Chana masala or Chana chole or Chhole masala or whatever is a favorite Indian subcontinent dist. It's mouth-watering and lip-smacking spicy chickpea cooked in authentic Indian spices. This dish is usually cooked making use of Kabuli Chana or the white chana. There are two versions of Chana Masala the dark brown thick gravy where there is little to no tomato while the reddish-orange gravy is the one made with a lot of onions and tomato gravy. Here we will see how to make both the versions and mix them up with noodles. These noodles are not only nutritious but are also stomach-filling!
Preparing the Chole or Chana Masala:
Soak the Chickpeas:
Soaking chickpeas should be done overnight as this will allow the chickpeas, if fresh, to germinate making it easy to digest and protein breakdown thereby more nutritious; if dry chana, then it will make it easy to cook by softening them through rehydrating the chickpeas and also by breaking down the phytic acid in these peas as it causes flatulence and bloating. Overnight or 8 hours of soaking is needed for making the chickpeas easy to cook in a pressure cooker. This can be done using a quick and alternative process by soaking the chickpeas in hot water for 1 to 2 hours. Canned chickpeas are even easier to prepare and will not need to be soaked. When you soak the chickpeas, soak them in a bowl that has enough headspace and pour enough water that the chickpeas are submerged in the water that they will still remain immersed in water after expanding on imbibition at the end of time. Before use, strain all the water, rinse, and wash the soaked chickpeas.
Boiling the chickpeas:
The chickpeas are boiled with dried amla or a tea bag that a tangy flavour and a dark colour is imparted for the preparation of chole. Amla gives both the taste and the colour while the tea bag imparts only the colour. In that case, either pomegranate seeds or amchur powder or lime or lemon juice can be used as an alternative. Add enough water that the chickpeas are immersed in the water - about 2.5 to 3 cups of water for 1 cup of soaked chickpeas. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and mix it well. Pressure cook the chickpea for 2 to 3 whistles or until it is cooked soft and is easy to mash. Remove the amla pieces or the teabag.
Chole Spices:
Place a skillet on the stovetop and heat it on low heat. To this hot skillet add the following spices:
2-3 black cardamoms
1 to 1.5 inches of cinnamon bark
3 to 5 peppercorns
2 to 3 cloves
1 medium-sized bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon carom seeds or ajwain or omam
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1.2 teaspoon dry pomegranate seeds or amchur (mango powder) (optional)
1 to 3 dry red chilies whose seeds are removed and broken open
Roast them dry in this hot skillet till they are deep brown but not burnt. Allow the spices to cool and dry grind them to a fine powder.
Preparing the Chana Masala Gravy:
Heat in a wok or a vessel 1.5 to 2 tablespoons of oil. Any oil can be used but preferably lightly dense oil than coconut or mustard or olive oil as they can leave their own flavor.
Grind 1 to 2 cm of ginger root with 4 to 5 pieces of peeled garlic cloves. Add this ginger-garlic paste to the oil and saute it. Add 1/3 cup of finely chopped onions and saute it till it turns translucent or light brown.
Add 1/2 cup to 1 cup of tomatoes (as per the desired color of the gravy, fewer tomatoes or no tomato for black gravy) and saute it till it turns soft and cooked appearing pale red. The oil will start to mix well with the wet ingredients and leave the sides of the wok.
Reduce the heat to low heat from medium or high heat. Add all the dry chole spice powder, 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder, and 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder. To this, add 1/4 teaspoon of garam masala powder, but is optional. Mix well until the ingredients blend with each other.
2 to 3 deseeded and slit green chilies are added and sauteed till it blends well with the mixture.
Add the cooked chickpeas after draining the remaining water. The water will be used as a stock. Stir the chickpeas to mix well with this sauteed masala until it blends well and coats all the chickpeas.
To this chickpea masala in the wok, add 1 to 1.25 cups of the stock and water as needed. Stir well and add enough salt to taste. Stir well again. Cook it in low to medium heat.
When the chana masala reaches a boil or starts bubbling, add some more water as needed for the noodles to cook. This can amount to another 1 to 1.5 cups of water. Let the chana masala come to a boil. (You can squeeze or add the lime or lemon juice at this point).
Open the ready-to-cook noodles, and add the noodles to the boiling chana masala. To this also add the given masala powder and salt to taste. (Adding the masala powder is optional and in that case, the chana spice powder can be made a little spicier to accommodate the noodles). Stir the mixture well that the chickpeas and the noodles are mixed well. Close it with a lid and allow the noodles to cook.
If you are using a Hakka or such noodle cake, prepare the noodle separately in a round-bottomed container with a drop of oil and salt to taste. Drain the noodles dry and transfer the noodles to the boiling chana masala. Stir well in the heat until the noodles and the chana masala blends well. Simmer it until the chana masala noodles are of desired gravy and transfer it to the bowl. Top it with grated cheese and coriander leaves.
Hint: Vegetables like potato, carrots, beetroot, and beans can be added but is optional.
Once the noodles are cooked, stir it once more and top the chana noodles to a bowl with coriander to dress. For a more cheesy taste, sprinkle some grated cheese before serving.
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