Make chana masala at home

Janice Daniels
January 16, 2012

Many times last semester, I found myself making lunch

purchases at restaurants in The Union. Of course, as a vegan, I had

to be careful about the choices I was making, but not knowing

exactly what was in the food I was being served still scares me. We

spend so much on beans and rice at restaurants, and even garbanzo

beans simmered in curry sauce, but what we don’t really stop to

think about are the prices of the same items at the supermarket and

how much money we could save if we tried making these things

ourselves.

Every time I allowed myself to indulge in some lentil curry or

chana masala in The Union, I found myself wondering how hard it

could be to do myself. After a while, and far too much money spent

on overly expensive beans and rice, I finally brought myself to hit

up a store and buy spices, along with a few 68-cent cans of

garbanzo beans, to make some chana masala of my own.

This recipe comes from VegWeb.com, which is one of my absolute

FAVORITE vegan recipe websites. On this website, people from all

over the world share and review recipes – this way viewers have an

idea of what you’ll be making before it’s made. From this recipe’s

positive reviews and minimal work, I couldn’t resist an attempt at

it, and it actually  turned out better than I expected.  You may

have to make a trip to the store for some spices, but it’s most

certainly worth it. 

Ingredients: 

    2 tablespoons vegetable oil

    1 medium onion, chopped

    1 large clove garlic, minced

    1 tablespoon curry powder

    1 tablespoon tomato paste (ketchup works too!)

    1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, drained, reserving 3

tablespoons liquid

    1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

    1/2 teaspoon salt

    fresh black pepper, to taste

    crushed red pepper, to taste, optional

    1 tablespoon margarine/butter (I use Earth Balance vegan

butter) 

Directions:

1. Heat oil on medium high heat. Fry onions until slightly

browned. Reduce heat to medium. Add garlic, curry, and paste. Stir

and simmer about 2 minutes. 

2. Add chickpeas, reserved liquid, lemon juice, salt, and

black pepper. Simmer 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

3. Add red pepper, to taste. Add margarine/butter, stirring

through to melt it. Stir and simmer for 5 minutes more or until

chickpeas are softened and dish is hot. Serve over rice.

Makes: 2 to 4 servings, Preparation time: 10 minutes, Cooking

time: 15 minutes

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