WHITE CHOLE/CHICKPEAS

Course: Sauce based Veg – Mains

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Total time: 1 hour

Serves: 4 to 6 

Ingredients:

To pressure cook:

• 1 and ½  cups of raw chickpeas
• 1 tsp rock salt
• 1 tbsp ghee or any oil of your choice
• Water 3.5 cup water

Masala or tadka:

• 2 tbsp ghee or any oil of your choice
• ½ sp hing powder
• 1 tsp of jeera (cumin seeds)
• ½ tsp of mustard seeds
• 2 cloves
• 2 brown cardamom
• 1 tbsp of dry fenugreek leaves (methi)
• 1 medium onion, 1”ginger and 3 cloves of garlic, chopped in food processor or cut into tiny pieces
• ¾ tsp of turmeric powder
• 1 tsp of coriander powder
• 250 g chopped tomato 3 medium size fresh tomatoes chopped in food processor
• 1 tsp tomato puree
• ½ an inch of unwaxed lemon rind, nicely grated
• 1 green chili, chopped or cut into tiny pieces ( optional)
• ½ tsp of red chili flakes (optional)
• 1 tbsp of lemon juice
• ½ tsp of garam masala
• Few strings of coriander, cut coarsely

Method:

1. Place chole in a large pot and rinse 3 times. Add  enough water, cover it and leave it overnight to soak.
2. In the morning, drain the water in which chickpeas were soaked. Transfer these to a pressure cooker and add fresh water, salt and ghee.
3. Keep the pressure cooker  on high-medium heat for at least 4 whistles. Let the pressure release naturally. At this point  chickpeas should have been completely cooked. You should be able to mash these with your fingers.

Tadka/masala:

1. To make tadka, add ghee or oil in a medium size pan. As soon as it becomes a little hot, add cumin and mustard seeds and hing powder. As soon as it starts bubbling, add cloves, cardamom, fenugreek leaves and stir for one minute and add onion mixture. Let it cook for 5 to 6 minutes or until it has turned into light pink. Add chopped tomato, tomato puree, lemon rind, green chili and chili flakes and mix these nicely.
2. At this point reduce the heat to low and cover the pan so that the tomatoes are combined properly and it turns into a smooth paste. Leave this covered for another 7 to 8 minutes. This paste should be stirred occasionally so that it does not get burned.
3. Add the masala to the chole. By this time chole should have been completely soft. If the curry seems watery, some of the chickpeas should be taken out, mashed and added again. This will make the curry thicker.
4. After adding the masala, the curry should be kept on the heat for another 10 to 15 minutes to simmer.
5. More salt can be added as per the taste.
6. Add garam masala and garnish with coriander leaves.

Special Notes:

1. Serve with  plain rice, jeera rice or chapatis and enjoy.
2. Oil can be used to make the recipe vegan.
3. This dish is one of the favorite dishes of children