Chana Aloo or Chhole Aloo Masala (Spicy Chickpeas and Potato Curry)
on Feb 14, 2016, Updated Apr 07, 2021
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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!
Chana aloo might not be the fanciest recipe out there, but it sure spells comfort. I always make a big batch of this easy chole aloo masala because it refrigerates really well. Plus, there are so many ways you can have it. I generally serve this once with bhatura, once with naan or paratha, and once with rice. That’s how much we love this dish.
There are two different ways to make this dish – a longer method that requires you to do everything from scratch. But if you’re like me and stock up on a couple jars of bhuna masala in the freezer, then this dish comes together in a total jiffy!
Table of contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- A super quick and easy week night dinner recipe that’s ready in 30 minutes.
- Meal prep friendly. Can easily make a big batch and store in the fridge or freezer.
- Can be served in a number of different ways, so you don’t feel like you’re eating the same thing everyday.
- Is a 100% vegan and gluten-free recipe.
Richa’s Top Tips To Make The Best Chole Aloo Masala
- Chop the potatoes into small, even-sized cubes to make sure they cook fast and evenly.
- I have used dry chickpeas, which I boiled for about 7-8 whistles before making this curry. You can easily swap with canned chickpeas. Just make sure to drain all the water and give it a good rinse before
There are so many ways to eat this chana aloo. If you are making this for guests or for a Sunday feast, serve it with rotis, jeera rice, dal fry and cucumber mint raita. You can also serve it with just steamed rice for a comforting weekday meal. If you want to turn this one into a scrumptious breakfast, serve it with some hot bhaturas. No matter how you serve this one though, be sure to make extras cos it disappears really fast!
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 1/2 tablespoons Ghee, or Oil
- 1 inch Ginger, julienned
- 2 Chilies, slit lengthwise
- 1 Cinnamon, stick
- 4 Pods Cardamom
- 4 – 5 Cloves
- 1 1/2 cups Bhuna Curry Paste, If you don’t have bhuna masala, see Step 2 of recipe instructions
- 1 teaspoon Chili Powder, Red
- 1/2 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 tsp 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 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon coriander powder, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder and 1/2 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 3/4 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.
Hi! I just have a tiny query. Is that measurement for 2 cups of cooked chickpeas or 2 cups dried (and then cooked)?
Sue this is for 2 cups cooked chickpeas.
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!
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
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.
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!
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 🙂
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!
Best Recipe. I loved it. Thanks for sharing the wonderful recipe with us. Buy Online Spices online at http://www.mangalorespice.com
I hate you lady! Your photos are so gorgeous it’s tempting me to break my diet! Look so scrumptious!
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Thanks Indu and Sujitha!
Curry looks so delicious and beautiful shots.
This looks delicious, especially the second pic