Thursday, December 14, 2006

Chole Masala aka Kabuli Channa Curry

If you guys are craving for some dhaba style chole then you have come to the right place. Chole is a popular punjabi delicacy. Call it chole, kabuli channa or chickpeas ... whatever you may call, this is one lip smacking dish which is enjoyed by everyone. You can have this along with bhature, roti, naan, puri, rice or even bread! Usually chole is accompanied with bhature and if you would like to have an easier way out to make bhature...go south , its tortilla to the rescue. Just have to fry those medium size babies in oil and there you have it.... instant bhature...and they taste good.


Ingredients
1 cup Chole
4or5 dried Amla (dried nellika or gooseberry)
1 tsp Cumin seeds
1 large red Onion
3 ripe Tomatoes (blanched or canned ones)
1 1/2 tsp Ginger
1 1/2 tsp Garlic
1 big Green chili (or 2 small)
1 tsp Chili powder
1 tsp Corriander powder
1/3+1/4 tsp Turmeric
1 tbsp Chole masala
1 tsp Tomato ketchup (secret ingredient :))
Salt to taste
few Cilantro leaves
1 tbsp Oil



Method
  • Soak chole in water overnight or to cook the same day soak them in warm water for atleast 5-6hrs
  • Pressure cook chole with 1/3 tsp turmeric,dried amla,sufficient water and salt upto 3 whistle, open after 10 mintues when all the pressure is released
  • Drain the chole, reserve the liquid and don't forget to remove the amla
  • Chop up onion, blanch the tomatoes(heat sufficient water in a saucepan with tomato and let it come to a boil,switchoff the stove and let it cook in the water for 6-8min) or you could also use canned whole tomatoes and chop them
  • Finely chop ginger, garlic and green chili or crush them all together into a paste in a pestal
  • Heat oil in a deep saucepan and add cumin seeds
  • When the cumin seeds change color add chopped onion to it and saute till they are brown
  • Add the Ginger-garlic paste to it and saute for couple of minutes
  • Add all the dry powders to it and saute for a minute and then add the chopped blanched tomatoes and salt
  • Saute the tomatoes till they are soft and mushed up, add the secret ingredient ketchup and mix
  • Add the chole to the mixture and mix gently so that chole are properly coated in the mixture
  • Add the reserved water depending on the gravy you need, check and adjust the seasoning
  • Simmer the stove and cook covered for 5-6 minutes and garnish it with cilantro leaves
  • Serve it with bhature, puri or chapatti with sliced onion and lemon wedge by the side and there you have it friends.....Chole Masala!!!


40 comments:

Seema Bhat said...

Sri:
I just loved yout chole masala picture...Beautiful photography..and they look so rich and yummy too .
Thanks a lot for sharing
Seema

FH said...

Great photo,Sri! Love all the Dhaba
kind of food,loved your chole!I will try this.

Sri said...

Thankyou Seema

Asha, Do try them and let me know how it turned out.

Lakshmi said...

ya such nice snaps, and about tomato ketch up, I use it in chicken curry sometimes, this time will add in chole also, thanks for releaving the secret ingredient Sri.

Anonymous said...

Just awesome! Nice recipe.

Bong Mom said...

Sri,
The chole looks awesome, makes me very very hungry :(
I have never made chole that looks this good, shall try your recipe next.
BTW which brand chole masala do you use ?

Surya Hith said...

Sri,My all time favourite dish.The dish looks rich and yummy!!You have an excellent blog and nice recipes. Mouthwatering pictures also!!

Sri said...

Thankyou Lakshmi. I have tried making without ketchup but didn't turnout as good as it does adding it...something about that ketchup makes it something special.

Thankyou Lera. Welcome to my blog.

Hi Sandeepa...am still thinking of your bread rolls will definitely try them. Make sure you blanch those tomatoes or can use the canned ones and i used badshah chole masala...let me know how it turned out.

