Tamarind Chana Masala with Crispy Onions
- Yield
- 2 servings
The weeknight pot that tastes like it took all day. The secret is three moves in one skillet. Fry a handful of sliced onion until crisp and keep the oil, then brown chopped onion in it until it's nearly dark and jammy, and cook the tomato paste until the oil separates. Tamarind goes in with the chickpeas for a sour backbone, and garam masala and lime go in again at the end so the top notes stay fresh. Deep onion brings the sweetness, tamarind and lime the sour, chile the heat, yogurt the cool, and crispy onions the crunch.
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Ingredients
Batches and reset
2 servings · US measures · 1 batch
Batching
Cook each batch in its own 10-inch skillet; one can of chickpeas does not divide neatly. Cooking times do not change with the number of batches.
Original recipe: 2 servings.
The optional sliced chile, lime wedges and flatbread, and the extra salt and lime juice added to taste, are left out of the nutrition estimate. All of the frying oil is counted, so those figures are upper bounds. Nutrition is incomplete because the ginger piece, the Kashmiri chili powder, the garam masala and the tamarind concentrate have no matching record in the pinned Standard Reference extract.
Before you start
- Read through the recipe before heating the skillet. Gather the food processor, skillet, wooden spoon, slotted spoon, a paper towel-lined plate, small bowls and the measured ingredients.
Directions
Measure the spices into one bowl
For the whole recipe
Read through the recipe, then gather the equipment and use the ingredient lines to prepare and measure everything. Measure the ground spices into one small bowl; they go in quickly once the paste is cooked. Everything is chopped and measured.
Blend the tomato paste
For each batch
Process the tomatoes, ginger, garlic and green chile pepper in the food processor into a fairly smooth paste. The paste is fairly smooth.
Fry the crispy onions
For each batch
Heat about 1/4 cup canola oil in the 10-inch skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Add about 4 oz onion and 1/4 tsp salt and fry, stirring often, until the onion is deep golden brown and crisp at the edges, about 10 to 12 minutes. Lift the onion onto the paper towel-lined plate with the slotted spoon, keeping the oil in the skillet; it crisps more as it cools.
Why it works: fry the topping first
Frying the sliced onion slowly drives off its water and caramelizes its sugar, so it turns sweet and crunchy. The oil it leaves behind tastes of onion, and that's the oil the whole curry cooks in.
Brown the onion nearly dark
For each batch
Add 1 tsp cumin seeds to the oil in the skillet and let them sizzle over medium heat until a shade darker. Add the chopped onion and cook, stirring often, until it is deep brown and jammy, about 12 to 15 minutes.
Why it works: onions nearly dark
Pale, soft onion makes a thin, sharp sauce. Taken to deep brown and jammy, it adds sweetness and a roasted depth that makes a quick pot taste long-cooked.
If it goes wrong: the onion is catching
Add a splash of water and scrape the bottom of the skillet; the browned bits dissolve back into the onion as flavor. If it smells burnt rather than sweet, lower the heat for the rest of the browning.
Cook the paste until the oil shows
For each batch
Add the paste and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until it thickens, darkens a shade and oil pools around the edges.
Why it works: waiting for the oil
Raw tomato is full of water. As it cooks off, the paste starts to fry in the oil instead of steaming, and oil seeping out at the edges is the sign the raw, sharp edge is gone.
Toast the spices
For each batch
Stir in 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1/2 tsp ground turmeric, 1/2 tsp garam masala and 1/2 tsp salt, and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the spices smell toasted, about 1 minute, without letting them scorch.
House call: pure ground chile, not a blend
US chili powder is a blend that already carries cumin, garlic and oregano. Kashmiri chili powder is pure ground chile with a deep red color and mild, fruity heat, so the sauce tastes cleaner and looks redder.
Simmer with tamarind
For each batch
Stir in the chickpeas, about 1 cup water and 1 tbsp tamarind concentrate and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Turn to medium-low heat and simmer, mashing a few chickpeas against the side of the skillet, until the sauce is thick and clings to the chickpeas, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Swap: amchur for tamarind
Tamarind is there for a deep, fruity sourness, and it is associated with North Indian and Pakistani chana. Amchur, dried green mango powder, gives a brighter, sharper sour and goes in with the chickpeas the same way. Same dish, slightly different sour.
