Pindi Chole is a type of chickpea recipe where boiled chickpeas are cooked street style in a tangy and delicious spice paste mix. Quite popular in north India and the perfect accompaniment for crispy puffed bhatures.This recipe is failproof and comes together in under 30 minutes.
Growing up chole bhature was undoubtedly my favorite dish and now it's my kid's favorite too. My Mom is a phenomenal cook and she introduced us to a wide area of diverse Indian food scene. She used to read all those magazines and cook books and then we tasted her lovely experiments.
Chole bhature was her specialty and I still remember how her kitchen assistant prepared all the dough for bhature and different spice mixes for our dinner and lunch . Many times we were not alone dining . Many times our friends, extended family, or different neighbors joined us . That was a feast always.
This recipe was developed by my husband and me, its inspiration came from my mother's platter. If you make the spice mix before and store it in an air-tight container, making of this recipe is a breeze.
I make this chole with Baked Amritsari Paneer Kulcha, Kulcha (Matar Kulcha), Or Our Favorite Bhature. Serve some salad,khatte aloo and voila you can have a perfect feast at home.
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Pindi Chole
Ingredients
- 3 Cups Chickpeas,soaked overnight.
- 1 Medium Onion Chopped finely.
- 2 Large Tomatoes
- 1 Tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste.
- 5-6 Green Chillies
- 2 Tbsp Ginger Juliennes
- 1 Tbsp Oil of your choice
- ⅓ Cup Ghee/Clarified Butter.
- 1 Tsp Cumin seeds+ Carrom Seeds(combined)
- Salt according to the taste.
For Dry Spice Mix.
- 2 Tbsp Cumin Seeds
- 1 Tbsp Coriander Powder
- 2 Black Cardamom
- 2 Bay leaves
- 1 Star Anise
- 5 Cloves
- 1 Inch Cinnamon
Spice Powders
- 2 Tbsp Anardana powder(available in all Indian grocery store.
- 1 Tbsp Coriander Powder
- 1 Tbsp Dry Mango Powder
- 1 Tbsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
- Salt according to the taste.
- ½ Tsp Black Salt
For preparing/Boiling the Chickpeas for making Pindi Chole
- 1 Tea Bag
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 Inch Cinnamon stick
- 2 Black Cardamom
- 1 Tsp Salt.
Cilantro for garnish.
Instructions
- Roast everything written under dry spice mix and grind it into a fine powder.
- Keep it aside.
- Mix everything written under spice powder mix.
- Mix dry spice mix and dry powder mix together ,by stirring it nicely.
How to boil Chickpeas /Chole
- In a instant pot or pressure cooker boil the chole in sufficient water ,one tea bag and all the whole spices like cinnamon,black cardamom,and bay leaf.
- Boil till they feel soft . I boiled them in the instant pot for 9 minutes.(I pre soaked them for 8 hours)
Instructions for preparing Pindi Chole
- Take a Wok /Pan.Add one tbsp of oil to it .
- Add onion and saute it for 1-2 minute till it looks translucent .
- Add ginger -garlic paste to it .Saute it on medium flame for 1-2 minute till the raw smell is gone .
- Add one chopped tomato to it .Saute it till everything is mixed nicely .
- Add boiled chole to it and mix nicely.Switch off the flame .Remove 4 tbsp of chole in a plate and keep it aside.
- Take a pan .Add ⅓ cups of ghee to it .
- Once its hot enough,add cumin seeds ,Carom seeds,green chillies and ginger juliennes to it .
- Pour 8 tbsp of mixed spice on the top of chickpeas /chole ,add tomato slices to it . Pour all the ghee temering on this and mix it really well.Cover it and cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Mash 4 tbsp of boiled chole which we have kept aside with ½ cup of water.
- Mix this with rest of the chole .Simmer it on low flame for 4-5 minutes .
- Taste the seasoning . If you need to add little salt ,add to it.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro and ginger julienne .
- Enjoy.
Sangeeta sethi says
Fabulous delicious preparation .Beautifully captured too .
Lovely description of chole n bhature preparation...
Smita says
Thank You so much ma'am. It really means a lot to me.