Step 1

Pressure cook 2 cups of over night SoakedChickpeas with 4 cups of water. Add salt while pressure cooking so thechickpeas don't taste bland. After pressure cooking, drain the water and keepaside. This will be used to adjust the gravy consistency. Do not throw thiswater.

Step 2

Prep the ingredients while the chickpeas arepressure cooking. Finely chop the onions, Puree the tomatoes and mince gingerpaste, garlic cloves and green chillies in the mixer grinder and set aside.

Step 3

Heat a pan or thick bottom kadhai, add oil and whole spices (bay leaf,cinnamon sticks).

Step 4

Now add the minced ginger-garlic-green chillies paste and saute welluntil there is no raw smell. Now add the chopped onions and cook them on low heat until they arebrown in colour.

Step 5

Add the tomato puree and the spices (coriander powder, turmeric powder,jeera powder, red chilli powder and garam masala)

Step 6

Cookthis mixture (bhuno) well until there is no raw smell of the tomatoes or thespices. It should be dry and leave some oil on the sides

Step 7

Once the gravy base has cooked well. Add the cooked chickpeas.

Step 8

With the back of your spoon, mash some chickpeas lightly (this makes thegravy thicker)

Step 9

Once the masala has coated the chickpeas, add the reserved chickpeaswater along with some salt to taste. Adjust water consistency by adding somemore water and let the chana masala simmer for atleast 15 minutes on low heat(covered with lid)

Step 10

This helps the masala to penetrate the chickpeas and a thick lusciousgravy forms. Once you notice the gravy thicken, switch off, add some corianderleaves and serve hot.