Paneer Chana Masala Recipe – Chana Paneer recipe – Side dish for Chapati

Today’s recipe is one humble side which suits any roti, chapati… for me just plain given in a cup to slurp!  😛 I usually resort to this type of simple gravies like this on busy week nights when you have no energy for elaborate cooking. Everything comes from your pantry, less prep work and yummy… hey, I’m in! It does make a decent gravy with soft rotis and a bonus… leftover goes into next days lunch box, Yay!

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To start with you have to soak dry chana / garbanzo beans / chickpeas in enough water. Let it soak overnight or atleast for 10 hours. Next day give it a nice rinse and then pressure cook the chana with enough water and little salt for 4 whistles. Switch off and let it be ready. (Or you may simply open a can of pre-cooked garbanzo / chickpeas. Drain all the liquid from the can and rinse the beans before use. They tend to be salted so adjust accordingly)

Heat oil & ghee in a pan. Fry the finely chopped onions until slightly golden and translucent.

Add in ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes off.

Add in slit open green chilies and chopped tomatoes. Let them cook till soft.

Add in turmeric powder, Red chili powder, coriander powder and salt. Saute well to cook the masala powders.

Add in the cooked beans along with the water that you pressure cooked. (If using can beans then add 1 cup of water to the masala) Let the beans simmer in the masala.

Scoop in a few laddle of the chana along with the onion mixture into a mixer jar, add in cumin seeds and grind to a fine paste.

You may add little water if your mixer throws toddler tantrums.. make a fine paste though!

Add that paste the simmering gravy.

Depending on the desired consistency- you may add more water if you prefer a thin consistency gravy. Just skip this step if you prefer semi thick gravy.

Add in crushed kasuri methi leaves (dried fenugreek leaves).

Now followed by garam masala powder.

Cover, bring the flame to low and let it simmer while you  work on the paneer.

Heat a little ghee and fry paneer pieces over low medium flame.

They may turn lightly golden here& there… flip to toast evenly.

Add the fried paneer along with the ghee to the gravy.

Let them simmer for few minutes.

Garnish with fresh chopped coriander leaves and switch off.

There you have it…. chunky yummy chana paneer. Garnish with some julienned ginger and chopped onions. Serve it with roti, chapati or naan.

Notes

• Serves 4-5 adults
• Dried chickpeas needs to be soaked for atleast 8 – 10 hours.
• If using canned cooked chana, then use less salt as they come heavily salted.
• You may add kashmiri red chili powder instead of the regular spicy chili powder. It gives nice color but will be less spicy, then in that case use few extra green chilies for heat.
• Most chana masala powder includes asafoetida and mango powder in addition to garam masala. If you are fan of tangy masala then include a few pinch of dry mango powder and asafoetida for digestion.
• Grinding little bit of the masala along with the cooked beans gives nice thickness and creamy texture to the gravy.