To get an authentic taste in the punjabi chole masala, i use dried amla (dried indian gooseberry) and dry pomegranate seeds. The dried amla gives a dark color to the chole, along with a light tang. The pomegranate seeds give a sour taste. Now i know that these two ingredients are not easily available everywhere in india as well as in the world. So as a substitute, when i did not get these, two ingredients, i would add dry mango powder (amchur powder) towards the end. In the absence of amchur powder, you can also squeeze some lime juice towards the end.

If you are not fussy about the dark color, then just plainly cook the chickpeas in water with some salt. A pinch of baking soda added while cooking, makes the chickpeas light and soft. I usually do not add baking soda. What contributes to the flavors and aroma of the chole is the freshly ground chole masala. The spices are roasted till they get extra browned and are later ground. This chole masala is then blended with sauted onion-ginger-tomato mixture. This makes the chole more flavorsome.

There are many variations of making chole like:

• methi chole
• palak chole
• chole with coconut
• amritsari chole

Recipe Type Veg.

INGREDIENTS (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)

1. rinse and soak the chole (chickpeas) in enough water overnight. add enough amount of water as the chole increase in size after soaking it. rinse the soaked chickpeas.
2. to give a dark color to the chana, traditionally dried amla (indian gooseberries) are added. these also give a faint sourness to the stock. if you do not have dried amla, then add 1 black tea bag.
3. in a pressure cooker add the chole along with the 3 to 4 dried amla pieces or a tea bag. taj tea bags work very well. then add water
4. season with salt and pressure cook the chana for 18 to 20 whistles. the chana should be cooked well an softened. the chole should be soft when you mash it with a spoon. the chana should not give you a bite when you eat it.
5. In a pan, take all the whole spices for the chole masala mentioned above and on a low heat begin to roast them.
6. stir often and roast the spices till they get extra browned. don't burn them. you have to go beyond a point roasting them even after they become fragrant and they get more browned than what is the norm usually.
7. let theses roasted spices cool and then grind them finely in a coffee grinder or in a dry grinder.
8. by now the chana will be cooked. you will see a darker brown shade in the safed (white chana). remove the amla pieces which would have softened by now or the tea bag from the stock.
9. heat oil in a pan or kadai.add ginger-garlic paste and saute till their raw aroma goes away.
10. then add chopped onions and saute till the onions turn translucent or light brown.
11. add tomatoes & saute them till they soften and the oil starts to leave the sides of the masala.
12. then add the powdered chole masala that we ground, along with the red chili powder, turmeric powder & garam masala powder (optional).
13. stir the dry masala and then add slit green chilies
14. add the cooked chole. stir well.
15. add salt. then add about 1 to 1.25 cups of the stock in which the chana was boiled. you can also water instead.
16. stir and cover the chana.
17. simmer on a low to medium flame. you can also cook without the lid. the gravy will thicken and reduce. mash a few chana. this will help thicken the gravy. simmer till you get the consistency you prefer. the consistency is not thin, but medium consistency or dry.
18. in case, you have not added dry pomegranate seeds while roasting the spices, then you need to add amchur powder (dry mango powder) now. stir.
19. garnish chole masala with coriander leaves & ginger julienne.
20. serve the punjabi chole with kulchas, bhaturas, pooris, rotis, along with sliced onions, tomatoes and lime. chole also tastes good with steamed rice or jeera rice.