Aloo Chana Masala or Aloo Chole Recipe (Potatoes & Chickpea Curry)
A simple incredibly satisfying vegetarian curry made with chickpeas and potatoes.
Servings 4
Calories 329kcal
Ingredients
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 cups cooked chickpeas (from one 540ml can)
- 1 cup potatoes cut into ½ cm thick pieces 130-150g, 2 small or 1 big
- 1 onion diced
- 2 tomatoes finely diced 120-140g or 1.5 cup-ish
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp nigella seeds (kalonji)
- 4 black peppers
- 2-3 cloves
- 1 inch ginger (grated) or 2 tsp ginger paste
- 4 cloves garlic crushed or 1 tsp garlic paste
- 1 ½ - 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 1 ½ tsp red chilli powder
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda (optional, see notes!)
- 3 tbsp chopped cilantro
- ½-1 tsp garam masala (optional)
- as many green chillies as you can eat - I used 4-5 thinly sliced
- lemon wedges
Instructions
- Heat ¼ cup of oil in a large saucepan or wok on medium high heat and add cumin seeds, cloves, peppers, and kalonji. The seeds will sputter and smell amazing
- Add onions and fry till the edges are caramelly but not brown.
- Now add the ginger and garlic, stir for a minute then add the rest of your dry spices i.e. coriander powder, red chili powder, turmeric powder, and salt.
- Saute for 30 seconds then throw in the chopped tomatoes, cook till 'bhunn' i.e masalas form a cohesive paste and oil rises above them.tip: to make this faster simply cover the pan, keeping it on med-high heat, for 2 minutes.
- Now add your chickpeas, potatoes. Stir well, then add one cup of hot water and cover your pan. Bring the mixture to a boil then let it simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are done.
- Mash the potatoes and chickpeas slightly with the back of a large spoon to create a thicker gravy. Adjust consistency for your liking. Taste for SALT - you may need to add more.
- Then top with cilantro, chillies, garam masala if you wish, and serve with plain yoghurt, achar and hot roti or paratha. Yum.
Notes
- petite south asian chickpeas have the best flavour or texture (as do any that are prepped at home), but if the sturdier standard canned ones are all you can find then simply add a very small pinch of baking soda in with the chickpeas to help them tenderize and help the spice flavour the chickpeas.
- serves 2-3 as a main and 4 as a side!
- if your can has less than 2 cups do not worry about it, you will still end up with a delicious dish!
Nutrition
Calories: 329kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 956mg | Potassium: 703mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 880IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 80mg | Iron: 4mg
