PUNJABI CHOLE MASALA

PUNJABI CHOLE MASALA 😊
By : Deepa Sujesh
INGREDIENTS :-

To dry roast and grind into powder :

Bay leaves – 2
Black cardamom – 2
Cloves – 4-5
Cinnamon stick – ¼ inch piece
Black peppercorns – ½ teaspoon
Dried red chillies - 2 no
Cumin seeds - 1tsp

To grind into paste :

Onion – 1 medium or 1 cup roughly chopped
Tomato – 2 small or 1 cup roughly chopped
Green chili – 1
Ginger – ½ inch piece, chopped
Garlic – 2 cloves, sliced

For curry :

Dry chickpeas or kabuli chana or chole – 1 cup (soaked)
Oil – 2-3 tablespoons
Cumin seeds – ½ teaspoon
Salt – to taste
Red chili powder – 2 teaspoons
Coriander powder – 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder – ¼ teaspoon
Anardana powder (dried pomegranate seeds powder) – 1 teaspoon
Water – 2 ¼ cups
Amchur powder (dried mango powder) – ½ teaspoon
Cilantro or coriander leaves – 2 tablespoons, finely chopped

METHOD :-

First we will make dry spice powder.Dry roast them on low-medium heat for 2 minutes. You will get nice aroma of spices.
Once cooled,make fine powder out of it. Keep it aside.
Now chop onion, tomato, ginger, garlic and green chili.Make smooth paste.
Heat the oil in a pressure cooker on medium heat. Once hot add cumin seeds. Let them sizzle a bit.
Then add prepared onion-tomato puree. Sprinkle some salt.
Let it cook. It will splutter a lot. you can partially cover it. It avoids some mess around the stove.
Cook till oil starts to leave. and moisture is evaporated.
Then add red chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, anardana powder and prepared spice powder.
Mix well and cook till oil starts to ooze out.Add chana.Mix well.
Add 2 ¼ cups of water. Cover the pressure cooker with lid. Put the weight on. Let it cook for 20-25 minutes on medium heat. During cooking time, it will keep whistling.
Then turn off the stove, let the pressure go down by itself.
Stir with spatula. Check the chana. it should be cooked and soft, not mushy. Adjust the salt or chili powder as per your liking. Also check the gravy consistency. If gravy is thin and watery, then let it simmer for few minutes. If it gravy is too thick. add some more water and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Mine was perfect for me. So I have not added any extra water.
Punjabi chole is ready to serve.