Amritsari Chole

Name: Amritsari Chole
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Indian, Punjab
Ingredients: 1 ½ cups Kabuli chana, soaked overnight; 2 Black tea bags; 1 Bay leaf; 2 Onions, finely chopped; 2 Tomatoes, puréed; 1 tbsp Ginger-garlic paste; 2 Green chillies, slit; 1 ½ tsp Salt; 2 tsp Chole masala; 1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder; 1 tsp Amchur; 3 tbsp Ghee; 1 inch Ginger, in thin strips

Dark, tangy Punjabi chickpeas simmered with tea for colour and finished with amchur and ghee. Best with bhature.

Prep 20 min · Cook 50 min · Total 70 min + overnight soak · Serves 4

Ingredients

Chole

1 ½ cups Kabuli chana, soaked overnight
2 Black tea bags
1 Bay leaf
2 Onions, finely chopped
2 Tomatoes, puréed
1 tbsp Ginger-garlic paste
2 Green chillies, slit
1 ½ tsp Salt

Spices and tempering

2 tsp Chole masala
1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
1 tsp Amchur
3 tbsp Ghee
1 inch Ginger, in thin strips

Method

Cook the chana. Pressure-cook the soaked chana with the tea bags, bay leaf, salt and 4 cups of water for 6 whistles. Discard the tea bags and keep the dark liquid.
Make the masala. Fry the onions in 2 tbsp ghee until brown. Add ginger-garlic paste, then the tomatoes, chole masala and chilli. Cook until the ghee separates.
Simmer. Add the chana with its liquid. Simmer 20 minutes, mashing a few chickpeas against the pot to thicken.
Temper and serve. Stir in the amchur. Heat the last spoon of ghee with the ginger strips and green chillies and pour it over. Serve with bhature, sliced onion and lemon.