Chana masala (also called chhole) is a classic, crowd-pleasing Indian curry- a perennial staple of dinner parties and buffets. Last week, I gave a presentation on Indian cooking to a group of lovely, engaged community members and used chana masala as a example of how a curry comes together, breaking down the recipe to explain what each ingredient contributes. I made the point that each ingredient has to earn its role in a recipe- the way I see it, you just don't throw together spices willy-nilly into Indian recipes. They are added intentionally in particular combinations to create unique flavors.
I make this Instant Pot chana masala regularly- it is great for meal-prep as the flavors only get better over a couple of days in the fridge, and it freezes beautifully. What's more, it results in a saucy curry but comes together in one pot- no blending required. This is a great gateway recipe if you're new to cooking Indian food. I've added some notes in italics.
Chickpea Curry (Chana Masala)
- Soak 2 cups dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans) for 8-12 hours
- Drain the soaking water, rinse, and set aside
- Heat 2 tsp. oil in an Instant Pot insert
- Any neutral oil such as peanut, vegetable, canola, sunflower will do
- Saute 2 medium minced onions until browned
- Onions will make part of the curry base + they add a sweet note to the dish
- Add 1 tbsp. minced ginger + 1 tbsp. minced garlic and stir fry for a couple of minutes
- I make ginger garlic paste and store it in the fridge for convenience
- Ginger and garlic are aromatics that add flavor
- You can change the proportion of ginger to garlic
- Add spices and stir fry for a couple of minutes
- 1 tsp. ground turmeric- flavor and color
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin + 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
- Warm spices that add flavor
- 1 tsp. red chili powder/ cayenne pepper/ paprika
- You can choose whether to use a mild or hot chili powder
- You choose how much to add to control the heat level of the dish
- 1 heaped tbsp. Chana masala spice mix
- I like MDH or Everest brands but there are many reputed brands of spice mixes
- This spice mix does the heavy lifting of giving this dish its characteristic flavor
- 1/2 tbsp. Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek)
- Adds a hint of bitterness and that “restaurant” flavor
- Salt to taste - essential, brings out all other flavors
- Add 1 cup crushed tomatoes
- Curry base + add a tangy note
- Add soaked chickpeas and water (enough to cover the chickpeas and a bit more) to the pot
- Pressure cook on HIGH for 15 minutes; natural pressure release
- For a thicker curry, crush some of the chickpeas into the sauce
- Garnish with a handful of minced cilantro
- Fresh herbal finish
To make on the stovetop: Start with the oil step, and instead of soaked raw chickpeas, add cooked chickpeas, from cans or previously cooked on the stovetop.
How to serve chickpea curry
- With bread- pita, naan, roti, or even crusty rolls or sliced bread
- With steamed rice or pilaf
- Over potato patties or hash browns as chana chaat
- A raita or chopped cucumber salad is a great accompaniment
- Top with a few thinly sliced onions and serve with a wedge of lemon/lime
* * *
I read psychologist Lisa Damour's book Untangled on raising teenage girls a while ago, so when I saw another book written by her on the new books shelf of the library, I checked it out immediately. It is called The Emotional Lives of Teenagers.
The book is relevant because our daughter is turning 13 this month and she's a precocious one- I said to V, "Can you believe we're going to have a teenager in the house?" and he said, "We've had a teenager in the house for a few years already"!
Some people have such an easy and skillful way of dealing with kids. They appreciate the unique and wonderful qualities of children and teens and enjoy spending time with them. I see this admirable talent in several of my friends and relatives, and in my kids' teachers. I do not have this trait of easy interaction with young folk- the kids I like are the ones that act like adults. (And if I encounter childish adults, I run in the other direction.) Caring for kids, feeding them, taking them places, managing their lives- all of this I can do easily. Playing with kids, talking to them, relaxing and simply enjoying them...that's not so easy for me. I rely on books and personal observations to coach myself through these parenting years as I am surrounded by my kids and their friends.
Here are a few of my notes from this book, which I found to be a very helpful read:
- Central theme: Mental health is not about feeling good, but about managing discomfort. Don't be afraid of being unhappy. The full range of emotions is a feature of normal human life. Mental health is about having the right feelings at the right time and being able to manage those feelings effectively
- Reassurance from this book
- It is normal for adolescents to behave for a considerable length of time in an inconsistent and unpredictable manner.
