Warm, richly spiced, and built for a satisfying meal, Chana Paneer is a vegetarian North Indian side made with simple everyday ingredients in about 395 minutes. The recipe lays out the ingredients and each cooking step clearly, so you can adjust seasoning, texture, and serving size for your own kitchen.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 360 minutes
  • Cook time: 35 minutes
  • Total time: 395 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Side
  • Cuisine: North Indian

Ingredients

  • ½ cup chickpeas ((chana or 1½ cups soaked chana or 15 oz canned chickpeas))
  • 1 cup water (cook chana)
  • ⅛ teaspoon turmeric ((haldi))
  • 1 cup paneer (about 150 grams (or crumbled))
  • ¾ cup (1 medium) yellow onions (finely chopped or pureed)
  • 1¼ cup (2 medium) tomatoes (fine chopped or pureed)
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds ((optional))
  • 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste ((or ½ tsp each grated))
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala (or (½ tsp garam masala + 1 coriander powder))
  • ¾ teaspoon red chili powder ((Kashmiri or use paprika))
  • 1 green chili (slit (optional))
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt ((adjust to taste))
  • ½ teaspoon kasuri methi (crushed, dried fenugreek leaves)
  • 1 tablespoon coriander leaves (- to garnish)

Method

  1. Wash and soak chickpeas overnight. Pressure cook them with water and turmeric, until you hear 3 whistles. If using a Instant pot pressure cook for 16 mins on high pressure. When the pressure drops, open the lid.
  2. Chickpeas should be soft enough, when you press down in between your fingers, they should get mashed.
  3. Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds, when they sizzle, add the ginger garlic and sauce for a minute until aromatic.
  4. Add onions and green chili. Saute on a medium heat until they turn golden. Stir in the tomatoes and cook until the raw flavor is gone for 4 to 5 mins. Stir in the chili powder, garam masala and salt.
  5. Saute until the masala smells aromatic. Add the cooked chana and the stock. Mix well and add more water if required to bring to a consistency. Bring to a rolling boil and simmer for 8 to 10 mins.
  6. Add paneer and kasuri methi. Stir and cook just for a minute. Taste test and adjust salt or garam masala if you want. Garnish with coriander leaves.
  7. Serve chana paneer with roti or rice and a salad.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.