Chole Masala

First of all, my sincere apologies for not catching up with any of your posts! Last weekend had been quite hectic because V had suddenly planned for a weekend trip to Venice and till the very moment I took the train, I was on my toes! And needless to say the after-math of the trip!! House full of clothes to be washed, shopping bags, clutters.. Yeah yeah! I partially attribute my absence to my laziness too ;)

I'd be back to my routine of blogging from tomorrow and this quick post is just to remind you (in case you've forgotten) that this poor soul still exists! :D And the most important part, I have not yet updated the recent awards my buddies have shared with me. So one more Sorry for that too! I'll post it soon dearies! :)

This easy Chole goes well with Bature (recipe will follow soon) or as a quick chat by itself. You can also use this for Chole tikki. I adapted this recipe from Manjula's Kitchen and tweaked it to my taste. I am sure most of us would have enjoyed her simple, yet delicious recipes. She makes even the complex of recipes in a simple way!

Chole MasalaChickpeas cooked in spicy gravy

What we need:
Kabuli Channa / Chick peas - 2 cups
Tomato puree - 1 cup
Chilli powder - 1 tbsp.
Cumin Powder - 1 tbsp.
Asafoetida - a pinch
Besan / Gram flour - 1 tbsp.
Garam masala - 1 tsp.
Ginger- Garlic paste - 1 tbsp.
Amchur /Dry Mango powder - 1 tsp.
Chat Masala - 1 tsp. Optional
Cumin (Jeera) - 1 tsp.
Oil - 2 tbsp.
Salt - according to taste
Water - as needed
Chopped Onions and Coriander - for garnishing

How to do:
1. Wash and soak the chick peas overnight or for 5 to 6 hours. Change the water and pressure cook the chick peas till soft. Drain and reserve the water.
2. Heat oil and add cumin and asafoetida. When they sizzle, add the ginger-garlic paste.
3. When they are done, add besan. Fry till the flour starts to turn brown.
4. Add the tomato puree, chilli powder, cumin powder, salt and stir well.
5. When oil starts to separate from the gravy, add the cooked channa and mix.
6. Now add the reserved water (in which channa was cooked) and mix.
7. When the gravy comes to a boil, sprinkle the garam masala, amchur powder, stir and remove.

Garnish with chopped onions, coriander and serve.
Notes:
1. Sprinkle some chat masala and dash of lemon juice to serve as a lip-smacking starter.
2. We can omit the garlic part on festive days or for the non-garlic eaters!
3. To serve as gravy, add one more cup of water and increase the besan accordingly.
4. To obtain a dark color for the channa, cook it along with a tea bag and discard the bag after cooking.
Happy cooking and happy blogging!

50 comments:

Priya Suresh said...

Can have this masala anytime with anything, my fav!

Sushma Mallya said...

lovely presentation,i love chole with puri anytime..my fav...

Raks said...

Its long time since i had chole and bhatura....Looks mouthwatering and could see ur love ...;D

Sreelekha Sumesh said...

Wow..nice presentation dear..Looks lovely.

Kanchan said...

Yay !! you are back :)
Never used Besan in chole Masala ... sure add in next time :)

chef and her kitchen said...

So much of love in your chole dear..looks yummy.I love this..

Srikitchen said...

looks really delicious and yum!

Suparna said...

looks all spiced up chole masala, yummy recipe :)
TC

Vidya Rao said...

Super simple and mouth watering!

Pari Vasisht said...

Your love for chana is pouring out of the heart...

Sarah Naveen said...

Nice presentation and simply yummy!!!

Tina said...

Nice presentation...

Sanjana said...

Aww, so cute and yummy-lookin'! *I'm talking about the chole* - hehe! Hope you had an awesome time in Venice! Such a beautiful place I've only ever seen on the TV but dream of visiting someday!
You can chill out now you're back though? But only if the laundry is done ;) Hehe great recipe here :D

Anupama said...

Rohini, hope you had a wonderful weekend in Venice. Although I've not been there myself, I plan to visit sometime soon :-).

The chole looks perfect. I bet it will go well with bread as well :-). Great post!

Ambika said...

Wow, nice presentation Rohini!! I could also eat this any time of the day..

Unknown said...

how beautifully presented...wonderful..

Preeti Kashyap said...

Wow...awesome presentation Rohini...and it does look yum! Great you got a chance to go to Venice. I have been wanting to go there for so long, but we end up going else where every time. Put up some pics, wld love to see it.

lata raja said...

Glad you had a great weekend in venice Rohini. The chole is cutely done.

Namitha said...

Simple and delectable...nice presentation too :-)

chakhlere said...

Chole looks really yummy!
This one of my favorite dish.

That heart looks great.

prasu said...

Nice click dear.looks yummy.

pria said...

nice presentation :)

Raje said...

Lovely presentation Rohini and a yummy recipe for chole!

Ann said...

All time fav curry..love to have this with roti :)

Unknown said...

chole looks awesome..Nice presentation dear..great combo with batura..Loved it.:)

Dori said...

How cute! But most important, tasty :)

Vrinda said...

All time fav,looks delish ,lov Manjula's recipes...

Saraswathy Balakrishnan said...

Very tasty chole ma

Ash said...

I love chole.... but my only repentance being my tummy, which gets worse with gastric.... If not I just love all the pulses...

Ash....

(http://asha-oceanichope.blogspot.com/)

Padhu Sankar said...

Chole looks yummy! Rohini

my kitchen said...

What a coincidence,today i prepared the same.I love this chole

Shobana senthilkumar said...

Luks yum rohini:)

Chitra said...

Looks very nice,drooling :)

Mythreyi Dilip said...

Chole masala my all time favorite for bhaturas and pooris.
Well presented Rohini, nice click!!!

Vidhya said...

First time here Rohini... You have a wonderful blog with lots of yummy recipes. Chole masala looks really good and nice click.. will be visiting very often... check out mine if you get a chance...http://iyercooks.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

Looks lovely, nice one.

Malar Gandhi said...

Heei, thats a lovely decor, my dear. nice presntation, who wouldnt love it, right:)

Shanthi Krishnakumar said...

Sorry, friend, I could not thank you due to my illhealth. Thank you for passing on the award and remembering me.

Sandhya Hariharan said...

Well presented gal....

Ur pics are jsut awesome.. luks like u guys had a good time in Venice.....

Latha said...

Lovely presentation....a
great combo with poori or batura.

Dhanya Ganesh said...

Chole masala cooked with luv looks delicious. Hope u have a wonderful trip to Venice:).

Unknown said...

i hav tried her recipe(without any change though)..didnt work out that time..urs look wonderful

Preety said...

that's a gr8 presentation

Priya dharshini said...

Welcome bac with chole...luks yummy..

Nandinis food said...

Wow! Lovely masala! Looks delicious and appetizing! Wonderful presentation!

Swarna said...

lovely presentation. I am become a follower and I will visit your blog regularily. I like your blog. Pls do visit my blog
http://kovaihotkitchen.blogspot.com

kitchen queen said...

Yummy chole will go with chappathis as well as pooris.

cookeaze said...

Wonderful presentation and it is one of my all time favourite dish.But never tried in adding besan to masala and want to try and taste it out on next time.

s said...

yum dish ..cute presentation

Unknown said...

What a presentation!? Chana masals is my fav, looks so delicious!