- 3 cups dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
- 3 large onions finely chopped
- 220g of salt-free or low-salt tomato paste concentrate OR 1kg of grated tomatoes (to be reduced later)
- A few stalks of fresh coriander (5 g)
- 3 small sticks cinnamon (finger-sized or two inches)
- 6 cardamom pods
- 6 bay leaves
- 1 Tbsp cumin seeds
- ¼th tsp asafoetida
- 1 tsp grated ginger, densely packed
- 1½ tsp turmeric
- 1½ tsp cayenne (OR 1 fresh hot chilli halved lengthwise)
- 1½ tsp unripe mango powder (look/ask for amchur in any Indian/South Asian shop, do not replace with mango!)
- 2 Tbsp Garam Masala (or Make your own)
- Put the soaked chickpeas to cook for 1h30 on medium heat in a regular pot (without a lid) or ~20 minutes in a pressure cooker. Do not stir them. They should be very soft and melt in the mouth when you press them with your tongue. Don't put too much water, ideally you wouldn't need to strain them later.
- Put some brown rice to cook as well to go with the Chana Masala later.
- Chop the coriander finely.
- Prepare the Garam Masala.
- Cut the onions finely. To save time, I use a mandoline to slice them, and a chopper (or a knife). Set aside.
- If you're using fresh tomatoes, grate them now to a purée. Set aside.
- Grate the ginger
- On low to medium heat, roast the spices "for roasting" for a few minutes. To prevent burning the the small/thin spices/herbs, put the biggest items first until roasted, then add the the smaller ones, so in this order: Cinnamon, cardamom, then bay leaves & cumin. Stir well, whenever it starts being fragrant and slightly smoking, add the onion immediately.
- Set the heat to the maximum and keep stirring the onions "dry". They will give off a lot of steam and start caramelizing.
- When the bottom of your pot starts being brown, reduce the heat to medium.
- Add either the grated tomatoes, or the tomato paste + ~1 litre of water.
- Add the "other spices" and the coriander, stir well and let cook for ~20 minutes. Stir now and then to prevent sticking at the bottom. Turn off the heat when the sauce is rather thick.
- Mix gently with the chickpeas. Enjoy!
Serve either on rice or as a side with chapati (Indian wholemeal flatbread).
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