Punjabi Chole Recipe

Chole is North India’s most popular and authentic dish. It is also one of the most demanding street foods there. This Punjabi chole recipe is a curry of boiled white chickpeas, onion, tomatoes, and many spices. It goes well with Bhatura, basmati rice, naan, kulcha, paratha, and poori. So let’s read the recipe below and try it yourself to make this amazing Punjabi chole recipe.

About Punjabi Chole Recipe

Chole is also known as a white chickpea or garbanzo bean. It has several names according to different regions, like chole masala, Punjabi Chole, or chole. From my childhood, I always heard chole in my home and neighborhood. Everyone calls it chole only. But when I grew up, I knew about the whole story behind his other names.

This Punjabi Chole recipe needs boiled chickpeas, onion, tomato, and spices cooked in a kadai till a thick gravy texture. Some people like thick texture of chole and some likes thin. I like both consistency but my family like the thin chole So I prepared a thin consistency chole.

My all-time favorite recipe is chole paired with bhature (fried bread), puri, and rice. But I don’t like street chole bhature because of its spiciness. They are spicier than homemade chole. So I always prepared at home with minimum spices and which are more tasty in taste.

The chole recipe needs fresh spices or chole masala to make it more delicious. Everyone has their own way to prepare them. But try my version and make this Punjabi chole recipe by yourself. I’m sure you’re going to love it for sure!

Other Chickpea recipe: Chana chaat

Ingredients

• Chickpeas: Before making this recipe, soak raw chickpeas overnight in water. If you forget, then soak for at least 4 hours in warm water.

• Spices: I used a lot of spices and whole spices here. Whole spices like bay leaf, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, and cumin. I use chole masala here, which is a blend of spices, and you will find it easily in Indian grocery stores.

• Onion & Tomatoes: Without them, the recipe is incomplete. They are the main ingredient to give exact flavor to the recipe. You need to grate, chop, or make pure also.

• Ginger and garlic paste: I used homemade ginger and garlic paste for extra flavor here. You can also use store-bought.

• Tea bags: I use Taj Mahal tea and tie it in a muslin cloth here. You can also use tea bags. They help to give a darker color. In place of tea bags, you can use dried amla.

How to Make Punjabi Chole Recipe (stepwise guide)

1.First, take 1 cup of raw chickpeas in a bowl. Rinse them with clean water twice or thrice. Now, soak them overnight in water. When you want to boil them, drain the water from chickpeas. After that, your chickpeas look like this:

2. Now, take a pressure cooker on medium heat and add the soaked chickpeas to it.

3. After that, add 2 bay leaves, 1 inch cinnamon, 2 cloves, 1 black cardamom, 2 green cardamom, and 2 tsp tea tie in a muslin cloth.

4. Add 1/2 tsp salt with 2 to 2.5 cups of water. Now close the cooker lid and wait until 7-8 whistles come. Then turn off the heat.

5. When the pressure comes down, naturally open the cooker lid. Add the boiled chickpeas to a strainer and store the water in a bowl.

6. Now, take a large kadai on medium heat. Add two tablespoons of oil to it and heat it. When the oil is warm, add ginger and garlic paste with chopped green chili. Let them start to splutter.

7. Then add the grated onion to it. Saute them for 1 minute until they have a light golden texture.

8. When the onions are sautéed properly, they will look like this:

9. Then add tomato puree to it.

10. Season spices here: 1 tsp chole masala powder, 1/2 tsp cumin powder, and 1 tsp salt or as required. Saute them for a few minutes.

11. The tomato pour takes 4-5 minutes to saute properly.

12. After that, transfer the chickpeas to the kadai.

13. Now pour 1 cup of stored boiled water and 1 cup of fresh water into it. I use both stored and fresh water in equal ratios in my recipe for a good texture. But you can use whole stored and whole fresh water to your taste.

14. Mix all the ingredients well and cover with a steamer. Cook it on low to medium heat.

15. Stir in between and cook until it has a thick gravy texture. It takes 25 to 30 minutes for a thick gravy texture.

16. When the chickpeas absorb half the water and are a little thin in texture, turn off the flame. I made my chole a little thin because I don’t like more thicker consistency.

Now the Punjabi chole recipe is ready. Serve it with basmati rice, bhature (fried bread), naan, kulcha, puri, or even plain parathas.

Tips

• Always soak the chickpeas overnight before making this delicious punjabi chole recipe. If you forget, then soak at least 4-5 hours in minimum water.

• I stored the boiled chickpeas tea water to add later in my chole. This helps to give a darker color. But you can use fresh, clean water and use it in an equal ratio, also, i.e. half tea water and half clean water.

• You can make it both a thin and a thick chole. Both consistencies are good for this recipe. You can make what consistency you like most.

• Tea bags are good to give a darker color to the chole. But if you don’t want to use them use instead dried amla.