- The adolescent brain is undergoing a major physiological renovation
- With teenagers it is mostly true that nothing stays the same for too long
- When it comes to managing emotional distress, boys are more likely to turn to distraction, and girls are more likely to turn to discussion
- Tips for parents
- Be a steady and calm presence for your teens (a tough one for me- I tend to be anxious and frazzled around kids)
- Cultivate a sense of true self-worth in children
- Offer three options when the teen is being unpleasant
- She can be friendly
- She can tell you what’s wrong while being civil
- She can let you know she needs some space
- Before jumping in to solve the problem or offer help/advice, just listen without thinking of what to say next. Distill the story into a headline by summarizing the situation kindly
- The psychological climate at home strongly shapes the emotional lives of teenagers
- Parents need to manage their own emotions (ding ding ding- the simplest yet most difficult thing)
- Stronger muscles and bones, allowing you to move better and making it easier to carry out all activities of daily life
- Improved body composition (more muscle, less fat) which is correlated to many positive health outcomes
- Lower risk of injury and risk of falls
- And many more, including boosting mood and brain health and improving management of blood sugar levels
- Dumbbells / Barbells/ Kettlebells- When we think of weight lifting, it conjures up images of this sort of gym equipment, and they are indeed very useful for weightlifting.
- Dumbbells are short bars with weights on either end, they come in many weights, ranging from 1 or 3 lb weights all the way to 50-100 lbs
- Barbell are longer bars (the standard one weighs 45 lbs) where you can add weight plates at each end
- Kettlebells are round weights with a handle on the top and they also come in a variety of weights
- All these tools are called free weights because you can pick them up and move around freely; they are not attached to anything
- Gym machines- Walk into any standard gym, and there are a variety of machines sitting on the floor.
- Each machine is designed to train a particular body part
- The machine has a "weight stack"- you typically move a pin to choose the weight you want to use
- Bodyweight- We talked about a lot of equipment for lifting but you can also train muscles by lifting your very own body weight. For instance, when you do a regular push-up, you're lifting 50-70% of your bodyweight with your upper body (chest, shoulders, arms).
- Resistance bands and similar elastic tools can be helpful and inexpensive additions to home workouts. The force needed to stretch the bands trains the muscles.
My husband is the one in charge of making rajma and chhole, haha. I don't know his exact recipe but I know that he soaks the dried beans overnight and uses the slow cooker mode in Instant Pot. So he turns it on around 6am or so, and it cooks until noon or later. He doesn't use onions but I think he does add ginger, garlic, and tomatoes. He also adds a bit of homemade garam masala. Of late, he has been cooking the beans in whey water remaining from making homemade paneer. It adds a subtle sweetness to the dish.
ReplyDeleteLakshmi
Interesting! For me, onions are an integral part of this dish. Whey is also an interesting addition. I've never used the Instant Pot on slow cooker mode at all. For me, this recipe works because you don't have to precook the chana. The curry and cooking the chickpeas all happens at once. Wonder how different my recipe would turn out in slow cooker mode.
DeleteWe find that onions make the dish too heavy, so we prefer it without them.
ReplyDeleteLakshmi
No turmeric powder , instead dhania jeera powder is larger quantity about 1 spoon each and amchoor
ReplyDeleteI also sometime add strained tea leaves for the dark brown color of chole bhature in north India
Thanks for weighing in. I have used the tea bag trick before when I cooked chickpeas separately in advance. These days I just them with the curry as above. Yes, more dhania jeera would be nice, and amchoor is great. I feel for me tomatoes give a tangy enough taste so I usually skip it.
DeleteWe pressure cook soaked chole with whole spices black cardamom, bay leaves, cinnamon and cloves. Also use a lot more coriander powder. A lot more ginger than garlic. Tastes great without the garlic too and even without onions. Also add a little garam masala and anardana powder that I make by oven drying and powdering pomegranate pearls.
ReplyDeleteSometimes black tea added while pressure cooking.
Whole spices are incredible! I should do that. The black cardamom in particular can transform a dish. My ginger garlic paste does usually have more ginger than garlic (about 2:1) Anardana is a great addition. Thanks for your tips. I am learning a lot from the details of how different cooks make this dish.
DeleteYour writing about Indian food is very informative. My daughter is not into Indian food so we don't have it much at the moment but I live in hope she will grow to love it, especially as she is much better at eating spicy food than me.
