Smitten Kitchen’s Chana Masala

I try to cook things that don’t involve chocolate; they aren’t my favorite but I do. But most of the time I just go out to eat instead. Chipotle and Indian food are favorites of mine. If I could cook as well as either of those then I’d have enough material for a whole other blog.

Since I’ve gotten tired of paying for rice and beans I’ve started to look for recipes online to teach me how to replicate my favorite over-priced takeout food. Chana masala is my go-to Indian entree and the Smitten Kitchen recipe seemed easy enough to tackle for a beginner in Indian food like me.

In short it was delicious. Despite the fact that I cut about every corner, using ginger powder, garlic powder and onion powder instead of the fresh varieties and leaving out the few ingredients I didn’t have, somehow this was still flavorful and aromatic. There are certainly more authentic recipes for Indian food on the internet but it can always be helpful to choose something within your comfort zone when you’re trying something new. 

I added some diced and boiled potatoes to the mix and I would recommend to anyone to do the same because what’s Indian food without potatoes? I would have made more of the sauce since I had quite a few chickpeas to use up; you can always save the leftover sauce and pour it over vegetables or drink it on its own.

Do you have a favorite Indian dish?