Black Chana Masala {Black Chickpeas}
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This black chana masala is both really special and really simple. Black chickpeas soften and absorb the flavors from toasted, fragrant spices, caramelized onions, and aromatic ginger and garlic in a tomato base. The whole family will adore this impressive black chickpea curry – it’s complex in flavor, yet simple in preparation!
Start this delicious, easy-to-make black chana masala by making the masala base – you’ll want to take your time to cook the onion, garlic, tomato, and spice mixture. Let the onions caramelize so they release all the beautiful sweetness into the curry, then the spices need to toast in the pan to bring out all their flavor.
This black chana masala is super flavorful: it’s a recipe the whole family will love and is perfect for a meatless Monday dish, potluck addition, or for meal prep.
Ingredients needed
Black chickpeas, aromatics, and spices come together to make this comforting and warming black chana masala. This is what you need:
- Dried black chickpeas: You can make this with regular chickpeas in a pinch.
- Serrano chilis: Remove the seeds from this green chili if you want to turn down the heat.
- Other ingredients: Cooking oil, an onion, baking soda, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, ginger, garlic cloves, tomato paste, garam masala, coriander powder, turmeric powder, diced tomatoes, cilantro, and lemon juice.
What are black chickpeas?
Black chickpeas are a variety of chickpeas – they look a lot like regular beige chickpeas, but smaller and darker in color. They’re also known as kala chana or Bengal gram, so this recipe is also referred to as kala chana masala. They’re dark brown when dried and they lighten up a little when cooked.
You can find them in many supermarkets, specialty stores, or online. We are yet to encounter canned black chickpeas. If you want to skip the couple of hours of cooking (plus an overnight soak) then you can sub canned white chickpeas. This way you’ll make chana masala rather than black chana masala.
What to serve with black chana masala
Serve this with some warm, steaming basmati rice or cauliflower rice and a sprinkle of cilantro. Get some roti or naan – either from the Indian restaurant down the street, from the freezer section of your supermarket, or make your own!
If you’re having a multi-course meal, make one of these appetizers:
- Curried Carrots in tandoori sauce
- Roasted Tandoori Cauliflower with tahini yogurt
- Curried Cauliflower Bites with curry mayo
- Roasted Turmeric Cauliflower
Recipe FAQs
What else can I make with black chickpeas?
This black lentil curry also uses black chickpeas!
What does the baking soda do?
The baking soda helps the onions to caramelize by increasing the pH levels, which accelerates the process of browning.
How do I store leftover black chana masala?
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Let the masala reach room temperature before putting the lid on. Black chana masala is perfect for meal prep!
Can I adjust the heat level?
If you like your kala chana curry a little less spicy, omit the green chillis or remove the seeds before adding them. If you enjoy a spicy kick, add as much chili as you please, or add red chili powder.
Does black chana masala freeze well?
Yes! We recommend doubling the recipe and putting half of it in a freezer-proof container in your freezer for a quick and easy meal down the road. It will keep well for at least 3 months in your freezer – longer in an airtight container.
