Chana masala with basmati rice

Name: Chana masala with basmati rice
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: world favourites
Ingredients: 480 g Tinned chickpeas (400 g tin) (2 × 400 g tins, giving 480 g drained); 160 g Basmati rice (dry weight, 80 g per person); 400 g Tinned whole peeled tomatoes, such as San Marzano (400 g tin) (1 tin with its juices, crushed by hand); 250 g Yellow onions (2 medium onions, finely chopped); 15 g Garlic (3 cloves); 15 g Fresh ginger (1 × 3 cm piece); 10 g Hot green chillies (1 small chilli, or half; deseed for mild heat); 20 g Double-concentrated tomato purée (1 tbsp); 30 g Sunflower oil, for frying or as a neutral oil (3 tbsp; use a neutral oil, as olive oil would alter the character of the masala); 3 g Cumin seeds (1 tsp); 2 g Ground cumin (½ heaped tsp); 6 g Ground coriander (1 level tbsp, or 3 tsp); 1.5 g Turmeric (½ tsp); 3 g Sweet paprika (1 tsp, for colour, taking the place of Kashmiri chilli); 1 g Hot red chilli powder (2 generous pinches); 3 g Garam masala (1 tsp: half with the chickpeas, the rest to finish); 15 g Fresh coriander (1 small handful of leaves, washed and checked); 7 g Fine salt (2 g in the rice water; 5 g in the sauce: 1 g on the onions, 2 g with the tomatoes, 2 g with the chickpeas); 410 g Water (260 g for the rice, 150 g for the sauce); 60 g Lemon (half a lemon, squeezed to give 20 g juice; discard the peel and pips)

pareve main dish · world favourites · 2/5 · easy · 45 min, including 30 hands-on

Punjabi chana masala: cumin sizzling in oil, onions cooked to a deep golden brown, and spices and tomatoes cooked until the oil beads at the edges. Chickpeas simmer in this brick-red sauce, finished with garam masala, lemon and coriander, with basmati rice alongside.

Ingredients for two

480 g	Tinned chickpeas (400 g tin) 2 × 400 g tins, giving 480 g drained
160 g	Basmati rice dry weight, 80 g per person
400 g	Tinned whole peeled tomatoes, such as San Marzano (400 g tin) 1 tin with its juices, crushed by hand
250 g	Yellow onions 2 medium onions, finely chopped
15 g	Garlic 3 cloves
15 g	Fresh ginger 1 × 3 cm piece
10 g	Hot green chillies 1 small chilli, or half; deseed for mild heat
20 g	Double-concentrated tomato purée 1 tbsp
30 g	Sunflower oil, for frying or as a neutral oil 3 tbsp; use a neutral oil, as olive oil would alter the character of the masala
3 g	Cumin seeds 1 tsp
2 g	Ground cumin ½ heaped tsp
6 g	Ground coriander 1 level tbsp, or 3 tsp
1.5 g	Turmeric ½ tsp
3 g	Sweet paprika 1 tsp, for colour, taking the place of Kashmiri chilli
1 g	Hot red chilli powder 2 generous pinches
3 g	Garam masala 1 tsp: half with the chickpeas, the rest to finish
15 g	Fresh coriander 1 small handful of leaves, washed and checked
7 g	Fine salt 2 g in the rice water; 5 g in the sauce: 1 g on the onions, 2 g with the tomatoes, 2 g with the chickpeas
410 g	Water 260 g for the rice, 150 g for the sauce
60 g	Lemon half a lemon, squeezed to give 20 g juice; discard the peel and pips

