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Chickpea curry recipe

Perfect punjabi chhole / chana masala recipe

anubhav mahajan
My favourite punjabi Chickpea curry (Chhole/ chana masala ) recipe in Amritsari style. Infused with indian whole spices, and black tea for that smoky flavour and colour. Slowly simmered in a rich tempering of onions, tomatoes, lots of ginger and a little garlic for a flavourful indian treat to go with bhaturas, pooris or kulcha.A perfect Sunday Brunch.
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Prep Time 5 hours
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 5 hours 35 minutes
Course curry, Main Course
Cuisine Indian, north indian, punjabi
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

Boiling Chickpeas

  • 1 cup chickpeas soaked overnight
  • 5 cups water
  • 1/2 tsp methre (fenugreek seeds)
  • 1 whole Black cardamom
  • 1 tej patta (bay leaf )
  • 4-5 long (cloves)
  • 3-4 whole black pepper
  • 1/2 inch cinnamon stick
  • 1/2 star anise
  • 1 pinch baking soda
  • 1 teabag (Black tea ) / or use 1 spoon tea

For tempering

  • 2 tbsp ghee or cooking oil
  • a pinch hing (asafoetida powder)
  • 1 tsp Cumin seeds (jeera )
  • 1-2 med onions chopped
  • 2-3 cloves garlic crushed / grated/ paste
  • 1 "-2" ginger slice crushed / grated/ paste
  • 2-3 small tomatoes pureed in a mixer
  • 1 tsp black pepper powder
  • 1 tsp red chilli (deghi mirchi powder)
  • 2-3 slit green chillies
  • 1 1/2 tsp cumin coriander powder Read notes on how to make this
  • Kasoori methi
  • 1 tbsp chana masala powder
  • 1 tsp amchoor powder (mango powder)

Garnishing

  • fresh coriander leaves
  • drizzle of ghee
  • slit green chillies

Instructions
 

  • In a pressure cooker, boil water. Add chickpeas .
  • Add whole spices- fenugreek seeds, black cardamom, bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon stick, star anise (half),whole black pepper ,a pinch of baking soda.
  • Add a tea bag (or a cup of brewed black tea) . Mix well, and pressure cook everything for about 15-18 minutes.Keep aside.

Tempering for amritsari chhole

  • Heat 2tbsp ghee. Add a pinch of asafoetida powder, cumin seeds and let it splutter for a few seconds.  
  • Add Chopped onions. Fry till onions are light golden. 
  • Add crushed ginger garlic/ ginger garlic paste. Sauté till the raw aroma goes away.
  • Now add the pureed tomatoes, and cook till the oil leaves the sides. 
  • Once tomatoes are cooked, add slit green chillies, black pepper powder, red chilli (deghi mirchi)powder, roasted coriander and cumin powder, Kasoori methi powder, chana masala powder. Mix well. 
  • Add the tempering to cooked chickpeas. Mix well , cover and let it simmer for another 10 minutes. .
  • When done, add amchoor powder (Mango powder). Garnish it with a drizzle of ghee, fresh coriander leaves and slit chillies .
  • Serve these hot with Pooris, naan bread, rice or Kulchas, accompanied with salad, pickle, chutney and Raita.

Notes

To make roasted cumin coriander seeds powder-
Add 1 tsp of coriander seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds to a hot pan. Keep stirring, so that these do not burn. Heat for 3-4 minutes, till you can smell the strong flavours. Take off heat, and let cook. Once cool, powder these in a grinder to a fine powder. You can use these for adding flavour to curries , raitas, and biryani.
Chickpea curry recipe
Chickpea curry recipe
 
 
 
 
Chickpea curry recipe
Chickpea curry recipe
Either add a tea bag while boiling.
Or if adding brewed tea - Add 1 tsp black tea to 1 cup water. Bring it to a boil. Sieve it and add it  water to the boiled chickpeas, before adding tadka/ tempering.
To make a thicker consistency of the curry-
Take a tbsp of boiled chickpeas (before adding tempering), and mash them with back of the spoon/ or fork, and add back to the chickpeas.Mix well. Follow rest of the steps.
 
 
Keyword Chickpeas, chickpeas curry, chhole, chana masala, punjabi chhole