June 05, 2014
Kitchen Sink Chana Masala
I absolutely love Indian food, and although I’ve tried a lot of different Indian dishes, 9 times out of 10 I order the exact same thing – chana masala. Why? Because it is sooooo delicious. I have however never attempted to make my own version of it, possibly because I just don’t want to mess with perfection, BUT today when I was cleaning out my fridge I realized I needed to use up some chickpeas and ginger before they went bad and I thought, “to hell with it! I can try a chana masala recipe” – and then I realized I have about zero percent of the fresh raw spices and seeds you need, and missing one of the main spices, garam masala, entirely. Undaunted, I decided I’d use the pre-ground spices that I do have. Aaaand make a few other changes to the recipe so I can use up the crushed tomatoes, mixed beans, coconut milk, and jalepeno pepper in my fridge. Thus the title: Kitchen Sink Chana Masala – as in, everything but the kitchen sink – quick and easy, not so accurate, but still scrumptious.
Ingredients:
Directions:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 4-5 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1 tbsp grated or diced ginger
- ½ cup coconut milk
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups chickpeas (and/or mixed beans) cooked
- ½ a jalepeno pepper (or any hot pepper), chopped
- 2 tsp cardamom (or garam masala if you have it)
- ½ tsp coriander
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp cumin
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tsp curry powder

- Sauté the onion, ginger, jalepeno, and garlic in olive oil, stirring often
- Add in all the spices and cook for another minute
- Add in the crushed tomatoes and coconut milk, stirring often for about 2 minutes
- Add in the chickpeas and bring to a simmer for about 10 minutes
- Serve over a bed of rice, with some naan, or on its own, and enjoy!