Method

Rinse the rice under cold water, rubbing it between your fingers and changing the water 3 or 4 times, until almost clear. Leave to soak in a bowl of cold water while you continue, about 20 minutes. Peel and finely chop the onions.
Heat the oil over a medium heat in the 26 cm sauté pan. Add the cumin seeds: they should sizzle immediately and brown slightly in 20–30 seconds. Immediately add the onions and 1 g salt, and brown for 12 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes. If they catch, add 1 tbsp water taken from the 150 g. They should be evenly golden brown, caramelised at the edges and reduced by half, rather than merely translucent: they give the sauce its mahogany colour and depth. While they brown, peel and crush the garlic, peel and finely grate the ginger, slice the green chilli, drain and rinse the chickpeas, crush the tomatoes by hand in a bowl, squeeze the half-lemon, and wash, dry and chop the coriander. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli to the browned onions and stir for 1 minute, until their raw smell disappears.
Lower the heat to medium-low. Add the tomato purée, ground cumin, ground coriander, turmeric, paprika and hot chilli powder and stir for 1 minute: the paste should darken, turn glossy and smell fragrant without burning. Add 1 tbsp water if it catches. Pour in the crushed tomatoes and their juices with 2 g salt, scraping the bottom. Increase to a medium heat and cook down uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring and crushing the pieces with a spatula every 2–3 minutes. The sauce should become a smooth, thick, brick-red paste, with oil separating and beading at the edges.
As soon as the tomatoes start cooking down, drain the rice and put in the 18 cm saucepan with 260 g water and 2 g salt. Bring to the boil over a high heat, cover, turn the heat down as low as possible and cook for 12 minutes: the water should disappear and small holes form on the surface. Turn off the heat without lifting the lid and leave covered until serving, 8–10 minutes.
When oil beads on the masala, add the chickpeas, the remainder of the 150 g water, half the garam masala and 2 g salt. Immediately crush 3 tbsp chickpeas against the side with a fork: their starch will thicken the sauce. Half-cover and simmer over a low heat for 12 minutes, stirring twice. The sauce should coat the chickpeas and the spoon, with a thin film of red oil beading on top. If too thick, add 2 tbsp hot water. Taste a whole chickpea: it should be seasoned through to the centre; add a pinch of salt if needed.
Turn off the heat and stir in the remaining garam masala, the 20 g lemon juice and two-thirds of the coriander. The sauce should be bright rather than sour. Fluff the rice with a fork, divide between two shallow bowls, serve the chickpeas and sauce alongside, and scatter with the remaining coriander.

Variants and their steps remain below the recipe.

Lighter version

How the taste changes:

The sauce is less glossy and leaves less fat on the palate; the tomato and spices taste more vivid. The chickpeas stay tender, but their larger proportion to rice makes each mouthful denser, with a more pronounced pulse flavour.

Basmati rice : 120 g
Sunflower oil, for frying or as a neutral oil : 20 g
Water : 350 g

At step 4, use 200 g water for the rice instead of 260 g.

60 g rice per person and one-third less oil. The onions brown just as well with a spoonful or two of water, while the sauce and chickpeas remain the same.

On your plate

Recipe

829 kcal · protein 29 g · carbs 116 g · fat 25 g

Quantities per person

240 g Tinned chickpeas (400 g tin)
80 g Basmati rice
200 g Tinned whole peeled tomatoes, such as San Marzano (400 g tin)
125 g Yellow onions
7.5 g Garlic
7.5 g Fresh ginger
5 g Hot green chillies
10 g Double-concentrated tomato purée
15 g Sunflower oil, for frying or as a neutral oil
1.5 g Cumin seeds
1 g Ground cumin
3 g Ground coriander
0.75 g Turmeric
1.5 g Sweet paprika
0.5 g Hot red chilli powder
1.5 g Garam masala
7.5 g Fresh coriander
3.5 g Fine salt
205 g Water
30 g Lemon

Cooking tips

Even better the next day, when the chickpeas have absorbed the sauce. Reheat with a splash of water and finish with a drizzle of lemon juice and fresh coriander. Leftovers are also good cold or warm in a pitta with finely sliced raw onion and coriander. At the weekend, use 200 g dried chickpeas soaked overnight, then cooked for 1–1½ hours with a black tea bag, to make the dark chole of Punjab. If the sauce lacks colour at step 3, the onions were not browned enough; give them 2 or 3 more minutes next time.

Equipment : 26 cm sauté pan with a lid, 18 cm saucepan with a lid for the rice, bowl and sieve for the rice, fine grater, garlic press

North Indian chana masala, using tinned chickpeas and lemon instead of amchur.

Chana masala with basmati rice

Method

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On your plate

Recipe

Cooking tips

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