mom’s Chana masala

There’s something about becoming a parent that makes you want to “do things better.” You become hyper aware of your own short comings as you realize just how many things you desire for your children to learn. For one, I want my kids to know where they came from and to be proud of their history. But in wanting that, there comes this guilt filled realization that growing up, I didn’t have the same pride that I now want for my kids. I grew up with so much discomfort and resentment towards the food that I ate at home. That food felt foreign–the farthest thing from “normal,” and as a kid, normal is often the height of one’s aspirations.

But it’s 2019 and turmeric is a hot topic. I’m probably not going too far on a limb to assume you have it in your pantry. In 2002 though, turmeric did not spark the same awe and intrigue that it does today, at least with high schoolers. Among others, those were the spices whose aromas I wanted to make sure did not linger in my clothing and hair when I left for school or to go hang out with friends. I could not think of a more humiliating insult than to be told I smelled like “curry,” regardless of the fact that I was pretty sure my mom’s cooking was not actually considered curry, but was also pretty sure that nobody cared. While my kids will never have quite the same upbringing as me, with an immigrant mother who solely cooked Gujarati food at home, I want my kids to have a connection with that food. I want the smells and taste of chana masala to be comforting, and remind them of grandma, in a way that good food does.

I actually have been really bad at cooking Indian food. I always feel as though it won’t be authentic if I make it—the irony is not lost on me. But the thing is, my mom never taught me how to cook. And she cooks from instinct and intuition, never recipes, like most Indian women from her generation. And so I sometimes feel like if I follow a recipe online to make something she made, it just won’t measure up, and therefore I don’t try. But I need to begin preserving this food, and I need my kids to know it.

So now, because it is 2019, and I am sure you have access to these ingredients (that is– if they’re not already in your pantry), I am going to share this recipe with you. Because in sharing, there is also some form of healing. I want you to know where this food comes from and I want you to know I am proud of it. I hope you enjoy it and share it with your children and I hope you can celebrate where it comes from as well. And when your kitchen and clothing becomes infused with the smells of garlic and ginger and turmeric, because they will, I hope you can celebrate the smell of Indian food, knowing that it is more than just curry.

Ingredients

2 tbsp oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 chopped yellow onion
2 tablespoon garlic ginger paste (equal parts garlic and ginger pureed in a food processor, or about 4-5 cloves garlic and 1 inch ginger minced)
1/2 seranno chili minced (seeds optional for spice)
1 roma tomato chopped
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
pinch of salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriandor
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon chili powder (optional for spice)
1 or 2 russet potatoes cut into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces
2 cups dried chickpeas (soaked overnight)
1.5 cups water
fresh cilantro and yogurt for garnish

My mom makes her chana masala using dried and soaked chickpeas cooked in a traditional pressure cooker, so I had her show me how to make it in my instant pot using the pressure cook setting. I will leave notes below if you want to try it with canned chickpeas or if you do not have a pressure cooker. You will basically start by making a sauce or “gravy,” as my mom calls it, in one pot on the stove, and end by transferring the sauce + chickpeas and potatoes to the instant pot to pressure cook. You could also make the gravy in the instant pot on the saute setting, but I feel like it could become burned more easily this way.

Recipe

Heat oil in a heavy bottom pot and add cumin seeds. Once seeds begin to pop, add onion and saute until soft.
Add garlic ginger paste and chopped tomato, seranno pepper, turmeric, black pepper, salt, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and chili powder. Stir until the mixture is very soft.
Add 1.5 cups of water to the spice mixture.
Add chickpeas and potatoes to the instant pot, and cover it with the water/ spice mixture
Set instant pot to high for 45 minutes on high, set to slow release once done.
The chickpeas and potatoes should be in a thick sauce like gravy, if you see too much water, you can hit saute on the instant pot to cook out water until your desired consistency.
Serve with roti or naan and garnish with plain yogurt and cilantro

Recipe notes or alterations

If you do not have cumin seeds, you can substitute with another aromatic whole spice such as whole black pepper, cinnamon stick, or cloves. If you have none of these, just skip this and go straight to sauteing onion. Do not substitute with more cumin powder as the flavors are distinct and can become easily overpowered.
There is not a great substitute for coriandor, but I know it is a spice that is less common in households. At the very least, you should be able to make this dish with cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, and of course salt and pepper.
If you forget to soak chickpeas or just want to make this recipe a bit more on a whim, you can flash boil your chickpeas for 30 minutes. The main reason for soaking them overnight is they need to expand quite a bit to cook, so this helps them cook faster. Also note that chickpeas will expand to about double their size when soaking so choose the right sized pot for their growth.
You can certainly make these with canned and if you do not have an instant pot. (Though I highly recommend trying to make them with dried if possible!) Just add your chickpeas and potatoes to the pot along with water and let simmer until the potatoes are soft, around 10-15 minutes.