Delicious Channa Masala or Chickpeas at Their Best

I just love Indian food. I might have mentioned this in past blogs. Once or twice. Maybe 20 times? Anyway, I make Indian food now and again and sometimes I get on a roll. Lucky for me, my husband also loves Indian food. Granted, I do not make it fiery hot. I love spices, in the sense of Masalas and all the great spice flavors that make Indian food so wonderful. I just leave out the majority of the chili pepper part. Otherwise my husband would not eat it at all. 
 

Channa Masala - Savory Chickpeas

So a few days back, I had been surfing the web, looking for something, when I came upon the recipe for the Chicken Seekh Kebabs I wrote about a few days back. And then I came upon some new spices I hadn't heard of before. And then one thing led to another and I was printing off recipes faster than I could keep track of. As for how I end up making a recipe, that is another story. I generally look up other people's ideas on a particular dish and then cull from that what I want to do. So it was with a Pork Curry, which I will write about later. Today I want to celebrate Chickpeas. Garbanzo Beans. 

One recipe for Channa Masala has been in my recipe collection for over 15 years. I made it once and my husband decided he didn't like it. I never made it again.

Channa Masala - Savory Chickpeas

Until a few days ago, as I was wading through a slew of delicious-sounding recipes and recognized the name of this dish. As anyone knows, each person who makes a dish, no matter how authentic, puts their own spin on it. So it is with me. I happen to have a pretty well stocked spice cabinet. I have an entire drawer full of only spices that go into Indian dishes. And then there are crossover ones, like green cardamom, for example, or mustard seeds. I have those elsewhere. But when it comes to exotic flavors, I just hunger for them, so with this dish, I ended up adding things to it that I had not before. I cannot even recall what the dish tasted like 15 years ago. All I know is that how it came out a few days ago was over the top. Mmmmmm.

Channa Masala is a wonderfully savory chickpea (garbanzo) dish that can be a vegetarian meal or a side dish, as one chooses. For me, I can do either. For the last two evenings I had only the Channa Masala with saffron rice for my dinner and I was more than happy. This is my version of Channa Masala. I used some spices that many people will not own, or possibly even have heard of. I used amchur (dried green mango powder), for a sour note instead of lemon juice. I added dried methi (dried fenugreek herb), because I saw it used in one of the many recipes I perused, and because I like the flavor. I also added Ajwain (Carom seed, which has a strong thymol component). These items can be left out, if not available. If so, do use a squeeze of lemon juice at the end of cooking.

Channa Masala

Channa Masala - Savory Chickpeas

Serves 4 to 6

2 tablespoons cooking oil or ghee
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced 
1 jalapeno, minced
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon Garam Masala
½ teaspoon amchur powder
1 teaspoon kasoori methi (dried fenugreek herb) 
¼ teaspoon ajwain / carom seed
2 cups water
2 cans chickpeas, drained and well rinsed
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded, chopped
1 - 2 Indian bay leaves (tej patta)
½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
salt, to taste

Heat the oil or ghee in a large skillet. Add the onions and slowly saute over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until nicely golden. Add in the garlic, ginger and jalapeno for another 5 minutes. Stir in the turmeric, Garam Masala, amchur, methi and ajwain. Cook, stirring to bring out the flavors of the spices. Add in the tomatoes, water and chickpeas and stir. Stir in the Indian Bay leaves and cilantro. Cover and cook over low heat for about 30 minutes, to meld flavors. Serve with fresh cilantro sprigs to garnish. Wonderful along with saffron rice.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

One of My Favorite Chicken Curries

As I mentioned in my post yesterday, I love Indian food, and spices of all kinds, but some of the ones most commonly found in Indian cuisine are among my top favorites. When I find a recipe using all sorts of combinations of spices, I just have to try it. So, I have one recipe in a cookbook that has been a go-to favorite for a long time, because of the spice mixtures. I alter the recipe, as noted in yesterday's blog. Partly due to my husband's need for a sauce or something to put on the accompanying rice, I add in a can of coconut milk. Partly because making an Indian side dish to accompany the curry means an added amount of work, I just add vegetables to the curry itself and circumvent a side dish. 

Chicken Curry with Peas

While the basis of the curry recipe is there, it may be unrecognizable once I am done making it. And one way or the other, the flavors are just so tremendously good. Thankfully my husband does like the Indian flavors. If not I don't know what I'd do. He doesn't tolerate too much chili-spice though, but I can always sprinkle on some cayenne when I serve my plate. 

