Next, add spices like turmeric, chili, coriander, amchur, and anardana powder. Add the dry-roasted powder garam masala (how to make garam masala) and the cooked garbanzo. Mix well and add salt to taste. Add water to get the desired consistency.
Steps 11 -12) Add the cooked garbanzo to the mixture. Mash some chickpeas to get a thicker gravy. Boil for another few minutes. Squeeze half a lemon into it. Garnish with chopped coriander and chopped onions.
If you enjoyed making and having this, do check out a variant of this dish, the Amritsari Pindi chole recipe.
Some other gravies that can be served along with this dish are palak paneer, made with an easy palak paneer recipe, or paneer tikka masala. If you are serving ghee rice made with ney choru recipe, you can also add simple lentil dal; they make a great combination.
Recipe FAQs
The Chana should be soaked for about 6 to 8 hours or overnight.
Mash some of the cooked garbanzo or chana to get a thicker gravy and keep cooking until the sauce reduces.
Soaking the garbanzo beans with teabags will give a nice, deep brown color.
Useful Tips
- Soak the garbanzo beans for at least 6 to 8 hours so they cook well.
- You can submerge a teabag when soaking and cooking to get a dark brown color for this gravy.
- Make sure to cook the onion and tomato paste thoroughly to avoid any raw taste.
- Mash some chickpeas to make the gravy thicker.
Related Recipes
If you tried this Chana Masala Gravy Recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and a 📝 comment below. I love hearing from you!
Chana Masala Gravy
Ingredients
- 2 cups garbanzo soaked for 10 -12 hours
- 1 medium sized onion
- 2 tomatoes
- 2 tsp ginger garlic paste
- 4 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp red chilly powder
- ½ tsp turmeric powder
- ½ tsp dry mango powder amchur powder
- ½ tsp pomegranate seeds powder anardana powder
Instructions
- Soak the garbanzo beans overnight in a big bowl of water.
- Wash it and pressure cook for about 20 -25 minutes or for about 5-6 whistles.
- Grind the onion and tomatoes to a fine paste with minimum water.
- Heat a thick bottomed pan , add the ghee /oil.
- Add cumin seeds
- Add the tomato onion paste.
- Next add the ginger garlic paste.
- Sautée and cook until oil oozes out and leaves the sides of the pan.
- Add the turmeric, chilly, coriander, amchur and anardana powder.
- Add the dry roasted powder (garam masala) and the cooked garbanzo.
- Mix well and add salt to taste.
- Add water to get the desired consistency.
- Mash some beans to get a thicker gravy.
- Boil for another few minutes.
- Squeeze half a lemon into it.
- Garnish with chopped coriander and chopped onions.
- Serve with wheat bread or rice , Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Soak the garbanzo beans for at least 6 to 8 hours so they cook well.
- You can submerge a teabag when soaking and cooking to get a dark brown color for this gravy.
- Make sure to cook the onion and tomato paste thoroughly to avoid any raw taste.
- Mash some chickpeas to make the gravy thicker.
This was so flavorful and yum with rotis , the detailed step by step pics made it very easy to follow. Thank you!
One of my favorites
cool, thats awesome!
Great recipe! I have never used pomegranate seeds powder, will try for sure!
Thank you so much, I got this recipe from a friend recently and the pomegrante seeds have a sweet and sour taste which gives a good flavor, hope you like it as well!
Looks Yummy!! 😀 We made this a few days back.. although i didn't add amchur & pomegranate powder. Will try it next time.
Thanks dear, the amchur and pomegranate gives a nice flavor hope you'll like it 🙂
Mouthwatering...I just love it..awesome recipe !!
Thank you so much Anshu!
omg i love this recipe! it looks delicious))) and plus masala is a great option for a meal! do you have any specific recommendations for a Indian cuisine starter? never tried to cook any before!
Thank you so much for your comments, I have couple of post on starters , please check https://inspiresn.wordpress.com/category/appetizers/ and I will be adding/uploading the more popular starters like samosa , chicken 65, chilli chicken etc. very soon. Please do check it out when you get a chance.
Oh great! Then I'll follow you here!