Introduction to Kala Chana
This kala chana recipe is made from black chickpeas, it is known for it’s earthy and slightly nutty flavour. It is absolutely delicious and has a distinctive taste which you can not mistake for kala chana. The tinned tomatoes adds a lovely tangy edge to the curry and the tamarind sauce adds some subtle sweetness. The contrasting fresh coriander and mint leaves make the dish visually pop off the plate. It’s a simple vegetarian meal, however the taste is out of this world.
Normally making kala chana is a whole day job of preparation and cooking. But those of you who read my recipes know that I love a shortcut. If you can achieve the same taste in a fraction of the time, why not do it! For this kala chana recipe I use tinned kala chana and a pressure cooker, therefore making this curry so easy to make, instead of over two hours of cooking, you will have this curry made in under 30 minutes. It could not be easier!
How I stumbled across this Kala Chana recipe – my 20 minute version
The first time I made this kala chana recipe, it was a request from my mother in law. I was a bit short on time and had never made this curry before. Queue the beads of sweat on my forehead. I knew traditionally kala chana needed to be soaked overnight, however I only had a couple of hours to whip out this dish. I made a dash to my local South Asian supermarket to buy the tinned kala chana. The rest of the ingredients I had at home thankfully.
I literally threw all the ingredients in the pressure cooker (except the ghee, fresh coriander, garam masala and tamarind sauce) and cooked it for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes the chickpeas were soft and a breathed out a sign of relief. I then added in the ghee, tamarind sauce, garam masala and let it simmer for a couple of minutes then finished with the traditional coriander garnish. I added the tamarind sauce because my mother in law had requested a “khata meetha” taste; sweet and sour flavour to the kala chana.
Tamarind Sauce
The tamarind sauce seemed like the best thing to add that sweetness my mother in law had requested. I did add 2 tablespoons of tamarind sauce for my mother in law, just to make sure she could taste that sweetness, however I tasted the curry with just one tablespoon and I really liked it, so I have kept the kala chana recipe below with one tablespoons. However you can add more or less to your taste. Or if you prefer, you can omit the tamarind sauce altogether.
Ghee
I am not sure why I decided to add ghee instead of oil to brown the onions. Ghee just seemed like a lovely luxurious finishing touch to this kala chana recipe. And it did indeed work out very well, the ghee makes all the flavours just sing.
As I had never made this before, I asked my husband (as per usual) to be my taster, and he signed off! I breathed a sigh of relief! I could not believe that I’d managed to make kala chana so quickly (within 20 minutes) and it tasted so good. So if you are short of time as I was, you can make this even speedier version of my kala chana.
Conclusion to this Kala Chana recipe
This is a great weeknight curry to bash out. It’s so cheap to make and also very nutritious. It is rich in fibre and protein. It boosts the immune system and helps to regulates diabetes. Another reason why to love this kala chana recipe. If you wanted to make this a vegan curry, you can swap the ghee for oil, rapeseed or olive oil will work well. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil of your choice. As mentioned earlier, serve with plain white basmati rice or chapattis/ rotis and try adding some pakoras, enjoy!
See my video on Youtube for how to make this kala chana recipe!
Ingredients
7 minutes preparation
Pressure cooker: 25 minutes cooking time
Saucepan- 2 hours and 15 minutes
- 2 tbsp ghee (or rapeseed/ olive oil)
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 tsp garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tsp ginger, finely chopped
- 480 grams (2 tins) of kala chana drained, or 175 grams of dried black chickpeas
- 1/2 tin chopped tomatoes- blended in a food processor
- 2 green chillies, finely chopped
- 3-4 fresh mint leaves
- 1 tbsp tamarind sauce- to taste (optional)
- a handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped
- 600ml water or 2 mugs of water
Spices
- 0.5 tsp chilli powder
- 0.5 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 0.5 tsp asafoetida
- 3/4 tsp cumin powder
- 0.5 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/4 tsp nigella seeds
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1tsp garam masala
Instructions via pressure cooker
- Heat the ghee in the pressure cooker and add the onions. Sauté until soft and lightly brown the onions on a medium heat.
