Chana Masala Recipe with Step by Step Pictures. Chole Masala or Chickpeas Curry is made using chickpeas (chana), onion, tomatoes, spices like chana masala powder and whole spices. You can serve it with battura or poori.
Chana Masala Recipe
I love chana masala. It is my all time favorite, I love it with battura or poori. We make channa masala often because everyone in my house loves it..I have another version of chana masala in my blog. You can check it here.
About Chana Masala Recipe
I make this often, but never do it with store bought chana masala powder. Somehow I don’t like it so much..I always use the spices which are available in my house or make my own masala powder..This recipe is something special because I made my own masala powder by roasting and grinding fresh spices..We had it with roti and it tasted awesome..I had some left over, so we had it with plain sponge dosa the next day and it tasted even better. So please try it.
Chana masala is a basic and very popular recipe from north india. It is served in ever restaurants in india. Chole Masala or Chickpeas Curry is made using chickpeas (chana), onion, tomatoes, spices like chana masala powder and whole spices. You can serve it with battura or poori.
Video for Chana Masala Recipe
Watch this quick 2 minute video to see how to make chana masala in action!
Ingredients for Chana Masala
Whole Spices
I used whole spices like coriander, cumin, pepper to make my own homemade chana masala powder. You can skip this step entirely and use store bought chana masala powder.
Onions
Sauteing onions till light and golden makes this curry tasty and gives the desirable sweetness to the dish.
Tomatoes
tomatoes is used in the curry to give the tanginess to the curry.
Ginger & Garlic
add flavours and taste to the chana masala. Use equal amount of ginger and garlic to make a paste.
Kasuri Methi Leaves
dried fenugreek leaves is crushed and used in the end of the curry to gives the unique taste and aroma to the masala. Even though you can skip adding this. I strongly recommend you to use it.
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📖 Recipe Card
Chana Masala Recipe | Chole Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups Chana | Chickpeas (dried)
- 1 large Onion sliced thinly
- 2 large Tomatoes chopped
- 1 inch Ginger
- 6 cloves Garlic
- 1 tbsp Kasuri Methi leaves | Dried Fenugreek leaves
- Salt to taste
- 4 tbsp Oil
- 3 tbsp Coriander leaves chopped finely
- 2 tsp Lemon Juice
Homemade Chana Masala Powder
- 1 stick Cinnamon
- 5 piece Cardamom
- 4 piece Cloves
- 1 tsp Whole Peppercorns
- 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
- 1 tbsp Coriander Seeds
- 2 to 4 Dry Red Chilli
Instructions
- Soak Channa overnight or upto 8 hours. Drain it and add it to pressure cooker with salt and cook it for 4 whistle, then simmer it for 20 mins. Turn off the heat, let the steam go all by itself. Now open the cooker and set aside.
- Now start by making masala..Dry roast all ingrediants given in the list till nice aroma comes.Remove it to a plate and allow it to cool down. Now grind it into fine powder.
- Heat 2 tblspn oil in a kadai. Add ginger, garlic and onion. Fry this till golden.
- Now add in tomatoes and cook till it turn mushy.Put it in the blender and make into a fine paste.
- Now heat 2 tblspn of oil and the ground masala and cook for 3 mins.. Add the ground masala and mix well..Fry that for 3 mins.
- Add the cooked channa along with any water in there and add some additional water to make the gravy.
- Now take 4 ladleful of this gravy along with channa into a blender and make into a fine paste.
- Add this to the gravy and mix well..Add salt and kasuri methi leaves and mix well..
- Bring this to a boil and simmer it for 15 mins untill oil floats on top.
- Garnish with cilantro and lemon juice.
- Serve hot with roti.
Video
Notes
How to Make Instant Pot Chana Masala (Steps)
How I cooked chickpeas in Instant Pot using Delay Start Option
- Wash chickpeas in a bowl and rinse it two to three times. Drain the water. Take it in instant pot bowl. cover with water.
- Select pressure cook mode, high pressure for 25 mins. Then select delay start and choose the time when it has to start cooking,
- In my case i did all this at 11 in the night. So i selected 7 hours delay so it will be ready in the morning.
- Make sure the position is in sealing. Now leave it on its own.
- When i checked in the morning the chickpeas is beautifully cooked.