Hello Surya.Thankyou and welcome to my blog. I tried baking fish the other day...and boy it did taste like fry fish wow really healthy way to eat fish...Thanks Surya.

KA said...

Sri
Beautiful pictures.. loved your chocolate cake very much, wish I could have a piece of that.

Sri said...

Hi KA,
Thanks a lot and welcome to my blog

Sumitha said...

Fnally have updated my blog dear:)Thank you for enquiring!I love chole too...hmmm ketchup.. shall remember that next time!

Mandira said...

Your chole masala loves nice and spicy. I'm drooling!

TNL said...

Ketchup, eh? thanks for the tip! your chhole looks awesome, I'd eat this any day...!

Have a wonderful x-mas,
Trupti

Nidhi said...

Nice Picture...Love that Chana Masala/Choley, I cook it all the time at home.

Sri said...

Hello Sumi..glad to see you back.

Thank you Mandira

You're welcomeTrupti. Happy holidays to you too.

Thanks Nidhi and so do I.
:)

Dr. Soumya Bhat said...

Hey sri this snap is really good.Looks wonderfu,mouthwatering.....Thanks .

Sri said...

Thank you Soumya.

archana said...

Sri
Just a quick note to let you know that AP flour is quite alright. Since this is not a light textured cake, it is not going to make any drastic difference. Have fun.

Menu Today said...

Hi Sri,
Lovely pic. Thanks for sharing.

Bong Mom said...

hi Sri,
I made your chole, turned out great, shall post the pic and link to yours soon

Sri said...

Thanks Archana.

Thank You MT.

Yay!!!sure Sandeepa....i still have to try out bread rolls i got beet will be trying it out soon.

Anonymous said...

Hi Sri,
First time here.You got a wonderful site and great photos.Every food is yum yum!

Shah cooks said...

hi did u use black chana or white one?ur curry looks really spicy and yummy!happy holidays!!

Sri said...

Thank You lakshmiammal

Shaheen I used White kabuli channa. Let me know how it turned out.

Anonymous said...

Hi Sri,

First time visiting your blog... your chole looks SO delicious, I could take a bite right from the screen! Will definitely be trying this, thanks so much. Methi parathas look fabulous too :)

Anonymous said...

Hi Sri,

Great pic dear! I am going to try this chole recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Vimla

Unknown said...

HI sri...

I have tried out ur recipe,Its very Delicious.

Anonymous said...

It tried diff. versions of chole masala and nothing worked out..Lastly stoped by ur blog and found this wonderfull recipe.Works good with the secret ingredient.

Anonymous said...

Hi Sri,

U r Chole masala receipe looked so alluring that I trid it immediately....and vow......it was very delicious....thanku very much

Anonymous said...

very nice recipe thanks

Anonymous said...

Nice one, we are preparing it today.

Anonymous said...

Best chole i ever made. It came out wonderful.Thanks for recipe.

tarasimi said...

Hi, this looks like a great recipe. I will definitely try it out soon. :)

Just a suggestion... we've been using frozen pizza dough to make our bhature - just fry them like you would puri. It's the closest we've come authentic without having to go through the trouble of kneading it ourselves.

Anonymous said...

Can the dried amla be substituted with amla pwd?
Thanks

Anonymous said...

hi. just made this chole and i totally agree that the tomato sauce kinda takes it to the next level and more than that i think it masks the rawness of the masalas very well.........to give it that all round good taste .....thanks a lot...............i wish i had the amla though it would have given it that black as well as that slightly tangy flavor. ill just add some amchur for good measure...........

Anonymous said...

you can also add mashed potatos to make the gravy thick.

Unknown said...

hi sri...thanks for wicked receipe...i will def. try

Unknown said...

wicked rec. thanks.. i will try def. thnks for sharing

Emu said...

This looks great I am going to try it - but I don't have any Amla, what can I use instead - will Tamarind paste work? Or Lemon?

Unknown said...

i'm going to try this out 2day.... :)
Looks yummy