Amritsari Chole

Ingredients

For chole

• 1 cup chole (chickpeas)

• 1" pc ginger, peeled and chopped

• 3 garlic cloves, minced

• bouquet garni (1 cinnamon stick, 1 bay leaf, 2 dry red chillies, 1 black cardamom, 4 cloves, 4 black peppercorns, 1 tsp tea leaves)

• salt to taste

• 6 cups water

 

For chole masala

• 1 tbsp coriander seeds

• 1 tsp cumin seeds

• 2 black cardamoms

• 4 black peppercorns

• salt to taste

• 2 dry red chillies

• 1/4 tsp asafoetida

• 1 tsp degi red chilli powder

• 1 tsp dry mango powder

• 1/2 tsp carom seeds

 

For Amritsari Chole

• 2 tbsp oil

• 1 tsp cumin seeds

• ginger-garlic paste (recipe below)

• 1 onion, finely chopped

• chole masala (recipe below)

• 1/2 cup tomato puree

• cooked chole(prepared earlier) with chole water

• 1 tsp ghee

• 4 chole (cooked chickpeas), mashed

• fresh coriander leaves, chopped

• salt to taste

 

For tempering

• 1 tbsp oil

• 2 green chillies

• ginger julienne

• degi red chilli powder

 

Method

For chole

In a pressure cooker, add chole, ginger, garlic cloves, bouquet garni, and salt to taste. Add water, approximately double the quantity of chole.

Cook it for 3-4 whistles and then keep it aside for further use.

For chole masala

In a pan, add coriander seeds, cumin seeds, black cardamoms, black peppercorns, salt to taste, and dry red chillies. Dry roast everything well.

Add asafoetida, degi red chili powder, dry mango powder, and carom seeds. Roast it for a minute. Transfer the roasted spices to a grinder jar and grind them into a fine powder. Keep it aside for further use.

 

For Amritsari Chole

In a cast iron kadai or handi,
heat oil. Once it's hot, add cumin seeds, ginger- garlic paste, and chopped onion. Sauté until golden brown in colour.

Add chole masala and cook for a minute, then add tomato puree.
Cook until it gets dark brown in colour. Add cooked cholewith
chole water and simmer it for 5-7 minutes. Add some more chole masala, ghee, and mashed chole.
Mix well.

To finish the chole, add fresh coriander leaves and salt to taste.
Mix well.

In a tempering utensil, add oil,
green chillies, ginger, degi chilli powder and temper. Add this to
the chole and serve hot.

 

For bouquet garni

Take a piece of muslin cloth and add cinnamon stick, bay leaf, dry red chilies, black cardamom, cloves, black peppercorns, and tea leaves.

Tie it into a potli (a small bundle) using the cloth. Keep it aside for further use.

 

For ginger-garlic paste

In a mortar and pestle, add ginger, garlic, green chillies, and salt to
taste. Crush them together to make
a coarse paste. Keep it aside for further use.