Chole Masala | Punjabi Chole Masala

Chole Masala is a very popular and one of the delicious cuisine of North India. It’s flavorful! and, It’s finger-licking good!  Chickpeas or Chole cooked in onion-tomato based masala with some flavorful whole spices, and ground spices, make a mouth-watering side dish for any Indian flatbread. Chole Masala can be cooked in many ways and I am sure every household has its own recipe for Chole Masala and every recipe tastes great in its own way. it’s spicy!

Being an Indian (or North Indian, to be precise) I can eat Chole Masala with Bhature or Puri, or Dilli style Chole-Bhature for any meal of the day and without being worried about the calories because, when you eat delicious food, you don’t count on the calories (I never count though 😛 ).

I am not a morning person at all, yet there are few main occasions I wake up early, either I have a flight to catch or I have to cook something. 😀 You must be wondering why I am telling you that I am not a morning person? Listen to this, yesterday I was fasting and didn’t eat anything the whole day apart from a banana. By the end of the day after doing all the household chores I was so devastated that I couldn’t think of what to prepare for the breakfast the other day. After rejecting 15-20 breakfast ideas in my mind, I decided to try something simple and with minimal effort. Guess what? I suddenly went to the kitchen, soaked some chickpeas, and kneaded the dough for the Bhature. Woke up early in the morning, chopped onion-tomato, boiled chickpeas, cooked Chole Masala and Bhature. And then they say, I am not a morning person. Huh! 😛

Chole Masala and Bhature or Chole-Bhature makes a perfect breakfast once in a while or for weekends, as it’s too heavy for a weekday. After fasting for a day, it was truly a bliss to have a plate of piping hot bhature and lip-smacking Chole Masala. It came out absolutely delicious and I and the husband love it.

This recipe is so easy that you can prepare it for any weekday lunch. Enjoy this spicy Chole Masala with piping hot Bhature, puri, paratha, or steamed rice. Serve some onion rings on the side and enjoy the meal. If by any chance, you have some leftovers, then do add them in aloo-tikki chat and enjoy. 😉

Boiling chickpeas to the perfection is an art to me as I have learned it after many trial and errors. 😀 I like it when you can easily mash the boiled chickpea between your fingers yet they are not mushy-mushy while cooking. ❤ You can add a pinch of baking soda while boiling the chickpeas as it helps them to soften, though it is totally optional. Do not throw away the water after boiling chickpeas. Keep them aside for later use as it makes the curry tastier. AND, I suggest, do not use canned chickpeas for making this curry. It won’t taste that good.

It’s been really long I have used the pressure cooker for boiling chickpeas as I have a new friend, Instant Pot. I pressure cook chickpeas in an Instant Pot with the valve on the seal side and then after 5mins of NPR, I QR the pressure. Yeah! Yeah! I know I can cook chickpeas in IP without boiling them separately, but I wanted to use my Cuisinart Pot. I do ditch my Instant Pot sometimes. 😉

Other related recipes- Whole Wheat Bhatura, Dhaba Style Punjabi Chana Masala, Amritsari Aloo Kulcha, Pindi Chole, Punjabi Chole, Bhature Recipe

Serves 4-5

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ Cup boiled chickpeas
• 1 ½ Cup onion, finely chopped
• 1 Cup tomato, chopped
• 4 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped
• 1-inch ginger, finely chopped
• 3 Green chilies, slit
• 2 Bay leaves
• 2-3 Whole dry red chilies
• 1-inch cinnamon stick
• 2 Black cardamom pods
• 2 Cloves
• 1 Tsp cumin seeds
• ½ Tsp black peppercorns
• 1 ½ Tsp red chili powder
• 1 Tsp turmeric powder
• 1 ½ Tsp Chana masala
• ½ Tsp Garam masala
• Salt as required
• 3 Tbsp mustard oil
• 1 Tsp ghee
• ¼ Cup coriander leaves, chopped (for garnishing)
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice

Learn Step By Step recipe With Pictures For Chole Masala | Punjabi Chana Masala 

Recipe:

Step 1- Heat oil in a deep pan or heavy-bottomed pot, saute the whole spices for 30secs. Add chopped garlic, ginger, and slit green chilies, saute until raw smell of garlic goes away

Step 2- Add the chopped onions and cook them until they turn soft and mushy. Cover and cook on the medium-low flame to get better results. Keep stirring in between to avoid burn

Step 3-  Add the tomatoes and sprinkle some salt over it, cover the lid of the pan. Cook until the tomatoes are mushy and start leaving oil from the sides, then add the red chili powder and turmeric powder

Step 4- Now add the boiled chickpeas and keep the water stock in which you have boiled the chickpeas for later use. Mix the chole well with the cooked masala and cover the lid of the pan. Cook for 2-3mins

Step 5- Add the garam masala and chana masala, mix everything well. Add the water stock (approx 3cups) and cover the lid, let it simmer for 8-10mins on medium-low flame or until you get the desired gravy consistency. Open the lid of the pan, add 1tsp ghee, lemon juice,  and garnish with coriander leaves

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