chana masala
Serious Eats
I've made chana masala using recipes from Smitten Kitchen, ATK, and Kenji's on seriouseats. I take inspiration from all three, but Kenji's is my favorite. I mostly follow his recipe, but make the following modifications.
- In addition to the 1 tsp of cumin seeds and 2 tsp black pepper seeds, I also add 2 tsp fennel seeds.
- Since the recipe is vague about this: I usually use 5 Thai chilis, give or take.
- When adding the chickpeas, I also add some of the canning liquid. As ATK describes, the canning liquid adds body and savoriness.
While chana masala is one of my all-time favorite vegetarian dinners, it also pairs well with chicken. Here's a variation that I tried recently.
Chana masala with braised chicken legs
Start the recipe by browning some chicken legs in a dutch oven. (I did this with two thighs and two drumsticks, separated, but the exact amounts and cuts are flexible.) After they're browned, remove the legs and set them aside. With the dutch oven still hot and generously coated in rendered chicken fat, add the fennel, cumin, and black mustard seeds in the chana masala recipe. From there, proceed with the chana masala recipe as written, but only using one can of chickpeas instead of two. Once you've added the chickpeas and brought the mixture up to a simmer, nestle the chicken legs in, skin side up. Cover (or partially cover if it's looking water-y) the chicken and chickpeas and let them braise for at least 30 minutes. I braised for an hour when I made this. You could probably go as long as 90 minutes.
Serve the chicken pieces with the chana masala over rice.
Note: I only used one can of chickpeas when I did the chicken variation, but I'm undecided about if this was the right call. Next time, try doing the braised legs with two cans of chickpeas, and see which amount you like better.
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Comments:
On Jan. 8, 2026 Hugh Morgan wrote:
Chicken legs with chana masala!?!? You're crazy, girl!