Chickpeas or Chole is a staple in most Indian homes. Though most commonly prepared in North-India, mainly in the Punjab region, versions of the dish are also prepared in Sindh, Gujarat & Rajasthan.
It is often eaten with a type of fried bread called Bhaturas and the two together is known as Choley Bhatura. One of the finest Choley recipes comes down from Amritsar, one of the main districts in Punjab and what follows is an interpretation of its cooking style. This is not one of the those dishes that is authored by a particular person but rather a style & methodology that is handed down from one family to another, one generation to the next, each adding their own touches and creative liberties.
Now my Mother never made Bhaturas at home but she makes a phenomenal Chole; a recipe taught to her by my Grandfather that i must post soon.
However, I have distinct memories of going down to our neighborhood restaurant Puranmal to feast on Chole Bhaturas. It was a small restaurant & sweets store and just a few minutes drive from our home. On some weekend mornings, I would pine for Chole Bhatura and my Mother and I would walk down to the street corner to flag down the first available 3-wheeler or rickshaw.
Puranmal was on such a busy street and it was always impossible to find parking that it was much easier to rely on rickshaws though with the precarious driving of the rickshawalas you always stood the chance of being thrown out as they veered the corner at neck breaking speed! But for a good Choley Bhatura, I'd withstand that & more!
Now what I loved most about Puranma Bhatura's were they were the size of footballs (soccer balls in the US?), all puffed up & crispy & the choley was served almost dry with savory & tangy flavors. Just about every Indian you meet will have their own favoriteroadside eatery so it's kind of fun to hear people talk about their favorite food spots in their respective cities.
Soon after I left India my mother informed me that Puranmal had closed down in some big brouhaha among family members, all very scintillating and spicy like their chole. haha....
So anyway back to the chole - the preparation & cooking of Amritsari Chole involves 4 parts & to make life easier for everyone, I am going to separate the ingredients & cooking method for each step.
There are some unique features to this recipe -
- The chick peas (choley) are cooked with black tea bags or a immersion strainer filled with black tea leaves. Why? Quite simply, to achieve a dark color - the flavors are not at all intrusive unless you use some fruity, peach/echinaecea concoction - please don't!
- Salt - the salt used through out is an equal mix of regular white salt & black salt (readily available in Indian stores) and quite essential for authentic results. The salt is mixed in equal parts, so it is a good idea to mix 1 tbs white salt & 1 tbs black salt and set aside - to be used throughout the recipe as & when called for.
Part 1 - Cook Chick Peas
Begin by soaking dried chick peas in plenty of water overnight (at least 3 times the amount of chick peas) I do not recommend that you use canned chick peas.
Once you have soaked the chickpeas overnight they will swell up with water. Drain away the water.
Place the chick peas in a pressure cooker and add 7 cups fresh water.
Gather the remaining ingredients required for this step - the black tea leaves or tea bags, salt mix, bay leaves cooking the Choley or chickpeas in a pressure cooker with tea bags (or tea leaves in a tea immersion strainer), cardamom pods and 1/2 tbs salt mix.
Cover the pressure cooker with lid & whistle. On high heat, build up pressure for 5 minutes. Then lower heat to low setting and pressure cook for 25 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave alone for about 20 minutes or until the pressure has subsided & the whistle comes off with no resistance.
Drain and reserve the chick peas liquid from the pressure cooker - you should be left with about 1-1/2 cups liquid. Set aside.
Cook's note - To get this nice dark coloring for the chickpeas, use tea leaves in an immersion ball strainer. If you use tea bags you will end up with a lighter coloring.
Part 2 - Choley Spices (masala)
Feel free to do this in advance or the day before to save time.
Gather:
6 cloves
1" bark cinnamon
1 tsp ground cumin powder
1 tsp ground coriander powder
2 tsp dried pomegranate seeds
In a clean non-stick frying pan, on medium heat saute the spices all together for a minute or so, until the scent of the spices hits you - the first one that reaches me is always the coriander.
Turn off the heat & empty into a clean dry bowl to cool.Set aside for 5-10 minutes.
In a coffee grinder, dry grind to a fine powder. This may take a few minutes & a few pulses.
Remove to a clean dry bowl.
To the choley spices, add:
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 tbs salt mix
1 tsp dry mango powder (available in Indian stores - also known as Aam Chur)
Combine once again and set aside.
Part 3 = Part 1 + Part 2
Prepare the fresh ingredients required for this step -
Tomatoes - Wash the tomatoes and chop.
Ginger root - Scrape the skin off and finely chop
Green chilly (Thai) - Slit down the middle and set aside
To the cooked chick peas, add the choley spices, ginger, green chilly, chopped tomatoes and stir. Set aside. Adjust the seasonings - especially the salt.
Cook's Note - Do not add any more spice powders at this point because as the chickpeas are simmered with the spices & the flavors mature the flavor of the spices will also become more potent.
Part 4 - Simmer the chickpeas with onion & spices.
Prepare the onions - Peel and finely chop 1 large onion. Also gather cumin seeds, ghee and 2 dried bay leaves.
In a large saute pan, add ghee & on medium heat bring to fuming. Add the cumin seeds and bay leaves and as soon as the cumin seeds simmer, add the chopped onions.
