Chana Masala

I love Indian food.

I have a pal who goes to eat delicious Indian food with me at least once a month. My favorite dish to get is called Chana Masala, which is a spiced garbanzo (chick pea) and tomato dish with the consistency of a hearty stew or chili.

Actually, I marketed this to Tones as "Indian Chili". He liked it! I think the real name would have scared him off from trying it.

Be warned, this dish is SPICY. There are, however, ways you can reduce the spice. For example, don't use the membrane and seeds of the chili pepper used, and reduce the amount of cayenne pepper by half (or more).

I found this recipe on one of my favorite blogs, Smitten Kitchen, and only tweaked it a little bit. It's an outstandingly easy dish to prepare, particularly now that Uncle Ben's Rice has a 90 second microwavable Basmati rice product!

Chana Masala

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 small onion, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Serrano chili (or any other chili), diced

1 inch of fresh ginger, diced

1 Tbs ground coriander

2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp ground turmeric

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp garam masala

1 can whole tomatoes, diced, juices reserved

2 cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 c water

Juice from 1 lemon

Salt to taste

Procedure:

1. Heat about 1 Tbs oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, chili pepper and ginger. Sautee for about 5 minutes, or until tender and onions are translucent.

2. Add the spices, and stir to incorporate. STEP BACK. When the cayenne pepper is heated it can cause irritation to mucus membranes (i.e. it makes me cough). Just be careful :). Cook another 2 minutes or so on medium heat.

3. Add tomatoes and juices, garbanzo beans and water. Stir well, and simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Add the lemon juice and salt to taste.

Serve with flatbread, naan, or basmati rice.