Punjabi Chole (Chana Masala)

Punjabi Chole paired with Poori , the mere mention of this combo will make me drool. It's not just me but my whole family loves the  combo. If you don't know what this is, Poori is fried puffed bread made with wheat flour. Chole is the side dish made with Garbanzo beans cooked with spices. 

I'm  not a big fan of Bathura so I usually pair Chole with Poori, Jeera pulao or Roti. Since the blogging days have started I made Chole many times but somehow never been able to post the recipe. Finally it's here. Well I did post Aloo chole recipe though which is almost similar. While the Chole recipe was made from scratch, Aloo Chole was made using canned Garbanzo beans. But both were equally delicious. I use home made masala when I have it on hand and also store bought sometimes. will be updating that recipe soon. But for now I used Badshah Punjabi Chole masala.

If you love including beans  in your diet do try my oher recipes Sprouted Mung Bhaj, Kala chana masala. Beans/ lentils are best vegan protein sources. Check my dal/lentils category for several vegan recipes. 

Spring is almost here in Texas so as the outdoor games have started. While sitting at my son's baseball practice I had ample time today to write down the recipe. The fast blowing wind is making me crazy but I'm hoping I can survive it. After the crazy cold winter I feel good to sit outside even when I'm in danger of getting flown away :-). 

After my little one grabbed my phone to click pics, which is his favorite past time :-) in the park, I was able to continue my writing 2 days later So I will write no more. Let's dive directly into the recipe.

Oh! One more thing, serve Chole with Poori/Roti/Pulao and some sliced onions squeezed with lemon juice and TaDa a tasty meal is ready. 

Total time:

8 hr 45 minutes (Including 8 hr soaking time)

Servings:

Four (4)

Ingredients (I use US standard measuring; 1cup=8oz=250ml):

• 1 cup dry Chana (Chickpeas/Garbanzo beans)
• 2-3 tbsp oil
• 1/2 of big onion
• 2 big Roma tomatoes or any other variety
• 2 tbsp Punjabi Chole masala or adjust
• Salt to taste
• 2 Serrano chillies or any other chillies
• 1/2 tsp Amchur
• 1tbsp grated ginger
• 1/4 tsp hing/Inguva (Asafoetida) 

Punjabi Chole Recipe

1. Soak Garbanzo beans overnight or at least 8 hrs.
2. Take soaked chana in pressure cooker with enough water to cover them. Pressure cook soaked chana with little salt (about 1/2 tsp) for 2-3 whistles.
3. When pressure is gone open the cooker and drain any excess water. Save this water to use in gravy.
4. Chop onions and tomatoes into medium pieces.
5. Take 1tbsp oil into a wide vessel.Add onions and then grated ginger. Cook till onions are transparent.  
6. Add tomatoes and cook till softened. 
7. Cool the mixture, add few garbanzo beans to it and grind to a smooth paste.Adding beans is for thickness of gravy. Optionally you can chop onions and tomatoes finely and cook so as to skip grinding.This will give little coarse gravy as opposed to smooth gravy by grinding.
8. Heat 1-2 tbsp oil in the same vessel. Add the above ground paste. Cook few minutes.
9. Add salt to taste, Punjabi Chole masala (I use MDH or Badshah masala).
10. Add 2 serrano chillies or any other, chopped into big pieces. Add 1/2 tsp Amchur (dry mango powder).Mix well and cook few more minutes.
11. Add boiled chana and water reserved above, to adjust consistency.
12. Cover and cook for few minutes till oil floats on top.
13. Turn off and serve with Poori or Roti.
    

Tips:

• Adjust masala, oil according to your preference.
• You can add dried Amla pieces or Tea bag while boiling Chana to get darker color, if you are fussy about color. Since I used store bought masala mine is darker without using them.
• You can add Potatoes, Kale, Spinach/puree to the recipe as variation.

If you love Beans recipes do try my Sprouted Moong bhaji , Sprouted Kala chana masala, Dal makhani. You can serve these with Jeera Rice, Coconut Pulao.

For more lentils recipes click here: Lentils/Beans