My book club read A Homemade Life and I was charged with making the Chana Masala as our main dish for discussion night. I started with the A Homemade Life recipe, but ended up tweaking it a lot to use what I had in my pantry and could find at my store. Serve this over the rice of your preference, but basmati would be most authentic. This is such a quick, easy and tasty vegan dinner.
To make this #dinnerdoneby9am I fully prepare the Chana Masala in the morning, refrigerate all day then reheat and make the rice just prior to serving.
-2 Tbsp olive oil
-1 onion, coarsely chopped
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1 tsp cumin
-1/2 tsp ground coriander
-1/4 tsp ground ginger
-2 tsp garam masala
-1/4 tsp ground cardamom
-1/4 tsp cayenne
-1 tsp salt
-1 (29 oz) can petite diced tomatoes
-2 (15 oz) cans chickpeas, drained
–1 lemon, cut into thick slices and seeds removed
-1 Tbsp chopped cilantro
Heat the oil in a medium pot, over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is deeply caramelized. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add the garlic, cumin, coriander, ginger, garam masala, caradmom, cayenne, and salt and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant and toasty, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes with their juices and lemon slices. Bring the sauce to a simmer then cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reduces a bit and begins to thicken, about 5 minutes. Add chickpeas, stirring well, cook over medium low heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the cilantro and serve over rice of your choice (we like basmati).
