Chana Masala

Much as I love chana masala I didn’t like the taste of the dish my cooking gave it. So I was browsing the internet for recipes of the dish and that was when I chanced upon this interesting tip – adding a teabag or a tablespoon of tea leaves to the chickpeas while they are being boiled. A bit iffy at first I tried this out and it gave a wonderful dark brown color, which made it look very appealing and as we all know we eat with our eyes first. And this time I did a better job of cooking it -- the chickpeas were soft and tender, but not mushy and the gravy was just thick enough – sticking to the peas but also enough left on the plate for mopping up with a paratha.

Ingredients:
Chickpeas / Garbanzo beans – 1 cup (soaked overnight)
Teabag – 1
Onion – 1 large (thinly sliced)
Grated ginger – 1 tbsp
Garlic – 2 cloves (minced)
Tomatoes – 1 (chopped)
Garam masala powder – ¼ tsp
Cumin-coriander powder – 1 tsp
Cumin seeds – 1 tbsp
Sugar – 1 tsp
Salt -- to taste
Turmeric – ¼ tsp
Red chili powder – 1 tsp
Cooking oil
Water – for boiling the peas
For garnish:
Lemon slices
Fresh chopped cilantro leaves
Sliced green chilies
Onion rings

Procedure:
In a large pot boil the peas with the tea bag and turmeric until tender. (You can use a pressure cooker as well. My cooker’s not big enough.) Discard the teabag. Drain the chickpeas and reserve the cooking liquid.

Heat oil in a pan, add the sugar and let it caramelize.

When sugar turns brown add the cumin seeds.

When seeds start sputtering add the garam masala powder, cumin-coriander powder and red chili powder and fry.

Next add the garlic, ginger and onion, frying the paste after each addition.

Now add the chopped tomatoes and cook until oil starts separating.

To the fried masala add the drained chickpeas and coat well with the masala.

Season with salt.

Add the cooking liquid and simmer until the gravy reaches your desired consistency.

Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro, sliced green chilies, sliced lemon and onion rings.

Serve hot with roti/naan/paratha or rice.

Note: This is a great slow cooker recipe. In that case soak the chick peas with the teabag. Fry the masala and then mix the peas well with the masala. Dump in the slow cooker and cook on low for 7-8 hours.