ReplyDeleteAnd happy birthday to your daughter but I agree that the teenage years seem to start long before 13. I have learnt a lot over my daughter's teenage years about being calm (am still not always), about how rudeness can be a sign of anxiety, and that change is slow and not always easy to notice. There is no magic fix. It is a worrying time eve though everyone has different strengths and challenges. Lisa Damour sounds really interesting, especially in her attitude to mental health. And your reflections about how you deal with kids and teenagers is going to be a great help in working out your approach. Good luck.
Thanks, Johanna! This whole time period is an interesting one with frustrations + growth. Perimenopause for mom coupled with puberty in kids is a potent combination ha ha. I do like Lisa Damour's very level headed approach to emotional matters in adolescence. Especially when she is reassuring that the ups and downs are normal. (My colleague was telling me last week that she butted heads horribly with her teenage daughter, but her daughter, now in her early 20s, came up to her recently and apologized unconditionally for being so difficult.)
DeleteThis is such a good recipe! Thank you. I’m a novice Indian food cook/ Instant Pot user. Could you please share more gateway recipes and IP recipes that you have on rotation?
ReplyDeleteHello! I would be very glad to! Watch this space :)
DeleteMy go to recipe is still the one from a mad tea party . I've tried different variations over the years and i still go back to this recipe.https://madteaparty.wordpress.com/2007/12/09/punjabi-chhole-chickpeas/
ReplyDeleteHi Vasu- Anita has awesome recipes! An OG food blogger! I see her recipe calls for making a fresh masala powder- I can totally see how this would be incredible. Must try this.
DeleteLove the emphasis on each ingredient having to earn it's place. My typical chhole tempering starts with khade masale / whole spices - bay leaf, black cardamom, cinnamon, cloves (and a few black peppercorns in winter for that hint of zing). I substitute chhole masala with homemade garam masala. For tanginess, whatever's on hand - tamarind juice, amchoor, anardana or lemon juice. And, chhole for my family is incomplete without a hint of sweetness from jaggery :).
ReplyDeletePrachi
Prachi- Thanks for the great comment! I am realizing that I don't use whole spices as much as I could. I think it is from cooking for people who may not know to pull out whole spices, and biting down on whole spices is not always pleasant. They do add a whole different level of flavor!
DeleteJaggery is an unusual addition but goes to show you how every family makes this recipe their own :) I wonder if you are Maharashtrian with a penchant for "goda jevan". I grew up with that style of cooking too and love a tinge of sweetness in my savory dishes.
Hi Nupur, I’ve always cooked Chana separately. I have not had much luck cooking Chana with tomatoes. They don’t cook as well for me, they don’t get silky smooth. This year, I started adding ample salt and whole spices while cooking the Chana. It has been a game changer!
ReplyDeleteI am going to try whole spices next time! (I should use whole spices more- they are amazing and a different level of flavor.)
DeleteI agree that salt while cooking chana is a must for flavor. I add salt to all beans and lentils while cooking and do not find that it affects the cooking process. But also my chana cooked to perfect, silky smooth and soft in this tomato mixture. I am not sure why different cooks have different experiences with this!! Also my Instant Pot cooks everything faster than recipes say. I don't get it. LOL
Hi Nupur,
ReplyDeleteHave been a long time reader of your blogs and love them! Thanks for another informative blog.
I make Chana masala pretty much the same way. I add a couple of things. I give a tadka with ghee and add green chilis, cinnamon- clove powder, turn off the heat and add chopped cilantro leaves to it. Add this to the Chole. Gives a slight smoky flavor..which is nice. I got this from a website called bawarchi.com that used to be there long back!
Another variation I make is like the Saravana Bhavan Chana masala. I skip the chole masala and add coconut milk and mint leaves! Adds a South Indian touch ;)
I can also relate to your comment of not being able to resonate with young folk or childish adults..ha ha! I was just thinking it was so much easier when kids were younger. I actually enjoyed my time with them. I have a teen and a tween and it’s a constant challenge trying to balance fun with boundaries!
- Deepa
Deepa- Thank you for this nice note! I loved reading about your chana variations- I definitely want to try both the smoky tadka and the South Indian version- both sound delightful.
DeleteThe tween and teen years are crazy, for sure! We'll make it through ;)