A richer, spicier version of Chole Masala, a chickpea stew recipe from Northern India.
Total Time:50 minutes
Yield:4 people
Ingredients
1 can Chickpeas or Garbanzo Beans (skip the dried chickpeas if using canned)
3/4 cup Dried Chickpeas (skip the canned chickpeas if using dried )
1/4 cup Oil
Fresh Ingredients
1 tbsp Ginger (finely chopped)
2 tbsp Garlic (finely chopped)
1 Green Chili (slit)
1 medium Onion (finely chopped)
1 cup Tomato Purée
3 cup Water
Amla-Tea Brew
1 tsp Loose Black Tea Leaves
3 Pieces Dried Amla
2 cups Water (add more, if required. )
Spices
1/2 tsp Asafetida or Hing
1/2 tsp Turmeric
2 tsp Red Chili Powder (1 tsp in the dish and 1 tsp for garnish)
2 tbsp Chole Masala Powder
Garnish
2 tbsp Ghee (for garnish)
1/2 tsp Chaat Masala Powder
1/4 cup Coriander Leaves (chopped)
3 tbsp Lemon Juice
2 tbsp Onion (finely chopped)
Salt (to taste)
1 tsp Baking Soda
Instructions
Soak the Chickpeas
Soak chickpeas for 8-12 hours If using dried chickpeas, soak them in a large bowl for 8-12 hours
Make an Amla-Tea Brew
Bring 2 cups water to boil Bring 2 cups of water to boil in a small pot
Brew tea leaves and amla in it. Add Tea leaves and Amla. Brew for one minute
Cook the Chickpeas
Cook chickpeas and amla-tea brew in an instant pot. Place your chickpeas, amla-tea brew in an instant pot
Cook for 4 mins on manual pressure on the IP for canned chickpeas Cook for 4 mins on manual pressure if using canned chickpeas.
Cook for 40 mins or bean setting on the IP for dried chickpeas Cook for 40 mins or bean setting if using dried chickpeas.
Make the Pindi Chole
In a pan, add oil and 1 tbsp ghee In a medium saucepan, add oil and 1 tbsp ghee.
Add onions, ginger, garlic, and green chili. Mildly brown the onions. When the oil is hot, add the onion, ginger, garlic, and green chili. Sauté until the onion starts to brown.
Add your spices Now add your spices – asafetida, turmeric, red chili powder, chole masala, and salt.
Cook for 1-2 mins until the spices are cooked Cook for at least 1-2 minutes on medium-low to prevent masalas from tasting raw and bitter.
Add tomato purée and cook for 2 more mins. Add the tomato purée and cook for 2 more mins.
Add your chickpeas and adjust the consistency with more water Now add your cooked chickpeas. Adjust consistency by adding more water as needed.
Let it simmer for 20-30 mins. Let this simmer for at least 20- 30 mins. The more you slow cook this, the better.
Make a red chili oil
Make a chili oil. Heat some ghee and add red chili powder. In a small pan, add the ghee. When the ghee is melted and starting to get hot, add the red chili powder.
When the powder blooms, take off heat and pour over your dish. When you see the red chili powder instantly bloom, take off the heat and pour over the cooked chickpeas.
Garnish
Garnish with coriander leaves, chopped onions, chaat masala, and lemon juice. Garnish the dish with chaat masala, chopped coriander leaves, chopped onions and lemon juice.
Serve with Bhature or any flatbread. Serve with bhature, rotis, any flatbread of your choice or even with plain basmati rice!
Notes
I cook with canned chickpeas just because it is more convenient. The older dried chickpeas get, the harder they are to cook. If you cook frequently with chickpeas, dried chickpeas are the way to go.
Dried Amla is hard to find especially if you live in Western countries. Thank god for Amazon, we get a salted variant of dried amla in smaller chunks. I used these and adjusted the salt accordingly.
I blend 1 or 2 Roma tomatoes in a blender and use the strained puree. Canned tomatoes lend a slightly more acidic profile to the dish. This is a personal preference. I would always prefer the fresh tomatoes over the canned ones. But that’s just my choice! Also, if convenience is the need of the hour, it’s ok and you will still ladle up your bowl with warm and spicy Pindi Chole! Enjoy!
