Chits Kitchen

Punjabi Chole Masala or Amritsari Pindi Chole is a North Indian cuisine that has its origination from the land of Punjab. From the land of Punjab it has spread to other parts of the country. It is mostly famous in North India. Punjabi Chole Masala has its combination with many food items and together they are famous with their combined name such as Chole Chawal, Chole Bhature, Chole Poori, Chole Kulche, etc. Punjabi Chole Masala is also simply called as Chole Masala. It has many variations and also cooked in different ways. Here we will prepare with the authentic Punjabi style which is similar to restaurant style Punjabi Chole Masala.

To prepare the Punjabi Chole Masala or Amritsari Pindi Chole, we need to boil the soaked white chickpeas first. Chole is pressure cooked in water along with Tea Leaves, Baking Powder, Salt and few whole spices. Baking Powder helps in cooking the Chole quickly and makes it soft. Tea Leaves bring a nice colour and aroma to the chole recipe. It gives a nice restaurant style touch. Here we add the whole spices while pressure cooking the chickpeas. It is because if we add it directly while making the recipe with other spices, it ruins the taste when the whole spices strike in our mouth while eating.

To give a restaurant style touch to the Punjabi Chole Masala, there are three important things. First is the Chole Masala, second is the water that we have after boiling and the third is the tempering. Here I will be making the chole masala powder by using different spice powder. You can also use readymade chole masala powder that is available in the market. The water that we have is important since it adds black colour to the recipe and also add flavor of whole spices to it. The tempering using Ghee also adds flavor and aroma to Punjabi Chole Masala. The tempering includes slit Green Chillies, slit Ginger and Asafoetida. You can also use cooking oil in place of ghee.

We can also prepare Chole Masala in a very simple manner also. There is no need of using tea bags and whole spices while boiling the chana. Also tempering can be skipped. However I would suggest you to prepare the Punjabi Chole Masala in the same manner as I have mentioned below. Tempering of Chole Masala adds flavor to it, so don’t skip the tempering. You will surely relish after making this recipe. Try this recipe at your home and do let us know your experience while cooking this recipe.

You may also like other recipes:

Paneer Recipes

Rajma Masala

Kala Chana Curry

Aalo Methi ki Sabzi

Matar Mushroom Masala

Let’s start preparing the Punjabi style Amritsari Pindi Chole….

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Punjabi Chole Masala/Amritsari Pindi Chole/Chole Masala

Punjabi Chole Masala is prepared from White Chickpeas with Onion and Tomato gravy. The Chickpeas are soaked in water overnight and then boiled with Tea Bags and few whole spices to make it soft. It is then cooked with Tomato and Onion gravy along with spices.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian, North Indian, Punjabi

Keyword Chole Masala

Preparation Time 8 hours hours

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Passive Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 8 hours hours 45 minutes minutes

Servings 4 servings

Calories

Author Recipe by Chits

Ingredients:

• 1 cup White Chickpeas (Chole Chana or Kabuli Chana)
• 2 teaspoon Tea Powder or Tea Leaves
• 1/8 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 2 leaves Bay Leaves
• 2-3 inch Cinnamon Stick
• 2 pieces Black Cardamom
• 2-3 pieces Green Cardamom
• 3-4 pieces Cloves (Laung)
• 2 ½ to 3 cup Water
• Salt to Taste
• 3 medium Chopped Tomato
• 2 medium Chopped Onion
• 2 teaspoon Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder
• 2 tablespoon Chopped Coriander Leaves
• 4 tablespoon Oil

For Chole Masala Powder:

• 1 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
• 1 teaspoon Coriander Powder
• 1 teaspoon Garam Masala
• 1 teaspoon Cumin Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Rock Salt (Black Salt)
• 1/4 teaspoon Asafoetida (Heeng)
• 1 teaspoon Kasuri Methi Powder
• 1 teaspoon Dry Aamchur Powder

For Tempering:

• 1 tablespoon Ghee
• 2 pieces Slit Green Chillies
• 1/2 teaspoon Asafoetida
• 5-6 inch Slit Ginger 5-6 pieces of 1 inch each