Making of chana masala
- Cook chana as per above instructions
- Grind onion and tomato to a puree.
- Take ¼ of the chana and grind it to a coarse paste.
- Set instant pot to saute mode. Heat oil. Add in spices.
- Add in onion and tomato puree and saute for 2 mins.
- Add Spice powders and salt and mix well.
- Add cooked chana with liquid, ground chana and more water if needed.
- Now set the instant pot to pressure cook mode. Pressure cook for10 mins. Release the pressure and enjoy
Nutrition
Chana Masala Recipe Step by Step Guide
This version of chana masala or chole is made with freshly made chana masala powder and it makes all the difference.
Ingredients for Chana Masala
 |
| Take all your ingredients |
How to Make Chana Masala Powder
How to Cook Chana (chickpeas) for Chana Masala
Soak Channa overnight or upto 8 hours. Drain it and add it to pressure cooker with salt and cook it for 4 whistle, then simmer it for 20 mins. Turn off the heat, let the steam go all by itself. Now open the cooker and set aside.
How to Make Restaurant Style Chana Masala at Home
Instant Pot Chana Masala Recipe
Instant pot has become trending recently. Cooking in instant pot has become time saving and easy too. This recipe is particularly very easy. Because you cook chana the day before instant pot. And you can make this curry in just few mins.
Ingredients for Instant Pot Chana Masala
- Chana - 2 cups cook as per this method
- Onion - 2 large chopped
- Tomato - 2 large chopped
- Oil - 3 tblsp
- Fennel Seeds / Saunf / Sombu - 1 tsp
- Cinnamon / Pattai - 1 stick
- Cardamom / Yelakai - 4
- Cloves / Krambu - 4
- Chilli Powder - 1 tblsp
- Coriander Powder - 2 tblsp
- Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
- Pav Bhaji Masala - 1 tblps optional
- Garam Masala Powder - 1 tsp
- Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
- Salt to taste
How to Make Instant Pot Chana Masala (Steps)
How I cooked chickpeas in Instant Pot using Delay Start Option
- Wash chickpeas in a bowl and rinse it two to three times. Drain the water. Take it in instant pot bowl. cover with water.
- Select pressure cook mode, high pressure for 25 mins. Then select delay start and choose the time when it has to start cooking,
- In my case i did all this at 11 in the night. So i selected 7 hours delay so it will be ready in the morning.
- Make sure the position is in sealing. Now leave it on its own.
- When i checked in the morning the chickpeas is beautifully cooked.
Making of chana masala
- Cook chana as per above instructions.
- Grind onion and tomato to a puree.
- Take ¼ of the chana and grind it to a coarse paste.
- Set instant pot to saute mode. Heat oil. Add in spices.
- Add in onion and tomato puree and saute for 2 mins.
- Add Spice powders and salt and mix well.
- Add cooked chana with liquid, ground chana and more water if needed.
- Now set the instant pot to pressure cook mode. Pressure cook for10 mins. Release the pressure and enjoy
Instant Pot Chana Masala (Step Wise Pictures)
1)Cook chana and set aside. Take some cooked chana in a blender and puree till smooth.
2)Set instant pot to saute mode.
3)Heat oil and add in fennel seeds, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves
4)Add in ground tomato and onion puree
5)cook till raw smell leaves
6)Add spice powders
7)mix well
8)add cooked chana
9)add ground chana too.
10)mix well.
11)Set mode to pressure cook and cook for 10 mins
12)done.
If you have any questions not covered in this post and if you need help, leave me a comment or mail me @[email protected] and I’ll help as soon as I can.
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Irene
Yummy curry 🙂 I LOVE the way you present
Aarthi
Glad u liked it
Roshu
Xcellent presentation.....love this recipe
meeso
Wow, you have a great blog here! This looks delicious!
Stefania
very good recipe, dear!
maha
chole is my fav too dear..best combo with chapati n puri i love the gravy. n ur just tempting me.....
Jenn Erickson
Aarthi, it's breakfast time here, but my mouth is watering and I can't get your Channa Masala off my mind. It looks incredible!!
Jenn
chitraj.hegde
wow..the chana masala looks delicious...and yummy......love the steps...i will try this method next time...nice recipe..
faseela
mouthwatering preperation dear.......lovely recipe
Nalini's Kitchen
Looks so delicious and yummy....perfect with roti or bhatura.
