Dahi Chana / Dahi Chana Masala

Dahi chana is a tangy twist on a regular chana masala recipe. Chana masala is a very popular and loved Punjabi dish which is basically a chickpea cooked in spicy onion-tomato gravy. Here in dahi chana, boiled chickpea is cooked in spiced yogurt sauce and kasoori methi ( dry fenugreek leaves ).

The aroma and flavors of kasoori methi in dahi chana is just mouth watering and can make you hungry. Dahi is a hindi word for yogurt and chana is used for chickpeas or garbanzo beans. The flavors of dahi chana are light and subtle than any regular chana masala, as yogurt sauce mellow down the spices in just the right way. There is no tomato, ginger and garlic in this recipe, so cooking dahi chana is pretty easy and quick too . 
I love chickpeas whether it is black, white or green and Indians often include chickpeas in their diet as it is excellent vegetarian and vegan source of protein. It offers many health benefits and including it in diet may provides us with many essential nutrients.

Health check :-  Chickpeas or garbanzo beans contain many essential nutrients and health benefits. They are rich in protein, fiber, manganese, folate, copper, phosphorus, iron and zinc. 

Dahi Chana / Dahi Chana Masala Recipe

Recipe by Neha NairCourse: MainCuisine: IndianDifficulty: Medium

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

25

minutes

Soak time

8

hours

A tangy twist on traditional chana masala. This Dahi chana masala is basically chickpea cooked in tangy and spicy yogurt sauce.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of dry chickpeas, soaked overnight

• 1 cup of yogurt or curd (room temp)

• 2 large onions

• 1 Tbsp of kasoori methi 

• 3 green chillies, slit

• 2 dry red chillies

• 1 inch of cinnamon stick

• 3 cardamom

• 1/2 tsp of mustard seeds

• 1 tsp of coriander powder

• 1/4 tsp of cumin powder

• 1 tsp of garam masala

• 1/2 of lemon juice 

• Salt and pepper to taste

• 1 Tbsp of oil

Directions

• Dice one onion into large pieces and chop fine the other onion.
• Beat the yogurt well with 1/4 cup of water and little salt.
• Boil chickpea or chana in 3.5 cups of water with cinnamon, cardamom, salt and large onion pieces in a pressure cooker over low heat to 3 whistles or until the chickpeas are done.
• Let the pressure goes down by itself, then carefully open the cooker. Take out cinnamon and cardamom through a spoon from cooked chickpeas and discard.
• In another pan, heat oil and splutter mustard seeds, then add green and red chilies, fry for a minute and add finely chopped onions.
• Saute onion until light brown. Then add turmeric, coriander, cumin and garam masala. Saute again for 30 seconds.
• Then add chickpeas with its cooking liquid and let it comes to a slow boil. Add kasoori methi and simmer for 8 minutes. 
• Now switch off the heat and slowly add yogurt with continuous stirring. Add the lemon juice and dahi chana is done.

Notes

• Serve dahi chana with roti or parathas or rice.
• Add more water according to your desired gravy consistency or cook more to reduce the water before adding yogurt.