Chole is also
known as Chana Masala is
a chickpea dish cooked in a bit spicy gravy. In this recipe chole and tomatoes
are simmered with a mixture of fried garlic, ginger, onion and green chillies
and some roasted masala by which it gets an authentic taste like cumin, bay
leaf, cinnamon, fennel seeds, coriander (dry).It is best enjoyed with Bhatura
or poori and also goes well with rice or pulaao. Use of Chole is very popular
in Indian Street Food and chaats like Aloo Tikki. Its taste increases when
served with onions, chutney, pickle etc.
Serves: 5-6
Preparation Time- 15 mins
Cooking Time- 30 mins
Total Time- 45 mins
Ingredients
For Masala
Cardamom:
5-6
Black
peppercorn: 4-5
Bay
leaves: 2
Cinnamon
sticks: 2
Cumin
seeds
Fennel seeds
Coriander Seeds
Dry red Chillies-2
Salt: to taste
For the
chole
Tea bags: 2
Chole: 2 cups
Onion: 3/4 cup, grated or pureed [from 2 small onions]
Tomatoes:
2.5 cups puree [from 4 medium tomatoes]
Cloves:
3-4
Ginger-garlic
paste: 2 teaspoon
Chole
Masala: 3 teaspoon
Salt:
to taste
Water:
5 cups [depending on how thick or thin you want gravy to be]
To garnish
Ghee
[clarified butter]: 1 tablespoon
Ginger:
1 inch, cut into julienne
Dried
fenugreek leaves [kasuri methi]: 1/2 tbsp, crushed
Coriander
leaves: 2 tablespoon, chopped
Garam
masala: 1/4 teaspoon
Instructions
- Soak the chickpeas overnight in enough water to cover them.
- In a pressure cooker add the soaked chickpeas, 2 tea bags, bay leaves, cardamom, cinnamon stick and some salt. Pressure cook at high flame till you get 1-2 whistles. After that lower the flame to medium and let the chickpeas cook for another 10-12 minutes.
- Roast the ingredients of masala on medium flame and grind in finely in grinder.
- In a wok, heat 2 tsp of oil. Once hot, add grated onions. Fry the onions till the raw smell goes away and they are light golden brown in color.
- Add ginger-garlic paste and cook for 3-4 minutes till the smell of ginger-garlic goes away.
- Now add the tomato puree , stir and let it cook for 12-15 minutes on medium-low flame. Cover the pan to prevent the splash all around.
- Add the roasted and grinded masala, and mix for a 1-2 minutes.
- Add the chole next and stir until they get coated with the spices, around 2 minutes.
- Add water, cover the pan and let it simmer at medium-low flame for around 20 minutes. The gravy will thicken after 20 minutes so add water accordingly.
- Sprinkle some garam masala, kasuri methi and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
- Serve with roti, paratha or plain rice.