Black Chana Masala (Black Chickpea) Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried black chickpeas (or 6 cups cooked black or regular chickpeas)
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1 large onion (finely minced)
- 1 pinch baking soda
- 1 teaspoon EACH: mustard seeds and cumin seeds
- 2 tablespoons finely minced ginger
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1-2 serrano chilis (finely minced – remove seeds for a less spicy curry)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons EACH: coriander and garam masala
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup chopped cilantro
- Juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
- Place the dried chickpeas in a large pot and fill it with water. Let it sit overnight on your counter, or for 8-24 hours. Drain the chickpeas and add fresh water to the pot. Bring the pot to a boil over high heat then reduce the heat and simmer for 1 ½ hours, or until the chickpeas are soft. Drain and set aside.2 cups dried black chickpeas
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and let it cook until it’s soft, about 5 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium and add the baking soda to the pan. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is dark brown, about 10 minutes. Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, ginger, garlic, and chilis to the pan and cook until a dark brown paste forms, about 5 minutes more. (See the pictures in the post to see what it should look like.)2 tablespoons cooking oil, 1 large onion, 1 pinch baking soda, 1 teaspoon EACH: mustard seeds and cumin seeds, 2 tablespoons finely minced ginger, 4 cloves garlic, 1-2 serrano chilis
- Push this onion paste to the side of the pan and add the tomato paste. Let it caramelize until is smells sweet and darkens slightly, about 3 minutes. Add the coriander, garam masala, and turmeric to the pan and let it cook for 1 minute more.2 tablespoons tomato paste, 2 teaspoons EACH: coriander and garam masala, 1 teaspoon turmeric
- Add the diced tomatoes to the pan and gently break them up with a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon. You want some texture here, just not big chunks of tomatoes. Add the cooked chickpeas, sea salt, and a ½ cup of water to the pan and let it simmer for a half hour. If you're serving this with rice, now is the time to start cooking it.28 ounce can diced tomatoes
- Season with extra sea salt if needed and then stir in the cilantro and lemon juice just before serving.1 cup chopped cilantro, Juice of 1 lemon
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
Just made it and it is delishious
I’ve been cooking Kala channa since the age of 9, it is my ultimate favourite dish. Having reached the age of 43 I have never cooked it tasting this good!!!! Thank you so much for making my favourite dish even better!!
Love love loved it!!
Hi Ranjit, thank you so much for the kind words. We’re so happy that you love this recipe!
I have made this several times now, it’s great! Works well to do loads of it and store in the freezer for a quick lunch / dinner when busy.
I’m afraid kala Chana is different from Bengal gram. Your recipe is super good and I’m going to make it. We eat kala Chana as a snack to. Thank you for sharing your recipes with us.
This was incredibly delicious! The flavors and textures were perfect. The only thing I had to do a little differently was add a little water a few times while making the chana as it started to stick to the pan. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Hey!
We prepared the masala last week and loved it. Thanks for the inspiration.
Regards,
Dennis from mampfness
This was not a win for us. The carefully created onion-spice base was utterly drowned out by the tomato. The desi-chanas (fresh from rancho gordo), never really softened (after 10 hour soak and hour and 45 minute simmer). A lot of time and ingredients spent and now I’m not sure what to do with these leftovers.
I think there’s too much tomato in this, and it tends to overpower the other flavors. I’ll make it again, but cut the canned tomatoes in half.
looks easy to make and i am gonna try it tonight. i was planning to make something related with brown chickpeas as i have soaked, boiled it yesterday and dint find proper recipe for this. this one looks easy as i have most of the ingredient you wrote. only i don’t have baking soda and mustard. hope it comes out delicious tonight.
It looks really nice. I love it. I definitely try this recipe. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
I hope that you love the recipe as much as we do!
LOL on the comment about curry eaten frequently in hot India. I understand spicy foods tend to cool you off (think Mexico). Win-win!
I adore this recipe, and can honestly say it’s changed my attitude towards meat free cooking. I found it satisfying and tasty, and it’s fuelled a bit of an obsession with black chick peas. They make a great addition to a chilli. I’ve now tried this as per the original recipe, and again with the addition of roasted aubergine and cauliflower, and again with mushrooms and spinach. It’s an incredible base for a delightful vegetable curry. Thank you!
Adding roasted aubergine sounds incredible. I’m a big fan of eggplant so I’ll have to try that myself!
I brought my first bag of black chickpeas from a local middle east market, did a search, ran across this recipe, and man am I glad I did! It is absolutely delicious as I mixed black and white chickpeas, 2 cups of black and 3 cups of white. The recipe is well written and easy to understand! Thanks very much for posting this!
You are very welcome, Roger!
I am from Delhi (regarded as chana masala capital of world), and I must say this recipe turned out perhaps the best I have had for kala chana. Thank you ma’am. The kids and the wifey loved it! — Vinay
Wow that’s amazing! Thank you so much for the compliment!
Delicious recipe. I used the Indian style pressure cooker for the boiling part, which greatly reduces the boil time to around 20-25 minutes. The masala recipe is spot on with parathas!
I’m so happy to hear that the recipe was a success! Thank you for coming back to let us know. 🙂