Chole Masala / Channa Masala with Home-made Chana masala powder / Konda Kadalai Kurma | Indian Curry Recipes

We love Channa at home. It is a great way to include protein in our diet and whatever form I make it, the dish is a winner. I make a lot of variety with Channa with Sundal, Pulao, Vadas being few of them. I made this Channa / Chole Masala recently and totally fell in love with it. One popular dish featuring this channa masala is Channa Batura or Chole Batura. This is a great side dish for chapathis, pooris and bread. Not to mention it goes well with rice too.

Ingredients:
Garbanzo beans / Channa / Vellai Konda kadalai  - 1 cup (dry) or 1 small can of Garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed well - Click here to know how to make this at home
Onion - chopped - 1 1/2 cup
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder - 1/4 tsp or to taste
Channa Masala Powder - 2 tsp (recipe follows)
Tomato - chopped - 1 big - 1 cup
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1 tbsp
To grind:
Grated Coconut - 2 tbsp
Shallots / Pearl onions - 8
Khus khus - 1 tsp (optional)

Method:
Soak the dry garbanzo beans overnight. Pressure cook with 3 cups of water with little salt for 2-3 whistles. Drain and set aside reserving the cooked liquid. Make a paste of the ingredients under "To grind". Heat oil in a kadai and add the chopped onions. Fry until golden brown, add the ginger garlic paste and saute for 2 mins. Add the Chilli powder, channa masala powder and chopped tomatoes. Add little salt and saute until the tomatoes becomes mushy and oil separates. Now add the cooked garbanzo beans with about 2 cups of water. Allow it to boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the ground paste and mix well. Add another cup of water and allow it to boil. Check for seasoning and simmer for 10 minutes or until desired consistency is achieved. Serve hot with steamed rice, rotis, phulkas or pooris.

Home-made Channa Masala Powder:
When I was searching for home made channa masala powder I arrived at PJ's site. I made this right away to use in my channa masala. This is a simple recipe for the channa masala powder which is easy to make and tastes awesome.
Ingredients:
Coriander Seeds / Dhania - 3 tbsp
Cumin Seeds / Jeera - 1 tbsp
Pepper corns - 1 tsp
Cinnamon - 1" piece
Cloves - 8
Dry red chillies - 2
Cardamom seeds from 2 pods
Add after grinding:
Dry Ginger powder - 1 tsp
Nutmeg powder - 1/4 tsp (I did not have at hand, so skipped)
Method:
Dry roast all the ingredients (except the two powders at the end) in medium heat until toasted. My suggestion would be to roast the ingredients one-by one since each item roasts at different temperature. Cool completely and grind to a fine powder in a mixer grinder or a coffee grinder, adding the last two powders.
Store in an air-tight container and use as per need.
I am sending this Home made Chana Masala powder to Julie's Ginger & Pepper event.
Sending this delicious power packed dish to Priya's Healthy Diet - Vegetarian Dishes and also to Sangee's HITS - Iron Rich Foods.