Saute for 10-15 minutes or until the onions are soft, have turned transparent and are just beginning to slightly brown. Do not allow the onions to brown.
While the onions are sauteing, to a clean bowl remove 1 cup of the cooked chick peas. With a potato masher, mash the chickpeas best you can. This will help thicken the Choley once it is being simmered.
Once the onions are sauteed add the chick peas (the mashed ones as well) to the onions and stir. Add the reserved chick peas liquid.
With a potato masher, go around the whole pan 5-6 times the mash the chick peas some more.
Cover with a lid and simmer for about 10 minutes on low-medium heat.
Cook's Note - This tastes much better if it is allowed to sit a while. Prepare this earlier in the day for dinner or the night before.
To warm, add 1/4 cup water and reheat on medium heat till hot. Taste and adjust seasonings - the salt & the garam masala powder.
To serve, garnish with fresh chopped cilantro.
This is best served with Bhaturas or Pooris - a match made in heaven this one!
This is fantastic meal to have with friends, eaten in groups when you are craving something a little out of the way. Also, you don't need to fix anything else with it. It's a meal in itself. Also, kids couldn't get enough of it either. Go - mom!
Recipe for
AMRITSARI CHOLE
Overnight to soak chickpeas
Preparation time - 30 minutes
Cooking time - about 30 minutes
Serves 4
Shopping list:
Salt mix - 1 tbs black salt + 1 tbs regular salt - mixed together
Part 1 - The chick peas
2 cups dried chick peas
1 tbs black tea leaves
1 stainless steel tea immersion ball
5 green cardamom pods
Part 2 - Choley Spices (masala)
6 cloves
1" cinnamon bark
1 tsp ground cumin powder
1 tsp ground coriander powder
2 tsp dried pomegranate seeds
1 tsp garam masala powder
Part 3 = Part 1 + Part 2
1 large tomato
1" fresh ginger root - enough to yield 1-1/2 tbs chopped
1 - Green chilly (Thai)
Part 4 -
1 large onion
2 dried bay leaves
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 tbs Ghee
Preparation -
Part 1 - Cook Chick Peas
Begin by soaking dried chick peas in plenty of water overnight (at least 3 times the amount of chick peas) Drain away the water.
Part 2 - Choley Spices (masala)
In a clean non-stick frying pan, add cloves, cinnamon bark, ground cumin powder, ground coriander powder & dried pomegranate seeds.
On medium heat saute the spices all together for a minute or so, until the scent of the spices hits you - the first one that reaches me is always the coriander. Turn off the heat & empty into a clean dry bowl to cool.
Set aside for 5-10 minutes. In a coffee grinder, dry grind to a fine powder. This may take a few minutes & a few pulses. Remove to a clean dry bowl.
To the choley spices, add the garam masala powder, salt mix & dry mango powder (available in Indian stores - also known as Aam Chur) Combine once again and set aside.
Part 3 = Part 1 + Part 2
Prepare the fresh ingredients required for this step -
Tomatoes - Wash the tomatoes and chop.
Ginger root - Scrape the skin off and finely chop
Green chilly (Thai) - Slit down the middle and set aside
To the cooked chick peas, add the choley spices, ginger, green chilly, chopped tomatoes and stir. Set aside. Adjust the seasonings - especially the salt.
Part 4 -Onion - Peel and finely chop
Cooking method-
Part 1 - Cook the chick peas -
Place the chick peas in a pressure cooker and add 7 cups fresh water.
Gather the remaining ingredients required for this step - the black tea leaves or tea bags, salt mix, bay leaves cooking the Choley or chickpeas in a pressure cooker with tea bags (or tea leaves in a tea immersion strainer), cardamom pods and 1/2 tbs salt mix.
Cover the pressure cooker with lid & whistle. On high heat, build up pressure for 5 minutes. Then lower heat to low setting and pressure cook for 25 minutes.
Turn off the heat and leave alone for about 20 minutes or until the pressure has subsided & the whistle comes off with no resistance.
Drain and reserve the chick peas liquid from the pressure cooker - you should be left with about 1-1/2 cups. Set aside.
Part 2 & 3 - Refer preparation section
Part 4 - Simmer the chickpeas with onion & spices.
In a large saute pan, add ghee & on medium heat bring to fuming.
Add the cumin seeds and bay leaves and as soon as the cumin seeds simmer, add the chopped onions.
Saute for 10-15 minutes or until the onions are soft, have turned transparent and are just beginning to slightly brown.
Do not allow the onions to brown.While the onions are sauteing, in a clean bowl remove 1 cup of the cooked chick peas.
With a potato masher, mash the chickpeas best you can. This will help thicken the Choley once it is being simmered.
Once the onions are sauteed add the chick peas (the mashed ones as well) to the onions and stir. Add the reserved chick peas liquid.
With a potato masher, go around the whole pan 5-6 times the mash the chick peas some more.Cover with a lid and simmer for about 10 minutes on low-medium heat.
Cook's Note - This tastes much better if it is allowed to sit a while. Prepare this earlier in the day for dinner or the night before.To warm, add 1/4 cup water and reheat on medium heat till hot.
Taste and adjust seasonings - the salt & the garam masala powder.To serve, garnish with fresh chopped cilantro.
Enjoy with Bhaturas!