This chicken curry is wonderful, but when it comes down to Indian meals, lamb is my favorite. Unfortunately, lamb is very hard to find here, and if I do, it is prohibitively expensive. I used to just buy a boneless lamb leg and cut the thing up myself into chunks of varying sizes. Lamb has a lot of silver-skin running through it, along with fat, making it difficult to cut up. While trying to avoid the tough silver-skin, I end up with a lot of very small bits. Sometimes I run these little bits briefly in the food processor and use the resultant ground meat to make Indian meatballs or just lamb "burgers." Any chunks I can glean that are of uniform size I freeze in 1-pound portions in zip top bags in the freezer until the mood for Indian strikes.

Back to the chicken curry. If perchance you love spices as I do, and if you decide to make the Easy Garam Masala, Curry Powder and the Tandoor Spice, or just have your own on hand, then do try this recipe. I am using my variation on the recipe here, but feel free to adjust to your taste. Any one of the spice mixtures would be great alone, really. The dish is easily made into a "dry" curry by eliminating the coconut milk and only adding in little bits of water to keep the curry from burning while it cooks. In this recipe "amchur powder" is used for its souring effect. 

Amchur / Dry Mango Powder

Amchur or Dried Green Mango Powder

Amchur / amchoor / aamchur is a condiment or seasoning made from very green mangos, sliced and dried, then ground into powder. It is used mainly in northern Indian cuisines, adding a fruity flavor and a sour note similar to lemon or vinegar. It also has tenderizing effects, much as do lemon juice or vinegar, and is useful in marinades. As mangoes are seasonal, drying them into powder gives access to their benefits all year round.

Amchur is high in vitamin C, as well as Vitamins A (beta-carotene), E and iron. Use it to substitute for tamarind in sweet-sour preparations like some dals or sambar, and in chicken and fish dishes. If you do not have amchur powder, substitute a good squeeze of lemon juice at the end of cooking time.

Chicken Curry with Peas

Serves 3 - 4

Chicken Curry with Peas

1 tablespoon oil or ghee; more if needed
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
1 large onion, chopped finely
2 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger
1 - 2 fresh green chiles, jalapeno or serrano, as desired
2 teaspoons curry powder
2 teaspoons tandoor spice
1 - 2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon paprika
1½ teaspoons salt, or as needed, to taste
½ teaspoon amchur powder (OR lemon juice later)
1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken (I use breast meat)
1 green pepper, in small chunks
½ can (from a 14.5 ounce can) coconut milk
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
½ cup cilantro, plus leaves for garnish
½ cup raw cashews, lightly toasted in a dry pan, optional

Place ghee or oil in a large skillet over medium heat and once hot, add the mustard seeds. Stir these rapidly until they pop and splutter. Add in the onion, garlic, ginger and green chilies if using (photo 1 below). Saute these until the onion is golden, stirring often, about 15 minutes (photo 2 below). While the mixture is sauteing, combine in a small bowl the curry powder, tandoor spice, garam masala, paprika, salt and amchur powder. Cut the chicken into 1½-inch cubes and set aside. 

photos 1 through 5

Once the onions are golden, add in the mixture of spices (photo 3 above) and mix, tossing until fragrant, 1 - 2 minutes (photo 4 above). Add in the chicken pieces and toss them well so they are completely coated in the spices (photo 5 above). Add in the green pepper and the coconut milk, stir well, cover and cook on a low simmer for 20 minutes, or until the chicken is done. Add in the cilantro. If you did not use the amchur powder, add in about a tablespoon of lemon juice now and stir well to combine. Add in the peas and let the mixture come back to a simmer before serving. Strew the cashews over top with a few cilantro leaves for garnish.


If making a dry curry, it is great served with a sauced vegetable side dish. Also, it is often served with one of the many Indian breads. My understanding is that Naan, while wildly popular here in the US, is relatively uncommon in India. This is because Naan is traditionally made in a tandoor oven, something that is not available to the normal Indian household. Chapatis, Parathas and other flat breads are far more commonly made as everyday accompaniments. If you cannot find Naan or one of these others, any soft flatbread will work well to scoop up the chunks of meat. I hope you enjoy this curry dish as much as we do!



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.