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Chana masala: Crack the code on Indian cuisine
By James P. DeWan
Chicago Tribune
So, Madge and I got totally
into it the other day over my
chimpanzee butler. Something
about the way he dresses,
Madge found it, I don’t know
— “unseemly.”
“What, the bow tie?” I
asked. “Too much?”
“Not just the bow tie,” she
said, shaking her head. “It’s
the whole ‘chimps as butlers’
thing.”
“What are you talking
about? Mandrake likes being
my butler, don’t you, Man-
drake,” I said, with an appre-
ciative nod in the direction of
the smartly attired primate.
“Oh, for the love of ... ” said
Madge, “What do chimps even
know about buttling?” Madge
turned to face me directly: “It’s
like an Irish American rube
like yourself writing about
something like ... like ... ”
“Chana masala?” said I.
“Chana masala,” said she.
Et, voila.
Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune-TNS
The 13 items (plus salt and cooking oil) needed for the chana masala might seem
daunting, but the dish comes together quickly.
chubby chickpeas we’re used
to, which Indians would call
“chole” (CHO-lay).
Fear not, though, because,
what we can do is reproduce
Why you need to learn
some of the fl avor profi les of
this
Indian food, and chana masala
is a great place to start.
There are more than 1.7
The word “masala” and its
billion with a “b” people on
the Indian subcontinent, all of variants appear in a number
whom eat food. Chana masala of languages — including,
is a relatively simple dish that now, English — and gener-
can crack the door to the cui- ally means spice or spices or
sines of that region. Be nice to a mix of ingredients. Regard-
less, masala refers either to a
your tongue and give it a try.
blend of raw or toasted spices
The steps you take
or, perhaps more frequently, a
Before we begin, Chumley, mix of ingredients like tomato,
onion, garlic and ginger that
let’s get something straight:
are sauteed together along
We’re not going into this
with various spices. It’s to this
thinking we can cook some-
mixture, then, that the main
thing here in the U.S. that
ingredient (in today’s iteration,
tastes exactly like what we’d
get in Mumbai or Sirpur-Kag- chickpeas) is added to simmer
aznagar. There are simply far until it’s done.
Now, because items like
too many factors over which
tomato, onion and garlic are
we have little to no control.
For example, we think that as common in contemporary
chickpeas are chickpeas, right? global cuisine as pigs were in
the streets of 1830 Cincinnati,
Turns out, the chickpeas
known as chana (from which those three items alone will
not give you an “Indian-tast-
this dish derives its name)
ing” masala. The ginger will
are not that common here in
the U.S. Chana is smaller and certainly help; fresh ginger is a
staple in the cuisines of South
darker than the beige and
Asia. What really makes your
masala Indian, though, are
those spices. Let’s talk about
that.
First of all, we should
address the elephant in the
room: curry powder. Most of
us have a small container
of curry powder in our spice
cabinet. When I was younger
and even dumber than I am
now, I made “Indian food”
by stir-frying veggies with
curry powder. What I didn’t
realize was that curry powder
is not really from the Indian
subcontinent. Sure, it contains
spices common in Indian and
Pakistani cuisine, but, it’s from
England.
The British latched onto
curry powder owing to (at
least) two factors: First, the
centuries-long British occupa-
tion of India that didn’t end
until 1947, and, second, the
fact that the British, inhabit-
ing a cold climate, had no
built-in experience with the
myriad spices native to the
warmer corners of the planet.
The Brits liked Indian food,
but all those spices were far
too complicated to master.
Hence, curry powder became
the shortcut, just like jarred
red sauce for your pasta is a
shortcut.
Now, far be it for me to tell
you not to use curry powder.
Who am I, Bossy McMoo-
pants?
Still, if you want to start
understanding the cuisines of
the Indian subcontinent, I’d
suggest peaking behind that
curry powder curtain to behold
those individual spices.
Admittedly, that task and
those cuisines can be daunt-
ing — so many ingredients,
so many unfamiliar fl avors
— which is why I suggest
approaching the topic from a
familiar standpoint. Thus:
1. Start your chana masala
as you would your favorite red
pasta sauce: Saute your aro-
matics. In Indian cuisine, this
would generally be an onion or
two — either diced or whirled
to a paste in a food processor
— along with a small but tasty
amount of garlic and ginger.
The garlic and ginger can be
minced, crushed or, again,
whirled to a paste. You can
even fi nd jarred garlic-ginger
paste in some supermarkets
and, trust me, it’ll work just
fi ne.
2. Stir into this mixture the
main body of your spices. These
would commonly include
ground coriander, cumin, cay-
enne and turmeric, but could
also include paprika, cinnamon
(ground or sticks), cardamom,
dried chiles, fenugreek, fennel
— the list goes on. If you don’t
have an Indian grandmother,
consult a trusted recipe source
for exact amounts.
3. Stir in your tomatoes
and saute until most of the
liquid evaporates. This is your
masala.
4. Add canned chickpeas
and, if it’s too dry, a little water.
Bring it all to a boil, then
reduce the heat and let it sim-
mer for 15 to 20 minutes or so
to meld all those fl avors. Add
more water if it’s looking too
dry. You be the judge.
5. Stir in some lemon juice or
amchur (dried mango powder)
to brighten the fl avors a bit,
then add some garam masala
and, if you really are feeling
crazy, a little lime zest. Garnish
it with chopped cilantro (fresh
coriander) and serve it with
rice or fl atbread. Yum.
CHANA MASALA
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 20 to 30 minutes
Makes: 8 servings
Though there’s a fair bit
of prep and measuring, this
recipe is pretty easy. It’s based
on a recipe given to me by my
friend Ravi Balasubramanian,
originally from Tamil Nadu,
India, now of Chapel Hill,
North Carolina. Ingredients
that add specifi c qualities, like
heat, sweet, sour, etc., may be
increased or decreased to suit
individual tastes.
minced, or more to taste
1 tablespoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground cayenne
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 can (28 ounces) ground
or diced tomatoes
1 can (29 ounces) chickpeas,
drained, rinsed
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 tablespoon amchur (dried
mango powder) or 1
ounce lemon juice
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Salt as needed
Fresh cilantro, chopped
1. Heat oil in a large, heavy
bottomed saucepan over
medium heat. Add cumin seeds
and onion; cook, stirring, until
fragrant and onion is translu-
cent, 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Stir in garlic-ginger paste
and minced jalapeno along
with coriander, cayenne and
turmeric.
3. Add tomatoes and chick-
peas; increase heat to bring
to a boil, then reduce heat
and simmer to thicken slightly
and combine fl avors, 15 to 20
minutes.
4. Add garam masala, amchur
or lemon juice, brown sugar and
salt to taste (about 1 teaspoon).
Simmer to combine fl avors, 5
minutes. Remove from heat and
serve immediately, garnished
with cilantro.
Nutrition information per
serving: 237 calories, 8 g fat, 1 g
saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol,
34 g carbohydrates, 10 g sugar,
9 g protein, 443 mg sodium, 8
g fi ber
Note: Garlic-ginger paste
is available at some grocery
stores in tubes or jars. To
make it at home, simply
pulse roughly equal amounts
of peeled, minced garlic and
peeled, grated ginger in a food
processor with a little oil and
3 tablespoons neutral oil, such
as expeller-pressed canola oil salt. It will keep for a couple
months or more in the refrig-
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 large onion, cut into small dice erator. Or buy garlic paste and
2 ounces (about 3 tablespoons) ginger paste separately, then
mix them together. Leftovers
garlic-ginger paste, see note
freeze well.
1 fresh jalapeno or serrano,
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