Finish with garam masala and lime
For each batch
Take the skillet off the heat and stir in 1/2 tsp garam masala and 1 tbsp fresh lime juice until the sauce smells fresh and fragrant.
Why it works: garam masala twice
Garam masala cooked in the base turns warm and mellow; its brightest aromas fade with heat. A second dose off the heat, with the lime, puts the perfume back on top.
Taste, then fix
For each batch
Taste the sauce with a chickpea. Aim for deep, sweet onion, warm spice, gentle heat and a sour, bright finish. If it tastes flat, add salt to taste; if it tastes heavy, add fresh lime juice to taste. The sauce tastes deep, bright and well seasoned.
If it goes wrong: it's too sour
Tamarind varies a lot from jar to jar. Stir in a little more yogurt at the table, or simmer a splash of water through the sauce, and hold back the extra lime.
Top and serve
For the whole recipe
Spoon the chana masala into bowls and top with the crispy onions, about 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, about 1/4 cup plain whole-milk yogurt and the sliced green chile pepper, if using. Serve with the lime wedges and warm naan or other flatbread, if using, to make 2 servings. The chana masala is topped and ready.
Make ahead: even better tomorrow
The curry keeps settling in overnight in the fridge; loosen it with a splash of water as it warms, then add a fresh squeeze of lime. Keep the crispy onions in an airtight container at room temperature so they stay crunchy.
Make it yours: from safe to wild
Safe: serve it over basmati rice with the yogurt. Bolder: go chaat-style, spooned over cold thick yogurt with crushed chips and pomegranate seeds. Wild: split a baked potato, load it with the chana masala and pile the crispy onions on top.
About this recipe
Allergens / Diets
Rebuilt recipe in review. Allergen and diet details are being re-checked.
Research preview: these details come from our sourced research and haven't been reviewed by our chef yet.
Why it works
Cooking the blended onion, tomato, ginger, garlic and chile paste until the oil separates concentrates its flavor, and toasting the ground spices briefly in that paste brings out their aroma before the chickpeas simmer in the sauce.
Associated with
North Indian and Pakistani home cooking
Taste
- Sweet
- Sour
- Salty
- Bitter
- Savory
- Heat
Warm spice and gentle heat over a savory tomato, onion and ginger base, finished with cilantro. · saucy, tender chickpeas · hot
Skill level
Easy
One skillet; the judgment is cooking the paste until it darkens and the oil pools.
Occasions
Lenten abstinence days (Ash Wednesday and the Fridays of Lent)
No meat is listed; this is a plant-based main.
Orthodox Great Lent
Plant-based; olive oil is allowed only on weekends and oil-permitted days.
Serving and keeping
Best served: Once the chickpeas are heated through Top with cilantro.
Make ahead: It keeps and reheats well.
Storage: Refrigerate within 2 hours. For longer keeping, freeze; frozen food stays safe at 0°F, though quality declines over time.
Leftovers: Refrigerate within 2 hours, use within 3 to 4 days and reheat to 165°F.
Food safety
- Toast the ground spices over medium heat for about a minute without letting them scorch.
- Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F, and reheat them to 165°F.
We make no cross-contact statement for home kitchens. Check packaged ingredient labels.
Nutrition notes
The chickpeas bring fiber and plant protein.
Canned chickpeas carry salt; no-salt-added chickpeas, rinsed, keep the sodium lower.
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- Recipe url
- https://isthebestrecipe.com/indian/chickpeas-in-tomato-spice-sauce
- Name
- Tamarind Chana Masala with Crispy Onions
- Servings
- 2
- Recipe yield
- 2 servings
- Recipe ingredient
- 2 whole tomatoes medium, chopped, 1 piece fresh ginger 1 inch long, peeled and chopped, 4 cloves garlic peeled, 1 whole green chile pepper seeded and chopped, about 1/4 cup canola oil, about 4 oz onion very thinly sliced, for the crispy onions, 3/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 whole onion medium, finely chopped, 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder or another pure ground red chile, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1/2 tsp ground turmeric, 1 tsp garam masala, 1 can chickpeas drained and rinsed, about 1 cup water, 1 tbsp tamarind concentrate or 2 teaspoons amchur (dried mango powder), 1 tbsp fresh lime juice, about 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, about 1/4 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
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Nutrition Values
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