• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Recipe Index
  • Food Photography
  • Subscribe

MySpicyKitchen

menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipe Index
  • Food Photography
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Curries & Stir Fries

    Published: Jan 5, 2020 · Modified: Feb 21, 2021 by Usha Rao

    Chana Masala Recipe, South Indian Style

    Jump to Recipe

    Spicy South Indian style chana masala is a delicious side dish for poori and rice.

    A bowl of chana masala.
    Jump to:
    • Iron Rich Food
    • South Indian Style Chana Masala
    • Ingredients
    • How to Cook?
    • How to Serve?
    • Detailed, Printable Recipe
    • More Chickpeas Recipes

    Iron Rich Food

    Legumes are iron rich and a very good source of iron for vegetarians. A study showed that vegetarians who consume legumes on a regular basis are usually not anemic. Chickpeas (chana) is one of the legumes rich in iron and protein. To maximize iron absorption, eat or cook the legume with vitamin C. Today’s recipe is chana masala or chickpeas curry cooked in South Indian style.

    A bowl of South Indian chickpeas curry in the forefront.  Bowl of spinach rice yogurt and onion salad in the background.

    South Indian Style Chana Masala

    Chana or chickpeas curry is a very popular dish in North India and the most famous chickpeas curries is Punjabi choley. Punjabi choley is dark in color and has a distinct taste. It comes from the special choley or chana masala spice mix and here is a variation of chole recipe along with homemade chama masala mix. Not all choley recipes use choley masala though.

    North Indian chana masala on the other hand is an onion tomato based curry. South Indian chana masala is also an onion tomato base curry along with coconut cashew paste. Though both North and South Indian curries have an onion tomato bases, the taste is quite different due to the spices and ingredients used.

    Ingredients

    Ingredients for chana masala in a tray and chickpeas on the side.
    • Chickpeas
    • Onion
    • Potatoes
    • Curry paste
    • Basic curry spices

    Curry Paste

    Coconut is used extensively in South Indian cooking and in deep Southern states, it is usually fresh coconut unlike in Telangana where dry coconut is used. Naturally one of the key ingredients in this curry paste is fresh coconut. Coconut, cashew and poppy seeds paste gives the curry a rich, thick base. The paste also has garam masala making it a spicy curry.

    How to Cook?

    Preparation of the curry is quite simple but this is a plan ahead recipe. Soak chickpeas overnight and cook the peas until tender, yet firm before adding it to the curry.

    • Soak and cook chickpeas or use a can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans.
    • Prepare the curry base by sauteeing onions, ginger garlic, followed by tomatoes.
    • Add the spices, chickpeas, water and bring to boil.
    • Add poppy seeds coconut cashew paste to thicken the gravy.
    • Serve with poori, bhatura or rice.

    How to Serve?

    Serve it with any Indian flatbread and it tastes amazing with poori and bhatura. It also tastes good with steamed rice and jeera rice. Today my lunch was this chickpeas curry with some spinach rice and yogurt.

    A bowl of spinach rice with chickpeas curry on the side.

    Detailed, Printable Recipe

    A bowl of South Indian Chana Masala

    Chana Masala

    South Indian style Chana masala is a wonderful vegan, gluten free, iron and fiber rich side dish that pairs well with poori, bhature and rice.
    5 from 3 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Side Dish
    Cuisine: South Indian
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes
    Total Time: 30 minutes
    Servings: 4
    Calories:
    Author: Usha Rao

    Equipment

    • Sauce Pan

    Ingredients

    Chana Masala

    • 1 ½ - 2 tablespoon Oil
    • ½ medium sized Onion about ⅔ cups chopped
    • 1 tablespoon Ginger Garlic Paste
    • 3 Green Chilies cut in half
    • 1 medium Tomato chopped about ¾ cup when chopped
    • 2 small Potatoes cut into 16 pieces each about ¾ cup when cut
    • 1 ½ teaspoon Coriander Powder
    • ¼ tso Turmeric :Powder
    • 1 - 1 ½ teaspoon Salt adjust to taste
    • 1 ½ teaspoon Chili Powder adjust to taste
    • 1 can 15 oz Garbanzo Beans / Chickpeas
    • 2 cups Water
    • Cilantro to garnish

    Masala Paste

    • 6 Whole Cashews
    • ¾ teaspoon Poppy Seeds
    • 1 ½ - 2 tablespoon Grated Coconut frozen
    • 1 Clove
    • ⅛ teaspoon Cardamom Seeds
    • ⅛ ” Cinnamon Stick
    • ¼ teaspoon Shah Jeera or Cumin

