Chana masala with paratha
€3.84 │ €0.96 per portion │ Serves 4 │ Under 30mins │ India
Easy to make and rich in flavour, this chickpea curry in sharp, spiced tomato packs a punch when served with a flaky flatbread. Because it's fast to make, chana masala is a great weekday dish for a meal plan!
What to serve it with?
Indian roti flatbreads, naan, or paratha pair fantastically with this saucy curry. Check out your local Indian store to see what they have.
Try to steer clear of any inauthentic products like Sharwood's naan - half the quality, double the price!
Sometimes the big supermarkets offer authentic Indian breads - this is the one we get, listed at Albert Heijn for €2.99 for 5. Though, we actually find it in our local Turkish supermarket.
A mint yoghurt "raita" can also go well on top, as well as some fresh vegetables like cucumbers and pickles.
How to use in a meal plan
Good home economics is using ingredients smartly - and that saves money and cuts food waste. A meal plan is a great way to do this.
Chana masala is a great weekday dish because of how easy and fast it is to make. It's also quite vibrant and vegetarian, so it's good to wedge in between heavier/more meat-dependent dishes.
Leftovers
Spoonfeed meal plans save you money by using the economy of scale. Making dinner also your leftover lunch avoids spending money and extra time cooking!
Chana masala keeps perfectly for tomorrow's lunch, and is easily warmed in the microwave. For paratha flatbread, it's best kept separate from the curry to avoid it getting wet. Cook the paratha ahead of time and microwave it as well the next day.
Utensils
- Sauté pot/wok
- Frying pan (non-stick)
- Deep cooking spoon
- Spatula
Ingredients
- 650g chickpeas
- 4 paratha/roti/chapati/naan
- 400g can crushed tomato
- 1 large red onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 5cm piece of ginger
- 1 stock cube for 25cl broth
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp chilli powder (Kashmiri is best)
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp garam masala
- Fresh herbs (like coriander/parsley), to serve
Instead of cooking the onions, garlic, ginger, (and chillies if you want to use them), simply blend it all together, gently fry and stir for 5 minutes, then continue as below by adding your chickpeas. This is known as 'tempering' the spices and it's common in Indian cuisine. It brings out the flavour in the ingredients even more!
Method
- Dice thinly the onion, garlic, and ginger.
- Drain chickpeas and boil the kettle for the broth.
- On high heat, fry onion in the oil until translucent for about 3-5 minutes, then add the chickpeas. After a few minutes, add garlic and ginger. Once aromatic, add 1/3 of the crushed tomato and mix well.
- Add your spices, combine, then follow up with the rest of the tomato and the broth. Mix well and cook for 10 minutes.
- In this time, prepare your chosen Indian bread. Usually, you can simply heat them very quickly on a non-stick pan without oil. See the instructions on your packaging.
- Serve with herbs, and plate the bread beside it.
- Enjoy!