Punjabi Chola
March 10th, 2008 filed under Dal (Lentils), Vegan
Punjabi cholas are the best compliment with baturas. The combination is known as chola battura. This is a mouth-watering dish.
Serves 2 to 4.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup chickpeas (Garbanzo beans, Kabuli chana)
- 2 tea bags
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- 1 tablespoon basen (Gram flour)
- 2 medium tomatoes
- 1 green chili
- 1 tablespoon shredded ginger
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder (dhania)
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt, adjust to the taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black salt
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon amchoor (Mango powder)
For garnish:
- 1 tablespoon shredded ginger
- 1 green chili sliced long ways
Method:
- Boil 5 cups of water with tea bags; after tea comes to boil turn down the heat to medium low.
- Let it boil for another 2 to 3 minutes. Take out the tea bags and keep aside.
- Wash chickpeas well and soak in tea water for about 8 hours. Chickpeas after soaking will become about 2 1/2 times the volume of the original.
- In pressure cooker add chickpeas with the water they were soaked in, plus 2 more cups of water. Close the cooker and put the pressure on.
- Cook on medium high heat.
- As pressure cooker starts steaming turn the heat down to medium and cook for about 15 minutes.
- Close the heat and wait until steam has stopped before opening the pressure cooker. Chickpeas should be soft and tender.
- Blend the tomatoes, ginger and green chili to make paste.
- Heat the oil in a saucepan. Test the heat by adding one cumin seed to the oil; if it cracks right away oil is ready. Add cumin seeds, and as the cumin seeds crack add basen stir-fry until basen is light gold brown.
- Next add tomato paste, coriander powder, and black pepper. Stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes until the oil is separating from the mixture and tomato mixture should be about half in volume.
- Add spice mix, salt, garam masala, and mango powder to chickpeas.
- While mixing, lightly mash the chickpeas. Adjust salt, pepper, and sourness to your taste.
- Cook on medium high heat. After cholas come to boil lower the heat to medium low and put the lid on.
- Cholas are ready to eat in as little as ten minutes, but for best taste let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring every 5 or 6 minutes.
- Garnish cholas with shredded ginger and sliced green chili.
This looks really yummy, i am going to try this soon
Hi Aunty, I enjy watching your videos…especially the desserts. Hmmm…yummy! When I watch you making them, it does look very simple to do. I wish to make the “Rasgullas”. But I dont have a pressure cooker. How long does it take to cook them in a regular pot?
Namaste auntyji !
I have done this recipe and, once again, it is really great ! It was tastier and yummier than I expected !
You explain really well and you propose good recipes.
I hope you will film other recipes, lots of them
Thank you for you recipes !
Christelle Ikshu (from Paris)
Thank you Seema I will try this.
Hi Manjula ji
Your recipes are really very easy to follow and turns out really delicious.
I would like to share a tip for this recipe.To give the blackish colour and the sourness to the cholas we can roast annaerdaana in the oil and then grind to a paste .Add the paste to the bolied cholas . This will also give a nice colour and taste.
Seema Pawa
Bangkok (Thailand)
Manjulaben: I tried your recipe for Punjabi Chola and for the first time I can say that I got it right with your help. Thanks Behanji. Tamaro bhai, Suleman.
You are awesome! Thanks for your recipes.. Me and my husband are busy trying all of them these days.
Hi Manjula
thank u so much for your vidieos. i tried ur naan,chole,vegetable pakoras and jalebi. they all turned out yummy. The great thing about ur cooking is that u make it in a very simple and easy manner, which is very easy to follow. I tried only once and all the items turned out very good. Thanks for making my life easy.
Thank anju
You are a wonderful cook… I always thought no one could cook like my mom but you are equally good
…
What a difference it makes to the recipe when ginger is added to the chickpeas and cooked in the cooker!! I used to grind the ginger with the masala but your recipe is better..
Thanks again…
Lakshmi
I’m ready to try it! Thank you for inviting us into your kitchen and making everything look so easy and accessible – even to those of us who didn’t grow up eating food like this.
Also, I’ll join in the praise for your husband doing the camera work. He does such a great job getting in close to show the details – like the white blisters on the fried chili garnish. I hope some day my husband and I can share an interest and project like you do!