Heather @ girlichef.com
I love the sound of your masala powder...this sounds like a delicious dish! =)
preeti garg
yummy yummy n now my tummy hungry ... for this
Indulge
My mouth is watering here. Loved the color the masala brght to the chana. You can try adding a tea bag to the chana when cooking in the cooker, gives a rich brown color to the chana as well.
Love Ash.
Deeksha
Chole Masala looks very tasty. I like the way you have prepared. Yum Yum!!
Sarah Naveen
nice recipe..perfect with roti..looks so yummy!
Asiya @ Chocolate & Chillies
Everyone in our home loves cholay! I am always on the look out for a good channa masala recipe but they always use the store bought chaat masala that I don't like. Love how you make your own...bookmarking this! Thx for sharing!
S.Menaga
mm am drooling over here..super channa masala!!
Nandu
Hi Aarthi! Its lovely to know you make your own chana masala! I usually use readymade powder. Will try using ur method next time 🙂
-http://foodiliciousnan.wordpress.com
Hamaree Rasoi
Delicious and tempting chana masala. Excellent meal.
Deepa
Hamaree Rasoi
veena krishnakumar
I love chole too. and the pictorial is so easy to follow
vrinda
I was looking for a nice channa masala powder recipe ,that l0oks perfect,will try for sure...
Suja
Absolutely love this,makes me drool
Harini
yet another delightful way of enjoying Chana Masala!!
Roshni
yummy and flavourful... adding kasuri methi is new to me
Holly
So many ingredients you use I've never even heard of, but all of the foods look delicious!
Tante Kiki
Aarti this is delicious... Yummyyyy!
Prabhamani
Looks yum Aarthi..Home made masala will make real aroma..!!
Christy Gerald
Channa Masala powder is done good.Masala luks truly yumm.
Teena Mary
Channa masala is my favourite too. This is a spicy & tasty recipe. Thx for sharing 🙂
Hema
Channa Masala with kasoori methi looks very flavorful..I luv kasoori methi,and add to many dishes.
Priya
Feel like grabbing that plate and having rite now,yummy channa masala.
Munir
Vegetables are truely a wonder and you seem to have done a great job !
Malli
That is an awesome bowl of channa and a creative presentation.... very tempting with pooris!! I love the look of it but wish I could taste some:)
Cool Lassi(e)
Very nutritious side dish. Who doesn't like chole? Yum!
sangee vijay
Nice masala preparation,looks so yummy n inviting...great with rotis,thanks for sharing !!
@lekshmi
delicious channa masala............
Viki's Kitchen
Always love channa masala. Looks delicious.
Suma Gandlur
I make it the same way except that I have never tried homemade chana masala. 🙂
Blackswan
My hubby always order masala in coffee shops. I've not tried making it tho. Nice recipe!
The Pumpkin Farm
thats some amount of work, but worthy. Looks delicious
Shabitha Karthikeyan
Nicely done !! Homemade spice powder always gives special taste !!
Umm Mymoonah
Looks very delicious,perfect pair with pooris and chapathi's.
rekhas kitchen
very beautifuly presented step by step pic and I loved the texture of the curry wonderful...
deepsrecipes
Slurp..Awesome..
Hemavathi Murari
Even though the recipe is cooked most in my house, we don't use that powder. urs is a different version.
Aarthi: I am sure if you participate in any event, you will bag the prize because of ur presentation. All ingredients in one shot. I hope will nobody disturb you when you are taking photos.
Ongoing Event: MurariAnniversary-Giveaway-2012
Ann
Once again - another impressive and amazing dish! LOVE the spices in this one!
Deeps @ Naughty Curry
u make your own channa masala spice mix? hats off to u! looks great 🙂
Chandrani
Creamy yummy chhana masala...
Vidhya
Chole looks delicious.
Meena
wow.. ur presentation and step by step guides r too good... chana masala
loved it
Ganga Sreekanth
Such a simple and easy recipe......
cookingvarieties
hi aarthi..yummy yummy, love this with roti , paratha or naaan..mmm
have a nice day
Treat and Trick
A must try recipe! Yummy..
Srivalli
Love channa masala..looks great!
Malar
Good recipes. authentic too.
