Amritsari Chole With Chole Masala, Homemade Recipe In Punjabi Style

Amritsari Chole

Recipe Yield: 4 servings

Overall Chole Cooking Time: 45 minutes

Hello friends! Today we're going to share the recipe for Punjabi-style Amritsari Chole in the Daily Food Kitchen. In this recipe, we'll be using chickpeas, which are a good source of protein, iron, fiber, and vitamins. Additionally, we'll also share the method for making homemade unique chole masala.

So if you're a fan of Punjabi cuisine, gather the ingredients listed below and let's start making it together.

Ingredients for chole masala:

• 2 tablespoons cumin seeds
• 3 tablespoons coriander seeds
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 5 cloves
• 4 bay leaves
• 2-inch cinnamon stick
• 1 star anise (chakri flower)
• 3 black cardamoms
• 4 green cardamoms
• 1 javitri flower
• 4-5 dry red chilies
• 3 tablespoons dry pomegranate seeds
• 1 tablespoon kasuri methi
• 1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon dry mango powder
• 2 teaspoons black salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon yellow chili powder

Ingredients for Amritsari Chhole:

• 2 cups chickpeas
• 1 tablespoon dry amla
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons oil
• 1 teaspoon carom seeds
• 4 onions, chopped
• 3 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste
• 3 chopped green chilies
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 teaspoons red chili powder
• 1 tablespoon coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 4 tomatoes, pureed
• Salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon kasuri methi powder
• 2 green chilies
• 1-inch ginger, cut into long slices
• 2 tablespoons pure ghee
• Fresh coriander leaves for garnish

Washing and Soaking:

• Wash 2 cups of chickpeas thoroughly, then discard the water.
• Soak them with 1 tablespoon of dry amla for at least 8 hours or overnight in sufficient water.
• After 8 hours, you will notice that they have doubled in size and also appear slightly darker in color due to the dry amla.

Make masala potli:

• Take a muslin cloth, put spices such as 2 tablespoons of tea leaves, 1 teaspoon of carom, 2 black cardamoms, 2 cardamoms, 2 green cardamoms, 4 cloves, 4-5 black peppers, 1-inch cinnamon stick, 2 bay leaves, and 4-5 crushed garlic cloves.
• Now tie a knot in the form of a ball.

Boiling Chickpeas in Pressure Cooker:

• Now transfer the soaked chickpeas into the cooker.
• Then add additional water one inch above the surface of the chickpeas.
• Now put the prepared masala ball over the chickpeas.
• Then add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.
• Now cover the lid of the pressure cooker to boil chickpeas.
• Wait for the first whistle over a high flame.
• Then cook the chickpeas over a medium flame so that they will not be overcooked.

Sieving:

• Before sieving, take out the masala potli.
• Don't discard the water because we will use this water later in cooking.
• Now we have separated boiled chickpeas and water.
• Set them aside.

Homemade chole masala:

If you also prefer making homemade spices instead of using store-bought spice mixes, you can easily make homemade chole masala by following the instructions given below.

Heating Pan

• Heat a pan over a high flame.
• Once it becomes hot, turn the burner from high to low.

Adding Spices

• Now add 2 tablespoons of cumin seeds, 3 tablespoons of coriander seeds, one tablespoon of black pepper, 5 cloves, 4 bay leaves, 2-inch cinnamon stick, one star anise (chakri fool), 3 black cardamoms, 4 green cardamoms, one javitri flower, 4-5 dry red chilies, and 3 tablespoons of dry pomegranate seeds.

Roasting Spices

• Now, roast these spices over a low flame until they release their aroma and slightly change in color.

Adding Extra Flavour

• Now, add one tablespoon of kasuri methi, 1/4 teaspoon of fenugreek seeds, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt, one tablespoon of dry mango powder.
• Finally, add 2 teaspoons of black salt, 1/2 teaspoon of Kashmiri red chili powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of yellow chili powder.

Grinding Chole Masala

• Before grinding them, let them cool down.
• Now transfer these spices into the mixture grinder, convert them into a fine powder.
• Now our chole masala is ready.

Storing Chole Masala

• You can store this chole or chana masala for 2 months easily in a refrigerator.

Coating Chole with Masala:

• Before jumping into the sauté process, add 3 tablespoons of prepared dry chole masala into the boiled chickpeas.
• Mix well.
• Set them aside.

Sauté Process:

• If you want to give an extra dark brown color to your chickpeas, you can use an iron kadai for the sauté process. However, here, we are going to use our usual utensil.

Spluttering Carom Seeds

• Heat 4 tablespoons of oil, then add carom seeds to splutter.

Adding Onion and Ginger-Garlic Paste

• Then add 4 chopped onions and stir continuously until the onions become light golden brown.
• Then add 3 tablespoons of ginger-garlic paste and 3 chopped green chilies.
• Stir continuously for 2 to 3 minutes.

Adding Spices

• Now add 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder, 2 teaspoons of red chili powder, 1 tablespoon of coriander powder, 1 teaspoon of cumin powder, and 1 tablespoon of prepared dry homemade chole masala.
• Mix well and cook for 3 to 4 minutes to infuse spices.

Adding Tomato Puree

• Now add tomato puree of 4 tomatoes, salt to taste.
• Stir continuously until the oil is separated from the masala.
• It may take 6-7 minutes.

Achieving Desired consistency

• Now add 2 ladles of boiled chickpeas and 1/2 cup of water (left after boiling chickpeas), mash them thoroughly to make a thick gravy.
• Now, add the remaining chickpeas.
• Stir continuously without adding water for 2 minutes.
• Then add the remaining water to achieve your desired consistency.

Giving Extra Flavour

• Then add 1 teaspoon of kasuri methi powder, 2 green chilies, and one-inch ginger cut into long slices.

Chole Tadka:

• Heat the frying pan, then add 2 tablespoons of pure ghee then 1 teaspoon of homemade chole masala, let it simmer for a few seconds completely.
• Then add this pure ghee tadka over your chickpeas.

Garnishing Chole:

• Garnish your Amritsari Chole with fresh coriander leaves.

Serve this chickpea dish with naan or bhature.

Time taken in different activity:

Activity	Time
Making Chole Masala	Around 25 minutes
Making Amritsari Chole	Around 50 minutes
Total Time	Around 1 hour 15 minutes