Chole

Chole

Description

Chole Masala or Chana Masala is one of the most popular curry dishes from India. Infact in North India no wedding or parties are complete until you have Chole Masala on the menu. This tasty dish is accompanied by Pickles, Onions, Mint Chutney and a glass of Lassi or Chaas. You can easily find Chole Bhature at most street food joints in Northern India.

Ingredients

To pressure cook

For the Chole

Method

  1. Soak the Chickpeas overnight in enough water to cover them. Drain the water in which you had soaked the chickpeas.
  2. In a pressure cooker add the soaked and drained Chickpeas, around 5 cups water, 2 Tea bags, Bay leaves, Cardamom, Cinnamon stick (available on www.livingbeyond.co.in) and some salt. Pressure cook on 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. Remove the cooker from heat and allow it to cool down. Once the steam is gone, open the cooker and check the Chickpeas. You should be able to press them easily with your fingers. If not, close the cooker and cook for 2 more whistles. (At this point, you can also remove the Bay leaves, Cinnamon stick etc. from the chickpeas if you don’t want them in the curry.)
  3. In a wok, heat 2 teaspoons of Oil. Once hot, add Cloves and grated Onions. Fry the Onions till the raw smell goes away and they are light golden brown in color.
  4. Add Ginger Garlic paste and cook for 3-4 minutes till the smell of Ginger Garlic goes away.
  5. Add the Tomato puree, stir and let it cook for 12-15 minutes on medium-low flame. Cover the pan to prevent splash all around. The Tomatoes need to be cooked really well till the raw smell goes away completely. Allow them cook for around 15 minutes.
  6. Add 3 tablespoons of the freshly ground LIVING BEYOND’s Chole Masala and salt and mix for 1-2 minutes.
  7. Drain the Chickpeas and add them to the Tomato and Onion mixture, stir till all the Chickpeas are coated with spices, for around 2 minutes. Do not throw away the water once you have drained the chickpeas. We will add the same water in the gravy.
  8. Add water, cover the pan and let it simmer at medium-low flame for around 30 minutes. The gravy will thicken after 30 minutes so add water accordingly.
  9. After 30 minutes the gravy, chickpeas and all the spices would have mixed well together. We can now do the tempering.
  10. To temper, heat 1 tablespoon of Ghee in a pan and the ginger julienne to it.
  11. Fry till the juliennes are golden brown in color but do not burn them. Add to the Chole curry, mix and switch off the flame.
  12. Sprinkle a little of LIVING BEYOND’s freshly ground Garam Masala (optional), Kasuri Methi and garnish with chopped Coriander leaves.
  13. Serve with Roti, Paratha or plain Rice.