Creamy tomato chickpea masala from Smitten Kitchen Keepers: New Classics for Your Forever Files (page 87) by Deb Perelman

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Always check the publication for a full list of ingredients. An Eat Your Books index lists the main ingredients and does not include 'store-cupboard ingredients' (salt, pepper, oil, flour, etc.) - unless called for in significant quantity.

Notes about this recipe

  • Eat Your Books

    Can substitute butter or ghee for neutral oil, chili powder for ground cayenne pepper and cauliflower for a portion of the chickpeas.

  • JessElisabeth on March 06, 2026

    This was good not great, but might try again with additional spices. We added halloumi and liked that. Might try the cauliflower variation.

  • jessica_me21zm on February 16, 2026

    This dish was so good. Loved it!!

  • nicole_lmgml1 on January 20, 2026

    Highly recommend the variation she lists with cauliflower + chickpeas together. To boost flavor, I go heavy on the ginger & garlic, and in addition to the cayenne, I add a TB of Kashmiri chili powder, and don’t add the last 2 TB of cream.

  • Karinett on August 25, 2025

    Quick and easy, had some carrots and spinach laying around so added those as well. Flavorful with just the right hint of heat. I omitted the added water entirely as per the comments, though I did splash a tablespoon or so when the spices were first added to prevent them from burning on the pan.

  • dbuhler on March 19, 2024

    This was good, and I'll eat it this week for my lunches, but I'm not sure it will make it to the repeat list. I pureed my canned tomatoes before adding to the pan because I wanted a smoother sauce. I had to use a 4 qt saute pan since that what I had and it worked. It wasn't clear to me if I needed to recover the pot when the chickpeas were added, but because my pan was larger than the recommended size I decided to cover to reduce the amount of liquid loss during the 10 minutes summer, and I'm glad I did. I served this with sourdough naan bread and a green salad.

  • SpatulaCity on March 04, 2024

    We really enjoyed this. I increased the spices by quite a bit, especially the garam masala, and added some leftover chicken and a squeeze of lime at the end. Served over rice, this was flexible, easy and tasty!

  • SpatulaCity on February 29, 2024

    I used the chickpea variation and added some leftover roasted chicken. I also amped up the spices - especially the garam masala! With the extra spices and a splash of fish sauce and a squeeze of lime, we thought it was pretty tasty! Served over rice and it was warm and comforting

  • ksg518 on January 05, 2024

    I thought this was very good and easy to make too. I went with about 3/4 chickpeas and 1/4 cauliflower. I also followed the suggestion of adding fried cubes of paneer. A definite repeat.

  • pattyatbryce on October 09, 2023

    It may not be fully authentic, but it's a lot simpler than some I've seen. I like it for a simple weeknight dinner.

  • anya_sf on May 13, 2023

    This was good, but didn't wow me. I added diced zucchini. It was so easy, I'd make it again, probably with cauliflower and/or paneer next time.

  • tui on May 06, 2023

    I followed the recipe for the sauce exactly except that I didn't add very much water and we were very pleased with the result. However I chose to add diced lamb left over from a roasted leg of lamb the previous night. The end result was delicious. I will use the recipe as a standard base for adding all sorts of meat and vegetables, as well as trying the chickpea and cauliflower version.

  • stockholm28 on April 18, 2023

    This was just ok for me. It was a little watery so I may have needed to simmer it a bit longer. It was fine, but not a recipe I’d repeat.

  • Jane on February 16, 2023

    This is a very quick and easy dinner. I went with the cauliflower variation and added some shredded chicken from a rotisserie chicken that needed using up (thanks averythingcooks for that suggestion). There was a good spice balance. I served with naan breads rather than rice.

  • sandiegoveg on February 05, 2023

    It was a decent chana masala. Not earth-shattering, but very easy to make.

  • Lepa on January 31, 2023

    We made this with cauliflower and really liked it. I used deggi mirch as the chili powder and reduced the amount a bit so it wouldn't be too hot for the kids. We ate this over rice with spicy pickles for the adults and yogurt to tame the spice for the kids. This will be a repeat.

  • averythingcooks on January 23, 2023

    We really enjoyed this over rice. I did bulk it up a bit by using a mix of roughly equal amounts of chickpeas, cauliflower (as suggested) & shredded cooked chicken breast. I added some baby spinach at the end & used Thai basil as the fresh herb. The creamy sauce has lots of flavour and is easy to spice up to match your palate if necessary. This one is a repeat idea for sure.

  • zabeta on December 14, 2022

    This was pretty good - I did the variation with cauliflower - and for a weeknight meal it worked well. It did take longer to become saucy than the recipe indicated. The leftovers were great.

  • allisonsemele on November 30, 2022

    Very tasty! I appreciated the extra tomato flavor from the tomato paste, and I found the spicing just right. I made the cauliflower variation from the notes, using .25lb dried chickpeas and half a head of cauliflower. Next time I will do all chickpeas and serve roasted cauliflower on the side. The unsoaked chickpeas took around 35min to cook in the instant pot.

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