I struggle to pick my favorites, but I’m confident that this chole or chana masala is in the top 5, which says a lot. Tender chickpeas sit in this deep, flavorful, and spicy gravy. It’s comforting, wholesome, and SO delicious.
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Chole has always been an incredibly comforting presence in my life. My mind wanders to the potlucks my mom and her friends would organize on sunny days at the park. I’m sure I’ve tried chole made by each and every one of her friends and everyone’s chole is great, but I’ve always loved my mom’s chole the most. And I’m sure most children would say the same about their mom’s chole. So this recipe is one of her many versions of this Punjabi dish featuring tender chickpeas loaded with all the warm and rich flavors from black tea, whole spices, and aromatics.
How to make chana masala
There are basically three steps in this recipe: pressure cooking the dry chickpeas, making the flavorful base, and adding the flavor base to the chickpeas to finish the cooking. It sounds like it takes time, but a lot of that time just involves letting the cooking happen while you stand around (or make naan or some toppings for samosa chaat – a valuable use of time, I must say).
Cook dry chickpeas. You can also use canned chickpeas, but the cooked chickpeas are better. Keep in mind that if you are using canned chickpeas, your timing might not be the same as the recipe I’ve listed here.
Black tea! It contributes to the rich color that you see. You have a few options on how you’d like to do it…
with 2 tbsp of loose leaf black tea tied in a muslin cloth when you cook the chickpeas
with 2 black tea bags when you cook the chickpeas
or if you’re using canned chickpeas, 2 tbsp loose tea simmered in boiling water, strained, and added to the chole.
Chole – Chana Masala
Ingredients
- 2 cups dry chickpeas
- 2 black tea bags
- 1 black cardamom
- 2 green cardamoms
- 3 cloves
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp avocado oil or another neutral oil
- 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- ½ red onion, chopped
- 1.5 cups tomato puree (made by processing ~ 3 tomatoes)
- salt to taste
- 1 tbsp roasted cumin powder
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp garam masala
- ½ tsp red chili powder
- 1 tsp kashmiri chili powder (sub ½ tsp red chili powder)
- 1 tbsp amchur (dried mango powder)
- ½ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Soak 2 cups of dry chickpeas overnight or 8+ hours with plenty of water.
- Drain the chickpeas and add to a pressure cooker with 3 cups water (or as much water as it takes to be 1-inch above the chickpeas), the black tea bags. whole spices, and salt. See notes for an alternative.
- Pressure cook the chickpeas on medium-high. After the first whistle goes off, reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking for 10 minutes before taking it off the heat.
- For the flavor base, add 2 tbsp avocado oil to a medium saucepan. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry for 2 minutes. Then add onion and let it cook for 4-5 minutes. Add tomato puree made from 3 tomatoes (~ 1.5 cups of paste) and salt. Cook on medium-high until juices have mostly evaporated. This should take about 7-8 minutes.
- Now add all the ground spices. Cook with the tomatoes for 3-4 minutes. Add the pressure cooked chickpeas!
- Stir well, add more water if needed for your desired texture, and bring it to a boil. Once it is boiling, simmer uncovered on medium for 20 minutes.
Notes
For other versions and uses of chole/chana masala, check out…
Chana Masala Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
So happy you liked it despite not having some of the spices! That local made chutney sounds amazing 🙂
This was very delicious and easy to make! I couldn’t find a couple of the spices but it was still good! We paired it with some naan, rice and a good local made chutney!