Chana Masala, from “Off the Menu: Asian American”

This recipe is not traditional in the sense of specific amounts of each ingredient.

Ingredients

• Chick peas (chole)
• dried amla (indian gooseberries) or a black tea bag
• whole spices used for the chole masala (theses can include Coriander, Dry Mango, Pomegranate Seeds, Chili, Cumin, Musk Melon, Salt, Black Pepper, Fenugreek Leaves, Cloves, Mint, Nutmeg, Dry Ginger, Cinnamon, Bay Leaf, Cardamom Ammomum Seeds, Caraway and Mace)
• cooking oil
• ginger-garlic paste
• chopped onions
• chopped tomatoes
• tumeric
• green chilies

Preparation

1. Wash and soak the chole (chickpeas) in enough water overnight. Add enough amount of water as the chickpeas increase in size after soaking it. Rinse the soaked chickpeas in water.
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. You can also just cook the chickpeas with salt and water.
3. In a pressure cooker add the chole along with the 2 to 3 dried amla pieces or a tea bag. Taj tea bags work very well. Then pour water.
4. Season with salt. Stir very well.
5. Pressure cook the chana for 18 to 20 whistles. The chana should be cooked well and 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. If you do not have a pressure cooker, then cook the chickpeas in a pot with plenty of water.
6. Meanwhile, in a pan, take all the whole spices for the chole masala and on a low heat begin to roast them.
7. Stir often and roast the spices till they get extra browned. 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.
8. Let the roasted spices cool and then grind them finely in a coffee grinder or in a dry grinder.
9. By now the chana is cooked. You will see a darker brown shade in the safed (white chana) or chickpeas. Remove the amla pieces which would have softened by now or the tea bag from the stock.
10. Heat oil in a pan or kadai. Add ginger-garlic paste and saute till their raw aroma goes away.
11. Then add chopped onions and saute till the onions turn translucent or light brown.
12. Add finely chopped tomatoes.
13. Saute the tomatoes till they soften and the oil starts to leave the sides of the masala.
14. Then add the powdered spices that we made, along with red chili powder & turmeric powder.
15. Stir well. Then add slit green chilies to the onion-ginger-tomato mixture.
16. Add the cooked & drained chole. Reserve the stock.
17. Season with salt. Stir. Keep the addition of salt in check as salt is also there in the stock.
18. Add about 1 to 1 1/4 cups of the reserved stock or water. Stir well.
19. Cover the chole masala. 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. You can keep the consistency you prefer.
20. In case, you have not added dry pomegranate seeds while roasting the spices, then you need to add amchur powder (dry mango powder) now. About 1 tsp amchur powder is enough. However, you can add less or more of it as per your taste. Stir very well.
21. The chana masala ready to be served.

Garnish punjabi chole asala with chopped onions and coriander leaves. Serve the punjabi chole with kulcha, bhaturas, aloo bhatura, poori, naan, along with sliced onions and lime. Chole also tastes good with plain rice or jeera rice.