2. Turn the heat down and add the garlic and ginger and all the spices except the garam masala and stir through.
3. Then add the kala chana, tomatoes, green chillies, fresh mint and 600ml of water and cover the pressure cooker with the lid. Turn the heat to high.
4. Once you can heat the steam in the pressure cooker has built up, turn the heat down and cook for 11 minutes.
5. After 11 minutes, check the chickpeas are soft. If not let it simmer for a few more minutes. Then add the garam masala and tamarind sauce. If you want a sweeter taste to the dish, you can add an additional tablespoon of the tamarind sauce. Let it simmer for 2 minutes.
6. Then garnish with the fresh coriander.
Instructions via saucepan
- Soak the dried kala chana overnight.
- Heat the ghee in the saucepan and lightly brown the onions on a medium heat.
- Turn the heat down and add the garlic and ginger and all the spices except the garam masala and stir through.
- Then add the kala chana, tomatoes and green chillies and 750ml of water and cover the saucepan with the lid. Turn the heat to high, bring it to boil then turn the heat to low and let it simmer for 2 hours.
- Keep stirring at regular intervals during this time, to check the curry is not catching to the bottom of the pan. If the chickpeas are still hard and the water has evaporated, add more water accordingly.
- Once the chickpeas are soft add the garam masala and tamarind sauce. If you want a sweeter taste to the dish, you can add another tablespoon of the tamarind sauce. Let it simmer for 2 minutes.
- Then garnish with the fresh coriander.
Kala Chana
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 tsp garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tsp ginger, finely chopped
- 480 grams tinned black chickpeas (2 tins) water drained
- 1/2 tin of chopped tomatoes, finely chopped
- 2 green chillies, finely chopped
- 3-4 fresh mint leaves
- 1 tbsp tamarind sauce
- 1 handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped
- 600ml water 2 mugs of water
Spices
- 0.5 tsp chilli powder to taste
- 0.5 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp salt to taste
- 0.5 tsp asafoetida
- 3/4 tsp cumin powder
- 0.5 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/4 tsp nigella seeds
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- t tsp garam masala
Instructions
Cooking with Pressure Cooker
- Heat the ghee in the pressure cooker and add the onions. Sauté until soft and lightly brown the onions on a medium heat.
- Turn the heat down and add the garlic and ginger and all the spices except the garam masala and stir through.
- Then add the kala chana, tomatoes, green chillies, fresh mint and 600ml of water and cover the pressure cooker with the lid. Turn the heat to high.
- Once you can heat the steam in the pressure cooker has built up, turn the heat down and cook for 11 minutes.
- After 11 minutes, check the chickpeas are soft. If not let it simmer for a few more minutes. Then add the garam masala and tamarind sauce. If you want a sweeter taste to the dish, you can add another tablespoon of the tamarind sauce. Let it simmer for 2 minutes.
- Then garnish with the fresh coriander.
Cooking with saucepan
- Soak the dried kala chana overnight.
- Heat the ghee in the saucepan and lightly brown the onions on a medium heat.
- Turn the heat down and add the garlic and ginger and all the spices except the garam masala and stir through.
- Then add the kala chana, tomatoes and green chillies and 750ml of water and cover the saucepan with the lid. Turn the heat to high, bring it to boil then turn the heat to low and let it simmer for 2 hours.
- Keep stirring at regular intervals during this time, to check the curry is not catching to the bottom of the pan. If the chickpeas are still hard and the water has evaporated, add more water accordingly.
- Once the chickpeas are soft add the garam masala and tamarind sauce. If you want a sweeter taste to the dish, you can add another tablespoon of the tamarind sauce. Let it simmer for 2 minutes.
- Then garnish with the fresh coriander.