Instructions:

• Soak Chole Chana or Kabuli Chana in water overnight or for 8-10 hours.
• Take muslin cloth and place 2 teaspoon Tea Powder or Tea Leaves over it and tie it so that the tea leaves does not comes out. You can use Tea Bags in place of Tea Leaves.
• Take the soaked Chickpeas in a pressure cooker. Add Water, Baking Powder and Salt to it. Also place the Tea bag in the pressure cooker.
• Next add the whole spices such as Bay Leaves, Cinnamon Stick, Green Cardamom, Black Cardamom and Cloves in the pressure cooker.
• Pressure cook the Chole over medium flame for 4-5 whistles. After 4-5 whistles, close the stove and allow it to cool down completely. Do not open the lid immediately.
• When the boiled chickpeas cool down completely, take them out in a separate bowl. Also keep the water in a bowl by separating it with the tea leaves bag and the whole spices. We will use it later on to make the curry of Chole Masala recipe.
• Now let us make the Chole Masala Powder. Take a small bowl and add all the powdered ingredients such as Red Chilli Powder, Turmeric Powder, Coriander Powder, Garam Masala, Cumin Powder, Black Salt, Asafoetida, Kasuri Methi and Aamchur Powder. Mix it to make the chole masala powder.
• Take the Chopped Tomatoes and make a smooth puree of it in a mixer grinder. Also make a smooth paste of Chopped Onion.
• Heat 4 tablespoon oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the Onion Paste into it. Saute it till it becomes light golden in colour and start leaving oil at the edges of the pan.
• Add Ginger Garlic Paste. Mix it and sauté for another 2-3 minutes.
• Now add Tomato Puree and cook till the oil starts separating for the onion tomato paste. Cook by covering with the lid.
• Next add the Chole Masala Powder that we have prepared. Also add required amount of salt into it. Remember that you have previously added salt while boiling the chole. So add as required. We have also added Black Salt in masala powder.
• To give a colour to the Punjabi Chole, add Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder. Fry the masala for few minutes till the spices are cooked properly.
• Now add the boiled Chickpeas and mix it with the spices properly. Cook it for few minutes.
• Add 1 to 1.5 cup leftover chickpea water to the chole. Also slightly mash the chole to make the gravy thick.
• Cover the pan with lid and cook for 3-4 minutes till the oil slightly separates with the chole. The gravy of the chole will become little thicker.
• Add Chopped Coriander Leaves to it and mix it. Switch off the stove. If you want you can sprinkle some Kasuri Methi since we have already added to the chole masala. Mix it.
• Now we will temper the Chole Masala. Heat Ghee in a spatula. Add Green Chillies, Ginger and Asafoetida.
  
• Spread the tempering over the prepared Chole Masala. Punjabi Chole Masala is ready to be served.
  
• Serve the Amritsari Pindi Chole by garnishing it with Chopped Coriander Leaves. Serve it with Bhature, Roti, Poori, Parantha or with any Rice recipes.
  

Notes:

1. Here I have prepared the Chole Masala by mixing different spice powder. You can use readymade Chole Masala bought from the market. You can also dry roast various spices and then grind it to make smooth Chole Masala Powder.
2. To give a restaurant style Chole Masala, we have added tea bags while boiling the soaked chole. If you want you can skip it.
3. Use the chickpea water that is left after boiling the chickpeas to make the Chole masala. It is fragrant since it has the flavor of whole spices. It makes the recipe black.
4. You can add water to chole as per your requirement of the thickness of the recipe. Mash the chole to give it a nice aromatic and flavorful thick gravy. There is another method of making the gravy thick. Take some amount of boiled chana and make a paste of it in mixer grinder. Add it to the Chole masala while cooking.
5. If you want you can skip the tadka to the Chole Masala. But I would personally suggest you to add the tadka to the Punjabi Chole Masala.
6. If the Chole does not boil in 4-5 whistles, then boil for more few minutes.