Chole is probably one of the most iconic dishes of north India, and a visit to any north indian state would be utterly incomplete without sampling this tasty dish. Such is the fragrance of this dish that passers-by are pulled towards its aroma from miles away. The accompaniments (such as bhatura, kulcha, rice, poori etc.) may change but the taste of this evergreen hit will never change.
This is my version of making Chole without any whole spices (khada masala). From last 10-11 yrs I’m following this method only. It is said that “Necessity is the mother of Invention”, so i discovered this method out of necessity. Earlier I used to use whole spices such as cardamom, bay leaves etc. However, because my son was small, he used to pick out these spices thinking they were all pieces of ginger. So i improvised and started using home-made tea masala and voila! The taste was enhanced to the extent of being even better than by using whole spices. And my son had to no longer pick out the supposed ‘ginger’ pieces. Thus my trial-and-error method for a recipe for this iconic dish yielded success. My son has grown up but I’m still stuck to using this method.
🍛Ingredients:
🍛Chickpeas-2 cup( soak them for 5-6 hrs)
🍛Tea leaves- 1 tsp
🍛Chai masala powder- ½ tsp
🍛Ghee-1 tbsp
🍛Onion- 2 med( chopped)
🍛Tomato puree- 2 tbsp
🍛Chole/ chana masala-1 tsp
🍛Garam masala- ½ tsp
🍛Red chilli powder- ½ tsp( u can increase according to ur taste)
🍛Ginger- 1 tsp ( very very finely grated- optional)
🍛Asfoetida/ Hing- a generous pinch
🍛Salt to taste
🍛Method:
🍛In a pan put 1 cup water+ tea leaves+ chai masala. Bring it to a boil. Strain and add this concoction to the soaked chole.
🍛 Cook chole with salt till done.
🍛In a pan put ghee n saute onions till transluscent.
🍛Add ginger n hing. Saute for a minute.
🍛Now add tomato puree. Saute.
🍛Add all the masalas.
🍛Add boiled chole.
🍛Cook on low heat for 15-20 mins. Till you get the desired consistency of the gravy.
🍛 Serve hot with bhature, rice, parathas or chapatis.