Punjabi Chole with homemade fresh masala

Punjabi Chole - Friday night option with ajwain paratha :)

Quantity - for 2 people

Ingredients -

Chole - 2 cups
Onion - 1 medium
Tomatoes - 2 vine tomatoes
Ginger - 1 and half inch
Garlic - 5/6 pods
Green chillies - 3 spicy
Coriander seeds - 1 tsp
Cloves -3/4
Cinnamon - 1 small
Black pepper - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Sesame seeds - 1/2 tsp
Fresh coriander - 4 strands
Red chilli powder - 2 tsp
Bay leaf - 1
Star anise - 1
Salt - to taste
Peanut oil - for cooking
Ghee - to temper (optional)

Procedure -

1. First step is to soak the chole enough so that once they are cooked , they are soft enough and can absorb all the gravy . Soak overnight and for half more day for about 15 hours . Once soaked enough, pressure cook it with little salt in Instant Pot for 25 mins manual mode high pressure and keep it ready for making gravy .
2. In a kadai , heat little oil to make a onion tomato paste with spices . Once oil is hot , add all spices - cumin seeds , coriander seeds , ginger chopped , garlic chopped , green chillies chopped , cloves , cinnamon , black pepper , sesame seeds , cubes onions (reserve 1/4th and chop them finely for putting in tadka) and cubes tomatoes . Also add 2 tsp of cooked chole to this - this gives the gravy good texture .Let it fry nicely till it becomes light brown and let it cool .
3. Once its cooled , grind it to a fine paste . There won't be water required for grinding as onions , tomatoes will have released their own juices .  Ensure there are no big pieces of ginger/garlic remaining as it does not taste good later .
4. Now in the same kadai , heat oil for cooking . Once its hot , add bay leaf and star anise . Fry for 2 mins and then add reserved finely cut onions . Fry them till they become transparent and add little salt while cooking .
5. Next , when onions are cooked , add the masala paste and mix well . Cover with lid and let it cook on low to medium flame for atleast 8/10 mins .
6. After 10 mins , you will see oil released from masala paste . Mix and stir well and now is the time to add cooked chole . Mix everything nicely and adjust any salt as required . Add 1/2 cup water to adjust the gravy consistency .
7 . Cover and cook for 10 mins on medium flame . Check after 5 mins to ensure that gravy is not sticking to bottom . Also if it appears thick , add 1/2 cup water again and let it simmer . We do not want gravy to be too thick or too watery as later chole will absorb all the water . So consistency is key here .
8. Check in 10 mins and you will see nice brown color of gravy . Now is the time to garnish with fresh coriander , ghee and some ginger cut lengthwise - this gives extra taste to chole :)

Serve hot with Ajwain Paratha and a cup of homemade dahi :)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Keerai Molagootal - Palakkad style and Husband's favorite !

Keerai Molagootal - comfort dish which can be relished for lunch time with some steamed rice Quantity - 2 people lunch Ingredients: Spinach - 1 bag of spinach leaves Toor dal - 1 cup Fresh grated coconut - 1/2 cup Whole red chillies - 4/5 for grinding Cumin seeds/Jeera - 1 tsp Mustard seeds - to temper Hing - to temper Haldi - to temper Whole red chillies - 1/2 to temper Salt - as per taste Water - to cook Peanut oil - to temper Appliance needed: Preeti Mixer Procedure: 1. Cook toor dal with enough water and pinch of haldi in a pressure cooker. Mash it nicely once it is cooked . 2. In a large vessel , take all the spinach leaves , add 1/2 cup of water and close the vessel with lid to blanch the spinach . This might take 2/3 mins . Then reduce the flame to sim for 5 mins . 3. Now after the spinach is blanched properly and cooled , blend it in a mixer to a smooth paste . Some people like to keep it a bit chunky - you can do any ways which you like. 4. Remove t...
Read more

Kelyachi Shikran - quickest sweet recipe !

Kelyachi Shikran - comfort food or alternative when you feel like having a simple yet complete meal . Quantity - 2 cups of shikran Ingredients - Ripe Banana - 3 medium size  Milk - 1 cup  Sugar - 1 tsp Cardamom powder - a pinch  Procedure - 1. Warm milk slightly if it is directly taken out of the fridge. It should not be too hot . Room temperature is preferred . 2. Peel and mash banana with you hands and add it to the warm milk . Other option is chop banana into cubes or slices and add to milk 3. Add sugar and cardamom powder and mix everything well . Serve with hot phulkas or just eat as a mid meal/evening snacks :)
Read more

Crispy Kanda Bhaji - perfect to enjoy with the onset of Fall !

 Khekda Kanda bhaji - are crispy pakoras of onion and not of khekda or crab as the name suggests . They are simple called khekda bhaji because of their appearance .  Quantity - makes 10 crispy bhajis Ingredients: Onion = half of big or 1 medium size Besan - 3 tbsp Coriander powder - 1 tsp Jeera powder - 1 tsp Red chilli powder - 2 tsp or as per spice Haldi - one pinch Salt - as per taste Ajwain - 1/2 tsp (optional) Peanut oil - for frying Hot oil - 2 tbsp as mohan  Procedure- 1. Cut onion vertically into thin slices and separate out every slice . Take these into a big bowl. 2. Next add all the dry spices and besan and mix well . Also add salt and keep it aside 3. In meanwhile keep oil for frying in a kadai . When it becomes hot , remove 2 tbsp of oil and add it to the onion mixture . Mix well with onions and spices . By now , onion must have left some water due to salt and so the mixture becomes slightly wet . Do not add any water to the mixture . This will not make the b...
Read more