Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Chole / Chickpeas or Garbanzo Beans in a spicy gravy

It has been raining crazily here for the past few days and craving to eat hot and spicy good food in this weather.I just got bored of eating rice everyday. So I decided to make some Chole and Chapathi for dinner one day. The Chole was hot and spicy with the right amount of spices and was very flavorful. It is a great accompaniment to any flat Indian bread. We also used a little bit of Chole sandwiched in between two toasted bread slices and had it for breakfast. It is just yummm...



Ingredients:
Garbanzo beans - 11/2 cup (Raw)
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp
Onion - 1/4 cup finely chopped
Tomatoes - 1/4 cup finely chopped
Garlic - 1 clove- finely minced
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Cilantro - A few sprigs
Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp
Butter - 2 tbsp
Salt - To taste

Method:

  • Soak the raw garbanzo beans overnight and pressure cook them for upto 3 whistles and set it aside.
  • In a pan heat the butter. 
  • After the butter has melted add the cumin seeds and the fennel seeds. 
  • Once they start sizzling add the onions and garlic. 
  • When the onions get translucent, add the tomatoes and saute them well.
  • Now add all the dry spices- cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, red chili powder and salt.
  • Once the melted butter starts to leave from the sides, add the cooked garbanzo beans and cover and cook on low heat for 15-20 minutes. Keep stirring in between to ensure that it does not burn at the bottom.
  • When the Chole is cooked, remove from heat and after about 5-10 minutes add the lemon juice and mix well.
  • Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with Roti or Rice.Enjoy!!

Notes:
  1. If you are using canned garbanzo beans, strain all the can liquid and wash it under cold running water and then use it. Else the preservative taste will affect the taste of the Chole.
  2. Do not add the lemon juice when the Chole is still over flame. Add it after removing from flame.
P.S: Since I had some problems with my camera, I could not click good step-by step pictures of the Chole. Will post it as soon as possible.Thanks for your understanding.