History

Chana masala arrived in Manchester with the Pakistani migrants who shaped Wilmslow Road's Curry Mile from the 1970s. This and That on Soap Street has served it as one of the three rotating curries in the rice-and-three lineup since 1984; today it's the most-ordered plate at the counter. Manchester's vegan crowd adopted it; Bundobust and Lily's keep the Gujarati and Punjabi variants alive across the city's vegetarian rooms.

Make it at home

Yield Serves 4Hands-on 15 minTotal 45 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 2 tins chickpeas, drained
  • 2 onions, finely diced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2cm ginger, grated
  • 400g tin chopped tomatoes
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp chilli powder
  • Vegetable oil
  • Fresh coriander, lemon juice

Method

  1. Heat oil and soften the onions in a deep pan for 8 minutes until golden.
  2. Add garlic and ginger, cook 2 minutes. Add all the dry spices and toast 30 seconds.
  3. Pour in the tomatoes, simmer 10 minutes until thick. Add the chickpeas and 200ml water; simmer 15 minutes.
  4. Stir in garam masala, finish with chopped coriander and a squeeze of lemon. Serve with pilau rice or naan.

Tip from the editors. Don't drain the chickpea liquid into the pan; the starch thickens too fast and dulls the spice.

This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.

Where to eat chana masala

Chana masala in Manchester

This and That ★ 4.5

northern-quarterUntil 19:00 weekdays

Manchester's original rice-and-three canteen on Soap Street since 1984. The Northern Quarter late-night pre-bar fuel until 19:00 daily, under ten pounds.

Try: Rice and three curry

3 Soap Street, Manchester M4 1EW

Lily's Vegetarian Indian Cuisine ★ 4.6

Indian vegetarian££rusholme

P G and Lilawati Sachdev opened Lily's in 1972; pure vegetarian, family-run, packed with Manchester regulars. Best Vegetarian 2018 award winner.

Signature: Gujarati thali, South Indian dosa

Order: The Lily's thali, a daily-changing tour of Gujarati and Punjabi vegetarian plates.

Tip: Twenty minutes by tram from Piccadilly; closed Monday and Tuesday.

85 Oldham Road, Ashton-under-Lyne OL6 7DF

Bundobust ★ 4.5

northern-quarter

Manchester all-vegetarian Indian beer hall on Piccadilly. Vada pav, okra fries, dahl and bhel puri; most plates between five and nine pounds, beers on tap.

Try: Vada pav and snack plates

61 Piccadilly, Manchester M1 2AQ

More cities are in research. Want chana masala covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.

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