Chhole Masala (Chickpea Masala)

July 25, 2022

2 hour

medium

4

Chhole Masala, also known as Chickpea Masala or Chana Masala, is a flavourful satisfactory cuisine for lunch and dinner. Its perfect for a family to celebrate any occasion.

This is where it all started. My first ever recipe that I learned by heart. Its tadka ingredients have ever since became a staple for most of my dishes. Even though its not the first thing I ever cooked but its the first dish of my hobby chef journey.

Chhole masala is best eaten with Puri, which is a type of small chapati fried in oil. It is not light in any way, and hence its only used on the special occasions.

Pros and Cons

Pros :-

It’s a fulfilling meal.
Well balanced when eaten with Dahi or Raita and salad.
It goes well with everything and hence can be eaten with all types of bread and rice.
It is always a good choice for special occasions.
Can be prepared in both thick or thin gravies and still tastes delicious.
Easy to make but rare to go wrong.
It’s delicious.

Cons :-

Chickpea takes up to 12 hours to soak in all the water.
It’s easy to overeat.

Recipe

I hope you like the recipe. Please share your thoughts down below.

Ingredients

Adjust Servings

	1 bowl Chhole (Chickpea)
	1 piece Black Cardamom
	1 stick Cinnamon
	1/2 tsp Salt
	1 cup Water

Tadka + Gravy

	3 tbsp Oil (Refined, Musturd, or Olive, according to your taste)
	½ tsp Cumin
	1 piece Black Cardamom
	4 pieces Green Cardamom
	8-10 pieces Black Pepper
	1 piece Bay Leaf
	1 Onion (Medium Sized)
	1 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
	6 Tomatoes
	1 tsp Chhole/Chana masala powder
	Salt (According to taste)
	½ tsp Red Chili powder
	1 tsp Kashmiri mirch powder
	½ tsp Turmeric powder
	2 tsp Coriender powder
	½ tsp Garam Masala
	Coriander
	1 tbsp Tamarind and Date chutney

Directions

1.

A night before

Take a container. Add a bowl of chickpea and fill it with water until chickpeas are completely sunk 3-4 inches below water surface.

Leave it over night. They will soak all the water by morning and increase in size.

Mark as complete

2.

Chickpea boil

Add all the chickpea preparation ingredients in a pressure cooker and fill it with water until chickpeas are completely under. Close the lid and let it boil on a stove on medium flame

About half an hour later open up the pressure cooker to check the consistency. If chickpeas are completely softened, then they are ready, if not then boil for another 5 mins. Collect the prepared chickpeas in a bowl with the water.

Mark as complete

3.

Gravy

Turn on the gas stove on medium flame and pour 3 tbsp oil and let it heat up. Add Cumin, Black Cardamom, Green Cardamom, Black Pepper and Bay Leaf and stir until they are half cooked. Add finely chopped onion. Cook a little and add ginger garlic paste. Once they are all half cooked, add paste of 6 tomatoes finely blended. Add salt, turmeric, red chili, kashmiri mirch and coriander powder and mix it well. Let it cook for 10 mins or until the oil separates from tomatoes. Mix the chickpea we boiled earlier and stir it well. Add Chhole/Chana masala (If you dont have chhole masala then you can also use Anardana ¼ + Garam Masala ¾ tsp )

Stir it well. Let the mixture cook with lid closed for at least 10 mins on medium flame or 15 mins on slow flame. Add water as required for the desired consistency of the gravy. Once it is ready, Garnish it with chopped coriander leaves and 1 tbsp Tamarind and Date chutney. Serve hot

Mark as complete