Chana/ Chole is a North Indian prepartion which is predominantly chickpeas and usually comes in a spicy onion-tomato gravy. This is one dish I cook quite frequently at home and is perfect whether served with Indian flatbreads like chapathis, pooris or naans.
There is something about its buttery taste and soft texture that enhances the flavours whichever way it is cooked. If you eat it out in Indian restaurants, it invariably comes cooked with a lot of oil/ ghee or cream. While this does add to the taste of the dish, and can even be over whelming at times, this isn’t the best way to eat it on a regular basis.
My everyday version of Chana/ Chole has very little fat or absolutely no added fat as in this recipe. I used to have a habit of collecting recipes from magazines or books in the days before we became computer literate and I started writing this blog.
This recipe is from that collection and I have no idea which magazine it came from. With time, I have tweaked the original to suit our taste, and this is what the recipe looks like now. This recipe is proof that food that is cooked without fat can taste as good, and the chickpeas in this one goes a long way to make it so.
This preparation is also gluten-free and vegan.
Oil-Free Kabuli Chana (Garbanzo Bean/ Chick Pea in a Spicy Gravy)
Ingredients
- 1 cup chana chole / (garbanzo beans/ chickpeas)
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/2 cup onion grated
- 1/4 cup tomato blanched and chopped
- 1 tbsp ginger julienne
- 1/2 tsp garlic paste
- 3/4 tsp cumin powder
- 3/4 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp chilli powder (or to taste)
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- to taste salt
- coriander chopped laves , for garnishing
Instructions
- Soak the chana/ chole overnight and cook till soft but firm. Take a handful of the chana and mash well. Keep aside.
- Heat a non-stick pan or kadai. Add the ustard seeds. When they splutter/ pop, add the cumin, coriander and turmeric powders and lightly roast for less than a minute. Take care they do not burn.
- Quickly add the grated onion, chopped tomato, ginger julienne, garlic paste and chilli powder along with a quarter cup of water. Mix well an allow to cook for about 5 minutes till the water evaporates, while stirring occasionally. By now the raw smell of the onion should have disappeared. If not add about 2 tbsps of water and cook till the water has almost evaporated, again stirring frequently.
- Now and add the cooked chana, salt and a cup of water and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes till some of the water evaporates. Add the mashed chana and the garam masala and simmer for a few minutes till the Kabuli Chana has a thick gravy.
- Garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot with pooris, chappathis or rice.
I'm Aparna and My Diverse Kitchen is my ovo-lacto vegetarian food blog where you'll find recipes, food stories & photography. I've been blogging since 2007 and believe the kitchen, and the dining table (by extension) is really the heart of a home. 
Aparna, you didn’t miss the oil at all? I’m wondering how the onion tasted and if it retained its onion-y smell. Many of these gravies are easy to make oil-less, dals and sambars as well.
Wow, that was quick.:)No, I don’t miss the oil at all. And no onion-y smell either.I have updated my post about this.
i use a similar recipe but never thot of avoiding oil 🙂 so you and her are doing a ‘daring baker’-ish between u, is it? that’s so cool 🙂
Hi…Chana masals is looking good. The picture is so appetizing….
This is what I love…I too try to make several dishes, especially our almost regular consumption of masur dal, without oil…have cooked even chicken without any oil and didn’t miss it at all…your curry looks so beautiful.
Wow! i love channa. and when it is oil free then it would be perfect. Nice picture.
What a nice idea to cook the chana masala without the oil. There are so many wonderful flavors here that one wouldn’t miss the fat at all.
my kabuli chana never turns our great. i would love to try your version. in fact, i’m gonna soak some now.
“Oil-free” is what attracted me 🙂 It looks perfect… will definitly try your version!
great way to make Chana Masala..nice recipe and Chana Masala looks delicious.
I like chole (and rajma) a lot…have never been able to make a decent chole. Something’s always missing.This looks good.:)
Aparna,the curry colour looks fantastic and no oil sounds too good.A must try recipe, since we are ardent fan of channa.
Good to think that one can have chole without a drop of oil in it!
am surprised by the non-use of oil!!
Oil free chana sounds awesome! will try and see if it tastes grt too. Your pic looks yum. Congrats on the award, and best wishes to the new blog!
I just can’t resist that teaspoon of oil, Aparna!! But I have made this and it tastes good – long back!!
Aparna the Kabuli chana without oil sounds really great! im just wondering hows d tatse will be
Guilt free chana..aah..nice post!
i love channa too….k cant stand it…so it doesnt get made too often….i love that this is without oil!! wow!! bookmarked!!
Looks like a great curry for chana
made it and loved it. thank you. we also added a touch of tamarind.
I can see chana/ chole is a favourite with lots of us.:) Oil-free is a definite plus.Never thought of it as Daring Bakerish, Nags, though we’re both DBs. Just a baking “expotition”, as Pooh would say.:)It does taste good, Smn. Oil (not too much) does add its own taste to food, but we don’t miss it in this one.Happy you enjoyed it Bee.Tamarind is a good touch. A lot of the time, the tomatoes we get here are so sour, we don’t anything else!:)
I finely chop my onions, place them in a microwave oven safe plate, spray Pam on it, mix it well and microwave it for for 4-5 minutes. The onion loses the onion’y smell and is almost well-cooked.