Chana Masala Over Mashed Celeriac Puree

Our wonderfully filling, gluten-free, vegan Chana Masala recipe brings together chickpeas in a savory Indian Garam Masala-tomato sauce served atop a generous helping of creamy mashed Celeriac Puree.

The Middle East meets South East Asia in our heavenly Chana Masala with Mashed Celeriac Puree.  The vegan dinner marries two exquisitely flavored cuisines resulting in a fresh new take on heart-healthy vegan fare.

What is Celeriac?

Celeriac (sa-leer-ee-ak) is a type of root vegetable closely related to celery that is cultivated for its edible root common in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cooking. Celeriac can be enjoyed raw and cooked. Celeriac has a fresh, slightly nutty taste reminiscent of celery, it's gaining in popularity these days thanks to its fresh, slightly nutty, intense celery taste and silky, potato-like consistency. When cooked it becomes silky and creamy and can be braised, roasted, boiled, and mashed. When eaten raw it’s best shredded in a salad or slaw.

How to Prepare Celeriac

Celeriac is actually pretty simple to work with! Start by removing the ends and peeling the tough outer skin with a vegetable peeler or paring knife. Dice it into smaller pieces, then boil, braise, roast until tender or shred, and eat raw.

What is Chana Masala?

Chana Masala is a flavorful Indian curry dish made in a spicy onion, garlic, ginger, garam masala, and tomato base. We kept all of those traditional elements in this vegan take on the classic dish! It’s great served over rice, quinoa, or with naan bread, but for our version, we make a creamy mashed celeriac base to eat with the chana masala.

Quick and easy to make, our Chana Masala with Celeriac Puree is a beautiful dish and replacing rice with creamy celeriac puree saves calories and carbohydrates.  You may want to try replacing chickpeas with lentils (Indian dal) or adding a few pieces of carrots (or beets) to the puree to subtly change its color from white to light orange (or pink.)

How to Make Chana Masala

We saved time by using canned chopped tomatoes and replaced freshly-cooked dry chickpeas with high-quality, organic, canned beans.  You may want to try our Homemade Garam Masala to enhance the dish’s flavor, or simply purchase a store-bought garam masala mix or curry.

What to Serve with Chana Masala

Several dishes will complement the Chana Masala with Mashed Celeriac Puree, including our  Eggplant Chickpea Curry, Braised Curried Kale, or Lentil Curry. You can also add a refreshing salad to your meal like our Avocado Mango Salad or Veggie Noodle Salad with Orange-Peanut Dressing along with a simple raita cucumber-yogurt sauce or a delicious mango chutney.

Set your dining room table with a vibrantly colored tablecloth, beautiful dishes, and exotic flowers to make your Indian-Middle East feast complete!

More Vegan Recipes You Might Like

• Creamy Celeriac Soup with Spiced Pumpkin Seeds
• Cauliflower Bowl with Harissa Roasted Chickpeas
• Morrocan Style Vegetable Harira Soup
• The Most Comforting Vegetable Soup
• Turmeric Ginger Vegetable Soup
• Lentil Soup with Moroccan Spices
• Rice Bowl with Chickpeas and Shawarma

Chana Masala over Mashed Celeriac Puree

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★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

• Author: Vicky Cohen and Ruth Fox
• Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
• Yield: 4 1x

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Description

Our wonderfully filling, gluten-free, vegan Chana Masala dish brings together chickpeas in a savory Indian garam masala-tomato sauce served atop a generous helping of creamy Celeriac Puree

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the Chana Masala:

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced small
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 ½ tsp garam masala ( for a homemade recipe click here)
• 1 ½" piece of fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 2 cups diced tomatoes, with the packing juice
• 2-15 oz cans of chickpeas, rinsed and drained

For the Celeriac Puree:

• 1 large celeriac (celery root) peeled and diced in large pieces (see step by step pictures above)
• ⅓ cup raw cashews + 1 cup boiling water
• 1 tsp salt
• ⅛ tsp pepper

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Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onions and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes until translucent. Add the garam masala and continue cooking for 3-4 minutes
2. Add the ginger, salt, turmeric, tomatoes, one cup of water and chickpeas. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and cook, covered, for 20 minutes
3. To prepare the puree, soak the cashews in 1 cup boiling water and set aside
4. Place the celeriac in a small pot with water and boil until tender, 20-25 minutes. Drain, reserving about ½ cup of the cooking water.  Let it cool slightly
5. Drain the soaked cashews. Place the cooked celeriac in a food processor with the drained cashews, salt and pepper. Process until smooth. Add the reserved cooking water as needed, to get a creamy consistency
6. Serve the  Chana Masala over the celeriac puree

• Prep Time: 20
• Cook Time: 50
• Category: Entree
• Method: Stove Top
• Cuisine: Indian

Nutrition

• Serving Size: ¼ of the recipe ( a very generous ½ cup chana masala)
• Calories: 343
• Sugar: 11
• Sodium: 1651
• Fat: 12.7
• Saturated Fat: 1.9
• Unsaturated Fat: 9
• Trans Fat: 0
• Carbohydrates: 47.6
• Fiber: 12.8
• Protein: 13.8
• Cholesterol: 0

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This post was originally published on May 31, 2018. We have updated the post with more detailed and useful information.