Punjabi Chole

Ask a Punjabi what a comfort food is? You are sure to get a spontaneous answer :) Ask my father in-law and he definitely has a spontaneous answer ;) Many of my previous posts have been on Punjabi cooking. I have close ties with Punjabi cooking and have got to learn a lot from my mother and mother in law. I got to learn the best of Parathas from my mother in law, while recipes like chole, rajma and have been inspired by my mom's cooking. My mom makes amazing chole, so I am bound to have learnt the same from her. I have been applauded many times for the channa chole that I make. I have mastered it well. This was one among the first few complicated recipes I learnt to cook (the list of ingredients do make it sound too complicated, but it actually isn't :D ).

Just before marriage, I once cooked Punjabi chole at home. I sent a batch of the home cooked chole to my to-be-in-laws as well. The next day DH told me that my father in-law complimented me saying that I cooked chole better than my mother in-law. I still carry that compliment close to my heart and it makes me feel so proud!

Today, I share with you the recipe for Punjabi Chole. It is guaranteed to leave your taste buds lingering with varied flavors.

Punjabi Chole

INGREDIENTS

250 g Kabuli Chana, soaked overnight
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tbsp Oil
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
2 bay leaves
2 cinnamon sticks
2-3 cloves
2 cardamom pods

Grind to paste the following:

1 large onion
4 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger
1 green chilli

2 tomatoes, pureed
1 tsp deggi mirch /red chilli powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp mango powder (amchur)
A bunch of fresh coriander, finely chopped
1/2 tsp lime juice

DIRECTIONS

Soak kabuli channa overnight. Pressure cook them in ample water (twice the soaked channa), salt and turmeric. Reserve the extra water from the cooked dal.

Heat a kadai/wok. Add cumin seeds, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods. Fry for half a minute. Donot allow them to brown, they may turn bitter. Add the ground paste and fry for 2 minutes. Add tomato puree next and cook for a minute or two. Now add deggi mirch/red chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala and amchur powder. Cook for sometime till the water evaporates and you get a thick gravy. Add the boiled kabuli chana with the water. Cover and cook for all the flavors to blend well. Add a dash of lime juice in the end before serving. Garnish with chopped coriander.

Note: If you want a dark colored chole, you can place 2 used tea bags while cooking the channa. This gives a dark colored chole. Along with this you can also add some imli (tamarind paste) for a tang.