Chana Masala (One pot Pressure cooker version)

Chana masala is the most popular dish across India. This dish is cooked in different ways throughout India. The recipe over here is an easy one pot pressure cooker version of Chana masala which suit the taste buds of South and North India 🙂

Chana masala is our all time family favourite dish too. My toddler relishes chana masala and completes her dinner happily without any complaints. If kids love and approve a dish, those dishes appear in meal planning often, right?

Ingredients

• 1 cup chana / white chickpeas soaked for a minimum of 8 hours
• 1 large onion finely chopped
• 2 large tomatoes finely chopped
• 1 inch ginger finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
• Salt to taste
• 2 cups water

Seasoning Ingredients

• 4 tbsp oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• 0.5 tsp cumin seeds

Spice powders

• 0.25 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 0.25 tsp cumin powder
• 0.75 tsp amchur / dry mango powder
• 0.5 tsp garam masala

Garnishing Ingredients

• 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
• 0.5 lemon juice

Preparation

1.  Soak the chana / white chickpeas overnight or for a minimum of 8 hours. Wash, drain the soaked chana and keep aside.

Method

1.  Heat oil in a pressure cooker.
2.  Add all the seasoning ingredients. Saute for 1 minute.
3.  Add finely chopped onions and saute till the onions turn translucent.
4.  Add finely chopped ginger and garlic. Saute till the raw smell of garlic goes away.
5.  Add finely chopped tomatoes and saute till the tomatoes turn mushy and start releasing oil from the sides.
6.  Add all the spice powders. Saute for 2 minutes.
7.  Add the chana / white chickpeas and mix well.
8.  Add salt to taste and water. Mix well.
9.  Pressure cook for 8 whistles.
10.  Allow the pressure to release by itself before opening the cooker.
11.  Squeeze lemon and mix well. Garnish with coriander leaves
12.  Serve hot with chappathi / phulkas / poori / bhatura.

Notes

1.  Squeeze the lemon juice just before serving.
2.  Mash a few chana to make the gravy thicker.