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I don’t think I have ever titled one of my blog posts where I had no idea what the words mean or describe. My Kala Chana Masala is a vegan Indian dal dish.
Jump to RecipeThe recipe came about for two reasons: 1)My desire to eat healthier and more vegan recipes and 2)trying to empty out my pantry. I have been going through my spice cabinets (yes I have more than one, more than two, cabinets full of spices) and my pantry to thin them out. I have a lot to thin out. Note to you cooks out there – your spices lose potency. Buy smaller jars and buy them as you need them.
I have these dark dal/beans that I used once to make DAL MAKHANI which I absolutely loved. I needed to come up with an idea, so I looked on YOUTUBE for a recipe and came up with this recipe to use my dal. I watched a few youtube videos and have to share that this recipe is so traditional almost all of the videos were not in English. I could generally figure out what they were doing and what was going in the recipes but not completely. For me, that was a fun challenge. Making Indian food follows a process, so once you are familiar with the process, one has an idea of the steps to follow.
One of the other benefits of this recipe is I used a lot of spices. I really need to run through my spice cabinet. The spices used included chili powder, coriander, garam masala, Methi seeds, cumin, cardamon, cinnamon, cloves, turmeric, ajwain, hing, amchur, bay leaves and more. The spices were rounded out with ginger, garlic, thai hot peppers, red onion, cilantro, diced tomatoes and ghee (clarified butter). These spices and ingredients are layered into a skillet to create a super flavorful, spicy and healthy vegan recipe.
The cast of characters.
Building the chana masala.
The Kala Chana Masala plated.
Kala Chana Masala
Developing my Kala Chana Masala recipe because I want to use up my spices and ingredients in my pantry and the result was worth it.
Ingredients
Dry Kala Chana
- 2 Cups Kala chana
- 2 Cups Water
- 1 Tsp Salt
Kala Chana Masala
- 3 Tbsp Olive oil
- 2 Whole Bay leaves
- 2 Inches Cinnamon
- 2 Whole Star anise
- 6 Whole Cloves
- 4 Pods Cardamon
- 3 Tsp Cumin divided
- 3 Inches Fresh ginger minced
- 6 Cloves garlic minced
- 1 Whole Large red onion diced
- 1 Tsp Turmeric
- 2 Tbsp Chili powder
- 2 Tsp Coriander
- 1 Tsp Garam masala
- 2 Inches Aamchur
- 1/2 Tsp Hing
- 14.5 Ounces Diced tomatoes
- 1 1/2 Tsp Salt
- 1/2 Bunch Fresh cilantro
- 2 Whole Chilies
- 1 Tsp Ghee
- 1 Tbsp Kasuri methi
Instructions
Dry Kala Chana
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Add the kala chana to a bowl with the water and salt and let it soak overnight.
Kala Chana Masala
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Begin by adding the kala chana to water and let soak over night. Rinse the kala chana, salt ane enough water to cover the dal to a pressure cooker. Set for 45 minutes and up to an hour. The dal should be tender. Drain and set aside.
In a cast iron skillet heat 3 tbsp oil. Add the bay leaves, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, cardamom pods and 1 tsp of the cumin. Saute on low flame until the spices turn aromatic. Next, add the onion, ginger and garlic and saute until the onions turns golden brown. Keep the flame on low, add the diced tomatoes. Simmer for five minutes. Next, add the kala chana into the pot. Now, add in the rest of the spices. Simmer for fifteen minutes. Now mash some of the kala chana and mix well. Simmer for another ten to fifteen minutes. Finish by adding the fresh coriander, the chillies, the ghee and the kasuri methi. Mix well and simmer for ten minutes.
Serve over rice. Enjoy!
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