Chole Recipe | How to Make Punjabi Chole Masala Recipe
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Ingredients (240 ml cup used)
chole masala powder or use ready made
- 2 red chilies
- 1 small bay leaf
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp cumin/ jeera
- ½ tsp fennel seeds/ saunf
- 3 to 4 cloves / laung
- 1 small cinnamon / dalchini
- 1 small black cardamom
- few pepper corn
other ingredients
- 1 cup kabuli chana/ chickpeas
- Pinch of soda
- 2 dark tea bag or 1 tsp tea powder(optional, to get dark chole)
- 1.5 tbsp oil or as needed
- 1 small piece of cinnamon (optional)
- 1 to 2 cloves (optional)
- 1 small bay leaf (optional)
- 1 green cardamon (optional)
- 1 tsp ginger garlic paste or grated ginger
- 1 cup onions finely chopped or ¾ cup processed
- 1 cup chopped ripe tomatoes
- salt as needed
- turmeric a pinch optional
- generous pinch red chili powder (adjust just for the color)
- ¼ to ½ tsp amchur powder (adjust to suit your taste)
- ½ cup water (adjust as needed)
How to make the recipe
- Rinse chickpeas in lot of water. Boil 1 tsp tea powder or 2 tea bags in 3 cups of water. Filter the tea to chana and soak for 6 hours to overnight.
- Pressure cook them for one whistle with the tea decocotion if desired with a generous pinch of soda.
- Add oil to a hot pan, add cinnamon, clove, cardamom and bay leaf.
- When they begin to crackle, add ginger garlic paste and saute until the raw smell goes off.
- Add finely chopped onions and saute until the onions lose the raw smell and get lightly golden or pink.
- Add tomatoes, salt and turmeric if using. Cook until the mixture turns mushy and soft.
- Add the masala powder, red chili powder and amchur powder.
- Stir and fry again for 1 to 2 minutes till the masala flavours come out.
- Add the pressure cooked chana and 1 cup water or as needed to make a gravy. If desired you can also use 2 tbsp of the stock got from cooking chickpeas.
- Mix everything well and simmer for about 5 minutes until the chickpeas get the flavour of masala.
- When the gravy thickens, Switch off and add coriander leaves.
- Serve with Bhatura.
