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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.
hi ,
manjula aunty
i did’t know how to make cholla fluently & easily but we cann’t do it, we have try many times we alwaya unsuccessfull for this dish, when i got ur recipe i is became me good chef now i made many time my friend always told me “aamir dear today i want to eat cholla as per manjula aunty…
Why do you add besan to chic peas and some of your recipies?
Thanks love your recipies you have blessed so many with your cooking.
I am a south Indian….. but now i have started preferring north indian cuisine cos of ur recipes…. i dont like onions, so ur recipes r my favorite.
Hello manjulaji
I really like this dish, even without Onion Garlic.
specifically “Adding Besan” is new to me to thicken a gravy.
friends if you do not like to add Besan try this:
you can add very fine paneer(finly gatted) in tometo gravy but this will make your Chole very mild in test, if you want spicy try second Option
when you make tometo puree, grind some chole into Mixture with it, which will thicken your Gravi and do not change test
I forget to mentione, use “Presher Cooked Chole” in mixture with Tometo to make Gravy Thicken.
this was very obvious, no bodody will use raw Chole in Mixture but I clear myself because I do not want to ruin any newcomer’s first dish.
hello aunty..
i even made mathri,gujia n shakkar para for the 1st time in my life..and again thanks to you they came out Awesome..your proportions are so accurate,that there is no room for any errors 
saw ur video on youtube accidently..and im so glad this accident happened
i made the Punjabi chola for diwali get together at our place and the comppliments i got was over whelming
thank you again aunty..will be makin dal makahni tonight
Hello manjula ji ,
I am your’s new fan. I want to know how to make dry raw banana recepie.
If u will demonstrate it i will be extreemly happy .
Shraddha
hello aunty….i am also strict vegetarian…but why dont you put onion and garlic in ur recipes…both are healthy and make ur recipe more flavorful …..in biryani, pav bhajji, chola masala its a must thing…i think ur jaini bcz of that
this is just a suggestion otherwiswe ur recipes are very nice.
I think that adding some besan just adds more protein and iron. That seems much healthier to me than the American way of adding corn starch!
If people are concerned about adding besan, arrowroot powder is a great thickener that does not add calories/fat, etc., but it also does not add the extra protein and iron that besan does.
Mnjula Aunty
I tried many of your dishes. Thanks for easy to make dishes. But I am reluctant to add besan in chole. Can we add something else to make the gravy thicker.
Hi Ritu,
At least one time you should try with basen. Basen make the gravy thicker and add very nice flavor to the dish.
Manjula Aunty, have seen many of your you-tube videos and tried 2-3 recipes.All turned out great.I am a very slow cook and I experienced that your recipes are very less time consuming and no onion addition, yet tasty.I suggested your you-tube videos to my sister too.She was also all praise for your calm, composed presentation.
Regarding this recipe, why do we need to add tea decoction? Would be thankful to hear the answer.
Aunty,
Why do you add besan to chic peas and some of your recipies?
Thanks love your recipies you have blessed so many with your cooking.
Hi Meena,
Basen gives thickness and a good texture to the gravy.