The only complain is that the blog is too cluttered and too many different font and colors going on and it makes it really hard on the eyes to appreciate the contents of the blog and the photos running along the sides of the blog seem unending. A little bit of elegance and you have a great blog
Megha Sarin
WOW! You have every possible indian dish on your blog. Love it!
I am sure I am gonna practice my culinary skills by trying some of your recipes and then I can flaunt and boast in front of my nagging mom.
It looks easy and yummy!
Love
http://www.meghasarin.blogspot.com
Helene Dsouza
looks wondeful! thanks for sharing. I ll try that out one of these days.
ramya
This is one of my all time favorites....Thanks for sharing.will let you know how it turned out!
vaishali sabnani
chola is an alltime fav....lovely!!
Swathi Iyer
Delicious curry. Love that puri too.
Hamaree Rasoi
I am a die hard fan of chole bhature...looks tempting...
a-boleyn
One of my favourite Indian dishes along with mutter paneer.
a-boleyn
One of my favourite Indian dishes along with mutter paneer.
Priya
Quick and yummy chole, love with rotis.
Rani Acharyulu
Nice step by step Chana masala recipe.Love it.
Muraligeetham
delicious!! loved the recipe without onion...
ANU
very nice...never thought that you can mk chole without onions 🙂
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divya
looks yummy n delicious..
Sireesha Puppala
Can have it as it is:) inviting bowl of curry
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Anonymous
Dear Aarthi,
I m a regular visitor of your site. I ve tried many of ur receipes. Most of them have come out very well. Can u please clear me oh how to keep the puri puffed as seen in hotels. I ve tried many ways of adding sugar, baking powder ,etc. but all in vein. can u suggest some method.
Regards
Teena
Aarthi
@AnonymousI have recipe for puffed poori..U can check it here
https://www.yummytummyaarthi.com/2012/05/perfectly-puffed-poori-poori-puri-deep.html
Kasc
I tried this dish it came out really good
I've added some fennel seeds and cashew nuts
It was mouthwatering thanks for your receipe
morri
WOW! If you use canned channa, making this curry is a blast. I came home from a long journey on Saturday, tired and hungry and craving hot curry. I threw everything together and in under 20 minutes I had a steaming bowl in front of me. I didn't have any fresh veggies, so I used canned channa and canned tomato puree. This recipe is a lifesaver, thanks for posting 😀
morri
I liked your "quick channa curry" recipe so much that I had to try this one, too. This dish takes more effort, yes, but if you have enough time, it's absolutely worth it. I served it with home made roti, as per suggestions. My husband gave it a round of applause, although he joked that he couldn't understand why the ingredients needed blending three times. He teased me "Can't you just blend it all together at the start and have it faster?". Now I have to try it with battura!
Aarthi
@morriGlad you liked it, but you cant blend it together..
morri
I know the curry needs to be made in stages. I'm pretty sure my husband knows that too (he's a good cook), he was just joking. I meant "I want to try this curry with battura", not "try to blend it all at once", lol.
Manju Gpai
i had absolutely no clue about cooking.bt then i accidently visited this site.I have tried out many of the recipes from your site maam.If i want to cook something,the first thing i do is check in this site :). Trust me my confidence level about cooking has increased a lot 🙂 Have no clue what i would have done without this site 😛 . Thank you so much for the wonderful recipes.
Manju Gpai
had absolutely no clue about cooking.I have tried out many of the recipes from your site .If i want to cook something,the first thing i do is check in this site :). Trust me my confidence level about cooking has increased a lot 🙂 Have no clue what i would have done without this site 😛 . Thank you so much for the wonderful recipes.
Hamaree Rasoi
Lovely chole. Even without waiting for bhatures I could have them as a soup.
Deepa
Catherine
That looks wonderful and healthy. I love chick peas. Blessings, Catherine
priya
i tried it
semma taste
thanks
sushmitha
Thank you so much aarthi, I tried this recipe today and it yummy to our tummy :). Your presentation of recipe is very useful
Anonymous
I like your recipes but don't you think you use too much of oil in all your recipes
Nandhini Nagarajan
Hey Aarthi.. Can I prepare the Masala powder and store it..? How long it will be good..?
Aarthi
@Nandhini NagarajanYes u can make and store, store it in a air tight container in fridge. It will last for months.
