Strength and Sunshine

Where Gluten-Free & Allergy-Friendly Food Is Healthy & Delicious

My Favorite: Chana Masala

by 46 Comments

In celebration of “successfully” completing last week, which included: tests, tests, exams, and culminated with the SAT, I decided to go all out on my stomach and make my most favorite dish of all time. I though it would be nice too for my GF Anniversary that was coming up and a nice addition to the tests I have been putting my stomach through. Even though this is my favorite dish, it is just so dangerous to eat with my stomach. Tomatoes, spices, and beans. But when in Rome India, just go for it. And having a dish like this once in awhile, especially since my stomach has seemed to have gotten stronger, was totally worth it. And finally, Indian food is the best celebration food in my opinion. The smells, colors, flavors…o everything about it; my favorite cuisine!

Chana Masala is so easy to make on your own. The spices are the only thing you get fancy with, otherwise I just use three ingredients. Chickpeas, Tomatoes, and Spinach! If you have never had Chana Masala…I don’t know if we can still be friends. Well I take that back. After you see the recipe, I know you will make it ASAP if you have never had Chana Masala, so we are all good here. Now without further adieu, my #1 favorite dish of all time. If you ever want to make my day and have me love you forever, just make me some Chana Masala 😉

Chana Masala

Chana Masala (My food photos are getting more creative, right? Haha!)

Ingredients: (serves 4)

+ 1 Cup of Dried Chickpeas (soaked overnight and cooked, I put them through one cycle of my rice cooker with a bay leaf.) This makes about 2 1/2 heaping cups of cooked chickpeas.

+ 1 and 1/2 15oz Cans of No-Salt Fire-Roasted Diced Tomatoes

+ 4 to 5 Cups of Baby Spinach

+ 1/4 Cup Water

+ 1 Tsp Garlic Powder

+ 1 1/2 Tsp Onion Powder

+ 1/2 Tsp Ginger

+ 1/2 Tsp Coriander

+ 1 Tsp Cumin

+ 1 1/2 Tsp Turmeric

+ 1 TB of Garam Masala

+ 1/2 Tsp Black Pepper

+ 1 Tsp Paprika

+ 1/2 Tsp Cinnamon

+ 1 TB Dried Parsley

Chana Masala

Directions:

+ Gather all you ingredients and put everything into a very large saute pan and stir. On the stove, heat the pan (covered) on high for 5 minutes, then reduce to a medium heat and cook for 20 to 25 minutes.

+ Taste and adjust seasoning to your preference, stir everything around and done! See I told you it was easy.

+ I served mine with a nice warmed brown rice tortilla, but some GF Naan or rice would be lovely as well!

Chana Masala

Chana Masala

Chana Masala

Did I mention that this is a perfect cozy Fall/Winter dish as well? No, well it is! It will warm you from the inside out and make your day that much better 😉 Happy WIAW, Allergy-Free Wednesday and Ricki’s Wellness Weekend! Do me a favor and go out and make yourself some Chana Masala tonight! 🙂

So tell me:

Favorite Indian dish? If its not Chana Masala, that’s okay. Pretty much all Indian food is awesome.

Do you like to make your dishes super spicy or more on the mellow side? If you want this to be really spicy, feel free to add in some Cayenne!

What is you go-to celebration meal?

***Today is the last day to enter my ENERGYbits Giveaway! Go enter, it’s really easy!***

Comments

  4. eat good 4 life says

    I love Indian food…my family? No so much. I wish I could cook it much more often. I could probably have Indian and Thai food for the rest of my life. Good luck with your exams if you have any left. I know what that is like 🙂

    Reply

  12. Casey Lindberg-Coghill says

    Love this! I stumbled across your blog on Moi Contre La Vie’s page and am in love. I adore chickpeas, tomatoes, and spinach, so this dish would be heaven for me. Thank you so much for sharing! And I totally love your fall-inspired photos. 🙂

    Reply

  13. Cindy (Vegetarian Mamma) says

    This is one of my favorite meals! Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! 🙂

    Hope your week is great!

    Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com

    Reply

  15. Sarada says

    Lovely pictures and what a coincidence I made Chana masala (or I call it Chole) and bumped into your blog. You added a nice twist to it by adding Spinach, I will try that next time. One more thing is this dish freezes so well, I make a big batch and freeze half of it for a yummy ready to go meal on a workday 🙂

    Reply

  18. Beth (OMG! Yummy) says

    Saying hi from SITS! Beautiful job on the photos and the dish. I make chana dal in the slow cooker that is pretty darn good. I’m learning all about Indian spices from my neighbor. So much creativity in that cuisine’s use of spices. Got to love it!

    Reply

  23. Megan (The Lyons' Share) says

    This looks delicious! I like my food medium-spicy … just a kick of spice but not too hot that I’m chugging water after every sip! I like a lot of Indian foods, but Chana Masala is always a safe one if I can’t understand exactly what is on the menu :).

    Reply

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Hey there, welcome to Strength and Sunshine! I’m Rebecca and I’m so glad you’re here! This is your go-to destination for delicious, fun, and (mostly) healthy gluten-free and allergy-free recipes, tips & tricks, advice, as well as celiac and food allergy coaching services!

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