A home cooked basic Indian meal is what a perfect Sunday looks like! Chana Aloo or Chhole Aloo Masala (Spicy Chickpeas and Potato Curry) makes for a go-to when comfort food cravings strike. Its spicy, moderately hot and full of flavors!
I know there's nothing romantic about Chana Aloo. But if you want something mushy and sweet and regular Valentines Day kinds, I have this fantastic 15 minute chocolate pudding already dished out for you.
Honestly, Denver's still sleeping and I plan to re-hit the sack as soon as I finish this post.
Wake up in a few hours and have chana aloo for lunch. At 4 PM. Because Sunday and curry. Pure comfort. Pure love. That's my attempt at being cheesy. Major FAIL.
There are two ways to make this curry. The long way and the short way. If you already have a jar of Bhuna Masala lying around in your fridge then you choose to take the short cut. Hi-Five!
I always make a lot because I know I'm going to crave this for three days straight. Once with bhaturas, once with rice and once with parathas. It's standard eating procedure when there's chana aloo or chhole aloo in the house.
Now I'm just going to leave you with all the mushy stuff that you and your valentine have planned out, while I go snooze some more.
What to eat this with:
If you are trying this out, tag your photos @my_foodstory or use #myfoodstories and share some curry love with me on Instagram.
Chana Aloo or Chhole Aloo Masala (Spicy Chickpeas and Potato Curry)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ tablespoons Ghee or Oil
- 1 inch Ginger julienned
- 2 Chilies slit lengthwise
- 1 Cinnamon stick
- 4 Pods Cardamom
- 4 - 5 Cloves
- 1 ½ cups Bhuna Curry Paste If you don't have bhuna masala, see Step 2 of recipe instructions
- 1 teaspoon Chili Powder Red
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric Powder
- 1 tablespoon Coriander Powder
- 1 teaspoon Cumin Powder
- 1 teaspoon Garam Masala Powder
- 2 cups Chickpeas cooked (See Note 2)
- 2 Potatoes Boiled , Peeled and quartered
- Salt to taste
- Coriander Chopped for topping
Instructions
- Blend bhuna masala in a blender till smooth.
- If you don't have bhuna masala readily available, heat a tablespoon of oil or ghee in a pan and add 1 teaspoon cumin seeds to it. Once the seeds start spluttering, add 3 chopped onions, 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste and 1 teaspoon chili paste to it. Cook till the onions are translucent and add 4 chopped tomatoes along with ½ teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon coriander powder, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder and ½ teaspoon garam masala powder. Cook for 5-7 minutes. Once cooled, blend till smooth and follow the instructions below.
- Heat ghee in a large casserole or kadhai and add ginger, chillies, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. Saute for a minute on low flame. Be careful not to let the ginger or spices burn.
- Add bhuna masala and stir in red chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala powder and salt. Cover and cook for 8-10 minutes.
- Add cooked chickpeas, potatoes and ¾ cup water. Bring this to a boil. Once the curry starts boiling, reduce the flame and cover and cook for 10-15 minutes.
- Sprinkle with chopped coriander and serve hot with rice, parathas or bhaturas.
Notes
- If you don't have bhuna masala, follow instructions in this link: http://www.myfoodstory.in/bhuna-masala-or-everyday-indian-curry-paste-recipe
- To cook chickpeas, soak dried chickpeas in water overnight. The next morning, boil chickpeas in water till soft and can be easily smashed in between your fingers. You can also pressure cook for 7-8 whistles.
jojo vito says
Wow, this looks really delicious. I would want to try your recipe.
Sue says
Hi! I just have a tiny query. Is that measurement for 2 cups of cooked chickpeas or 2 cups dried (and then cooked)?
Richa says
Sue this is for 2 cups cooked chickpeas.
Nicole says
Hi! How do you make/get the chili paste mentioned in the bhuna masala recipe?
Thanks!
Nicole
PS: Looking forward to trying out this recipe. The photo is gorgeous!
Richa says
Hey Nicole, you can soak a few dried red chillies and grind them to a paste in your food processor, or use a mortar pestle
Liz S says
Hello! I made this for a group of visiting Pakistani teachers and they loved it! They all commented on how it was like eating their mother's food, and they wanted to know how I knew to make the dish. They were very surprised when I said I just found a recipe that looked good on the internet. This was too spicy for my taste, but they thought it was perfect. Thanks! The Bhuna Masala recipe actually made 6 cups of sauce for me, not 3 like it said, so that was nice. I ended up making 4 times the amount of Chana Aloo, and it was plenty.
Richa says
Hey Liz! Glad you and your friends liked this recipe. I can imagine that the spice might be high for you, but for us Asians, its perfect 🙂
Thanks for leaving your feedback here!
Ridhima Tomar says
Hey Richa,
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. I just love your blog, and gradually trying the recipes.
I must say the cholas turned out nicely. I made it minus the potatoes but somehow the curry was too spicy. Though I followed the steps. Any way to cut the spicy flavour?
It's lovely to get homemade taste away from home.
Looking forward to reading more Indian recipes 🙂
richagupta says
Hey Rodhima, glad you like the recipes 🙂 If it was too spicy, feel free to reduce the amount of chilli powder and completely cut out the green chillies. I try and keep my recipes simple, and always urge readers to adjust spices to their liking. Thanks for stopping by!
Spices says
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Dolphia Nandi-Arnstein says
I hate you lady! Your photos are so gorgeous it's tempting me to break my diet! Look so scrumptious!
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Richa Gupta says
Thanks Indu and Sujitha!
Sujitha Nair says
Curry looks so delicious and beautiful shots.
indugetscooking says
This looks delicious, especially the second pic