Chana Masala Recipe

Pindi Chole | Dry Chole | Punjabi Sookhe Chole | Festive recipe | Party recipe
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Recipe / food styling / photography by - Sunayana Gupta





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Chana Masala  is one of the classic recipe from Punjab that is robust with flavors, aroma and a non gravy version of Chole. The recipe is very traditional…..chickpeas or kabuli chana is soaked overnight and boiled with an assortment of spices. Later it is cooked with whole, coarsely ground and powdered spices along with onion, tomato, ginger, garlic that lend an irresistible flavor to this dish making it truly lip smacking with puris, batura and masala puris.

Here we are providing you the same authentic recipe for Chana Masala except for the fact that we haven’t added any Chole or Chana Masala. The reason behind is….our Punjabi garam masala and the coarsely grounded masala that we have prepared in this recipe lends all those beautiful flavors. Hence if you add an extra doze of  Chana masala Powder then that would unnecessarily over powder the dish making it too spicy that might not be liked by many of us. But again, as everyone has a different liking for a particular taste, then you can go for it, if prefer.

You can also check Chana Recipes for Kabuli Chana Chat that makes an exciting party appetizer, Kadala Curry which is a South Indian style chana sabzi, Aloo Chane ki Ghugani from Bihar & Jharkhand, a very healthy Chickpea Salad with garlic lime dressing and the flavorful Chana Dal Lauki.



*Special days must have special meals!

So plan your special main course meal. Serve this Chana Masala with kaju paneer curry, kadhi pakodi and aloo Shimla mirch sabzi or soya saag aloo. Team with the classic jeera rice, bhatura, masala puri, missi roti along with boondi raita and onion tomato salad. Do not miss to serve Punjabi namkeen lassi with the meal.

*Kids would love pindi Chole with puris or pudina parantha in their school tiffin.

If you’re looking for some tongue tickling ‘Snacks’ recipes, then do check out some of our recipes right away…..

Dahi puri recipe

Moong dal bhajiya recipe

Aloo chat recipe

Khaman dhokala recipe



Chole. The recipe is very traditional…..chickpeas or kabuli chana is soaked overnight and boiled with an assortment of spices"/>

Chana Masala

Chana Masala is one of the classic recipe from Punjab that is robust with flavors, aroma and a non gravy version of Chole.

Preparation Time : 15 minutes (Excluding Soaking Time)
Cooking Time : 45 minutes

Category : Dry Vegetables
Cuisine :
Servings : 4 servings

Author : Sunayana Gupta

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Recipe Ingredients

  • Chickpeas (Kanuli chana/Chole) - 250 gms.
  • Refined oil - 2 tablespoon
  • Onion (Sliced) - 1 medium
  • Tomato (Chopped) - 1 large
  • Turmeric powder - 1 teaspoon
  • Ginger garlic paste - 1 teaspoon
  • Garam masala powder - 2 tablespoon
  • Red chilly powder - 1 teaspoon
  • Dry mango powder (Amchur) - 1 teaspoon

Salt - To taste

  • Water - To boil Chole/chana 
  •  
  • Whole Spices -
  • Cinnamon - 1 inch stick
  • Cloves - 4-5
  • Black pepper - 5-6
  • Bay leaf - 1
  • Black cardamom - 1
  • Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
  • Caraway seeds (Ajwain) - 1 teaspoon

To be coarsely ground -

  • Cumin seeds (Jeera) - 1 teaspoon
  • Coriander seeds (Dhaniya) - 2 teaspoon
  • Black pepper (Kali mirch) - 5-7
  • Cloves (Laung) - 2
  • Dry red chilly (Sookhi lal mirch) - 1

How to make Chana Masala

Soaking & Boiling Chole - 

  1. To begin with making this flavorful Chana Masala or Pindi Chana we need to wash and soak the chickpeas in sufficient water overnight.
  2. Next morning boil the soaked Chole in a pressure cooker with 1-2 teaspoon of salt and around 2-3 cups of water.
  3. You need to pressure cook this for 3-4 whistles or till Chole are cooked to your perfection.
  4. Once boiled, transfer to a colander to remove the excess water. Reserve some of this water as it is full of flavors. We would use this for sauting masalas. 

Making  Chana Masala -

  1. Now we need to make our special coarsely ground masala.
  2. For this, roast all spices (Under ‘To be ground’) till you get a nice aroma. Cool for a minute and coarsely ground in a mixer. This gives a lovely texture to the dish. Keep aside.
  3. Heat oil in a pan and saute all whole spices till aromatic. Add in sliced onion and cook till it gets a lovely golden color.
  4. Add chopped tomatoes and cook till mushy. Also add ginger garlic paste, coarsely grounded masala and cook till it separates the oil. You might add little amount of water to avoid the burning of masalas.
  5. Time to add in the boiled Chole, garam masala powder, salt, red chilly powder, amchur powder and give a nice mix.
  6. Add little amount of water, say….1/2 cup and cover with lid. Cook on low flame till all the water is absorbed.

‘Pindi Chole’ is now ready. Garnish with freshly chopped coriander and serve. You might want to refer our serving suggestions above to design a perfect meal….!!!





  • Name
  • Chana Masala Recipe
  • Sub name
  • Pindi Chole | Dry Chole | Punjabi Sookhe Chole | Festive recipe | Party recipe
  • Category
  • Dry Vegetables
  • Cuisine
  • Punjabi
  • Key ingredients
  • Chickpeas (Kabuli chana), ginger, garlic, tomatoes
  • Cooking technique
  • Boiling & cooking on gas top
  • Taste
  • Robust, spicy & tangy
  • Preparation time
  • 15 minutes (Excluding Soaking Time)
  • Cooking time
  • 45 minutes
  • Servings
  • 4
  • Equipment used
  • Pressure cooker, mixer grinder, pan/wok with lid
  • Steps
  • 0
  • Created date
  • 2018-01-03 06:49:56

About Sunayana Gupta

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Hi,

I am founder, recipe creater, blogger and food photographer for this website. Here we provide you with some lip smacking veg. and egg recipes that you can easily replicate in your kitchen and create a soulful platter for your family & friends following our serving suggestions. From some regional Indian cuisine to popular recipes from around the globe, our focus is to make cooking easy for you with simple to follow steps, staple ingredients and accessible cooking techniques.

After you try any of our recipe, we are longing back to hear from you as your feedback means a lot to us. Hope you enjoy cooking and together we share some enticing ideas and tips.

Happy cooking!