Anonymous
Looks yummy!!! Am trying it for breakfast tomorrow.... Thanks for d share 🙂
Anonymous
R3 very nice i done dis very yummy thanks dear
umamahi
akka should we add the grinded powder as a whole as given in this recipe..or to reserve some amount and then add? thanks:)
Aarthi
@umamahiyou can add and taste it, if u need more, add more
Revathi Natarajan
Hi Arthi.. Recipe luks good is kasuri methileaves must for this recipe or we can try without that??
Aarthi
@Revathi Natarajanu can skip kasuri methi, but it adds the real flavour of chana masala
Juleena kunhimohammed
Dear aarthi
Ur blog is an xcellent guide for beginners like me..following ur recipes xactly ,my husband has become a big fan of my cooking..thumbs up..keep going..luv u..muaahhh
chowringheelaxminagar
Hi..Looks delicious and I love how easy to follow the recipes are. Would love to try it out.
Laxmi Nagar
Anonymous
Hi aarthi....love all ur recipes...good work. 👍
I dont have amchoor powder. Can i replace it with anything? I do have chole masala though,which has amchoor in it. Do reply.
Aarthi
@Anonymousyes u can use that..or squeeze little lemon juice in the end
Chowringhee
Nice article thanks for sharing.......
please visit in this site for kathi roll which is very good in looking and test....
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AMBK
looks delicious.....there are too many recipes...is there a battura recipe too...can you point me where to look...
Aarthi
@AMBKcheck this link
https://www.yummytummyaarthi.com/search/label/Bhatura
ramya sasi
Ur blog is nice...
Yogee
Wonderful site aarthi.. Perfect explanations step by step.. Am newly married so every weekend am trying new recipe from ur library.. He loves tastes alot.. Love u lot.. Keep it up..
Lucky Sign
nice blog! i found this blog today. i saw this on tasty kitchen and was wondering it was good. i will have to try it. i like this kabli chole, is so delicious dish
.thankyou for shearing this information with us!chowringhee
north campus
Maggy
Coriander looks in large amount than pepper... But both f dose quantities are mentioned as 1 spoon.... Pls give d exact quantity yu r using
Aarthi
coriander is 1 tblspn..pepper is 1 tsp
Anupama kumar
Hi Aarthi, I have tried chana masala in different methods. Saw your recipe yesterday. Initially I felt this recipe takes a long time and it would be risky. But for my surprise it turned out very well and got lot of appreciation from my Huby and son. Thanks a lot for such a wonderful recipe.
Lucky Sign
wow... nice entry...chana masala looks so yummy & great, thankyou for shearing. chowringhee
satyaniketan
Javad
The best channa masala I've had and I made it! 😀 Love your recipes. My wife's pregnant and I have taken control of the kitchen for the next 8 months. I'm gonna try each of your recipes. Thank you!!! You the bestt!
Mona
hey mam, it is essential to kasuri methi leave at the end or its optional.
Aarthi
Kasuri Methi is dried fenugreek leaves. It adds the unique flavour to chana masala. You can skip if you dont have. But it is highly recommended.
Mona
hey mam is it required to add kasuri methi leaves or its optional. For what kasuri methi leaves are used ?
Aarthi
Kasuri Methi is dried fenugreek leaves. It adds the unique flavour to chana masala. You can skip if you dont have. But it is highly recommended.
Tanisha Singh
This was good but need some more information about your recipe like details of recipe, how you can prepare it,restaurant in satya nketan delhi
Unknown
Very good recipe....
Unknown
Very nice recipe
Vini
Ur recipes r awesome dr.. i check ur site daily..my kind suggestion for u.. u can create a app of ur recipes because u hav a huge followers... my girl loves ur baby recipes very much.. thanks for it..
Leanne naish
Hi! I really want to try your recipe, but can I ask please? What is malli?
Aarthi
malli is coriander seeds
Wayne
I want to try this but I'm not a big fan of cloves. I have eaten this in other places and I have not noticed a clove taste. I dont mind if clove is in there, but I don't want to notice it either. It blend in the background or be just barely noticed.
Do you think I should reduce the amount? I don't want to notice it but also dont want to destroy the recipe
Aarthi
you can skip cloves
Vishesh Vishnani
Thanks for sharing recipe tried & loved it & please share sweets recipe too.
Sankalp Packaged Foods
The perfect balance of spices and tender chickpeas makes it a must-try for any food enthusiast.