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1 teaspoon vegetable oil (to make this without oil, roast cumin and saute the onions in ¼ cup vegetable stock)

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

2 black cardamom pods (these have a rich flavor so start by using 1, if you wish, the first time you make this recipe)

1 bay leaf

1 medium onion (finely chopped)

1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste

3 cups chickpeas (cooked or canned)

3 medium tomatoes (pureed)

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon turmeric (optional)

2 teaspoon red chilli powder (like paprika. Or use cayenne, for more heat)

1 tablespoon chana masala powder (or garam masala. Add ½ teaspoon amchur or dried mango powder if you use garam masala--refer to expert tips above for more details.)

2 tablespoon cilantro (coriander leaves, inely chopped)

Salt to taste

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1. Heat the oil and add the cumin seeds in a skillet or saute pan. As they begin to darken, which should take no more than a few seconds, add the black cardamom pods and bay leaf. Saute a few seconds, then add the onions.

2. If making this oil free, roast the cumin seeds, cardamom and bay leaf in a dry pan. Then add the water and proceed to step 2.

3. Add some salt and saute the onions over medium heat until they start to get brown spots. Add the ginger garlic paste and saute for a few seconds.

4. Add the tomato puree and mix in. Add the coriander powder, cumin powder and turmeric, if using, and red chilli powder. Mix well.

5. Stir in and let the tomatoes cook for about five minutes until most of the water has evaporated and the tomatoes are darker

6. Add the chickpeas. Stir in, then add about a cup of water. The chana masala should be quite thick. If you want to thin it out, wait until after the next step. Bring the chana masala to a boil, cover and simmer 10 minutes. Stir a couple of times in between to make sure there's enough liquid in the pot.

7. Next mash some of the chickpeas with the back of the ladle. This will also help the sauce thicken. Add more water at this stage if you want to thin out the chana masala a bit more.

8. Stir in the chana masala powder. Add salt if needed. Garnish with cilantro.

9. Serve hot.

JW Notes:

2 t chili powder is way too much. I tried 1 and it was hot but good. Next time try Kashmiri chili powder, maybe less hot?

Don't forget to start by tempering the cumin seed. I did not use cardamom or bay leaf, but next time maybe.

Chop the onion finely. I used ninja. Also used ninja to puree tomato.

I used 1 C dried chana, pressure cook 40 min with 3 C water, slow release. Used the beans and the aquafaba in this recipe. Also added tap water as it cooked Next time make beans with 4C water, should be able to use all aquafaba and no tap water.

Added greens at same time as chana and water. Greens optional if you want "pure" chana masala.