Channa Masala in 10 minutes!

What do you do when you’ve just came back from the gym and are staaarving? Well, you make Channa Masala of course! Now, this is not Mama Raj’s way of making this meal, but I like short-cuts. For those of you who like to do things the long way, I’ll have a delicious recipe for you in the next while. Chickpeas are wonderful bean and super healthy for you. They are high in protein and cholesterol-lowering fiber. Garbanzo beans (another word fro chickpeas) are a very versatile bean, and when in a hurry, I use them in soups, salads and even dips. 1 can chickpeas 1 tomato, chopped 1/4 onion, diced (you can use more if you like the taste of onions) 3 tsps Channa Masala Powder (you can find this item at Indian grocery stores) 1-2 tsp cumin powder 1/2 lemon, juiced handful of cilantro, finely chopped salt to taste This recipe is so easy! All you have to do is blend the onions and tomatoes until they are pureed. (BTW, when I don’t have any fresh tomatoes, I just use some tomato sauce!) Alternatively, you can dice the onion and tomato if you prefer a chunkier Channa Masala. Then I just pour this puree in a pan and heat it thoroughly on medium high heat for about 5 min. Then I add the spices and chickpeas and let it cook until much of the water in the puree has evaporated. On a side note, I find it saves me time to buy a variety of masalas (Indian spice mixtures) for various Indian dishes I enjoy. This takes the guess work out of the cooking process. Before I serve this dish, I squeeze a fresh lemon over the whole pan. Wow does this make the flavors pop! Imho, when I added lemon to this dish, it just made the flavors come to life, so don’t forget to do this! Lastly, I top the dish with some fresh cilantro. Since I am not at home in TO anymore where my parents make anything I ask them to, I just used some whole wheat pita bread instead of your typical Indian roti. Enjoy!