    Instructions

    • Heat oil in a pan and saute onions until light brown.
    • Add ginger garlic paste and saute until raw smell dissipates.
    • Throw in cut green chilies, tomatoes, potatoes, ½ teaspoon salt, turmeric and mix well.
    • Cover and cook until potatoes are semi cooked, about 3-5 minutes.
    • Add coriander powder, chili powder, chana, remaining salt and fry for a minute or two until spices coat chana.
    • Add water, cover and bring to a boil.
    • Grind to fine paste all the ingredients under paste suing some water.
    • Add ground paste to chana masala, check consistency and add water if needed.
    • Cover and continue to cook until potatoes are cooked and chana is soft.
    • Check consistency, taste and adjust seasoning. If the gravy is too thin, smash some of the chana to thicken the gravy.
    • Turn off the heat, garnish with cilantro and serve with poori or rice.

    Notes

  • Chickpeas - One 15 oz can is about 1 ¼ - 1 ½ cups chickpeas. If using dry chickpeas, soak ¾ cup of chickpeas overnight or for at least 6 hours. Cook chickpeas and then use in the recipe. I normally do 5 whistles in a pressure cooker.
  • Masala Paste - for rich masala, use 1 ½ teaspoon poppy seeds, 8 whole cashews and 2 tablespoon grated coconut.
  • Coconut - Use fresh grated coconut or frozen coconut. But if you can not source it, use dry coconut. Frozen or dry coconut is available in any Indian store. Or use unsweetened desiccated coconut available in any supermarket.
  • Tried this recipe?Share a photo! Mention @usha_myspicykitchen or tag #Usha_MySpicyKitchen!

    More Chickpeas Recipes

    • Chana Madra from Himachal Pradesh
    • My new love affair! and a Salad
    • Lablabi ~ Chickpeas Soup from Tunisia
    • Spicy Oven Roasted Chickpeas
    « Broccoli Salad Recipe, Easy Healthy Salad
    Mocha Panna Cotta for Valentine's Day »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. NARMADHA says

      April 16, 2020 at 2:51 am

      5 stars
      So rich and delicious chana masala. I too make it quite similar way except cashews. Looks so delicious and would need some phulkas now.

      Reply
    2. Sapana says

      April 15, 2020 at 4:52 pm

      5 stars
      Wow never knew there is a south Indian version of chana MASALA. It sounds very inviting with poppy seeds and coconut in the gravy.

      Reply
    3. Suma Gandlur says

      January 31, 2020 at 4:39 pm

      Super. This sounds like a choley - kurma medley. I had no idea that there was a south Indian version chana masala.

      Reply
      • Usha Rao says

        February 02, 2020 at 9:35 pm

        Suma, the main difference between the South and North Indian versions of chana masala is addition of coconut, poppy seeds and cashews in the South version. Actually even I was unaware there was South Indian style chana masala until I started eating it in South Indian restaurants in NYC.

        Reply
    4. Chef Mireille says

      January 22, 2020 at 12:48 pm

      5 stars
      I love the paste making it such a rich, creamy and luscious curry. This is definitely one of the best veg curries!

      Reply
    5. saraswathi Tharagaram says

      January 21, 2020 at 12:36 pm

      Excellent Choice for Iron rich theme! This is so delicious and simple to make.

      Reply
    6. Amara says

      January 21, 2020 at 5:47 am

      Love your theme Usha, chana masala looks delicious.

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, I am Usha! Welcome to my space. I am the content creator and photographer here. I love cooking and all the recipes on the site are tried and tested in my kitchen.

    More about me →


    Popular

    • Bread Canapes Recipe
    • Easy Shrimp Noodle Soup Chinese Style
    • Baked Chicken Empanadas
    • Omani Shuwa ~ Slow Cooked Lamb

    Web Stories

    MySpicyKitchen web stories link

    Finger Food

    • Party Shrimp Recipe
    • Arizona Cheese Crisps
    • 3 Ingredient Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers
    • Fiesta Pinwheels, Yummy Party Food

    Curry Recipes

    • Lima Beans Curry, Video Recipe
    • Onion Egg Curry ~ Ulligadda Ukkera
    • Chikkudukaya Kura - Indian Broad Beans Fry
    • Gutti Vankaya Masala - Stuffed Baby Eggplant Curry

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy

    Newsletter

    • Subscribe

    Contact

    • Know Me

    Copyright © 2022 MySpicyKitchen