Chhole Masala

1. Rinse and soak the chhole (chickpeas) in enough water overnight. Take a bowl of bog size for this purpose and add sufficient amount of water as the chole increase in size after soaking. Rinse the soaked chickpeas.
2. In a pressure cooker, add the chole along with salt, 3 to 4 dried amla pieces and water (atleast 2.5 times the amount of chhole). The dried amla gives a dark color to the chhole and also add a faint sourness to the stock. In case you don’t have dried amla, you can add 1black tea bag in its place .
3. Pressure cook the chhole for 15 to 20 whistles. The chhole should be cooked well and softened(easily mashable with a spoon). The chhole should be of a dark brown shade now. Remove the amla pieces or the tea bag from the stock.
4. Heat oil in a pan or kadai. Add ginger-garlic paste and sauté till their raw aroma goes away.
5. Add the chopped onions and sauté till they turn translucent or light brown.
6. Add the tomatoes and slit green chillis & saute them till the tomatoes soften and the oil starts to leave the sides of the masala.
7. Now add the chana masala, along with the red chili powder & half the garam masala powder (optional). Stir well for 3-4 mins.
8. Add this tomato onion masala to the boiled chickpeas in the cooker and stir well.
9. Cover the chhole and simmer on a low to medium flame. The gravy will thicken and reduce. Mash a few chhole to help thicken the gravy. Simmer till you get desired the consistency. The consistency should be medium to dry.
10. Add amchur powder (dry mango powder) now and stir.
11. Garnish with remaining garam masala powder, coriander leaves and ginger julienne.
12. Serve the hot with kulchas, bhaturas, pooris, parathas or rice, along with sliced onions, tomatoes and lemon.

Tips:

1. You can add a pinch of baking soda while soaking them to help them soften better.

2. You can also add small pieces of potatoes while boiling the chickpeas which can be mashed later once the chickpeas are boiled. This helps in making a thicker gravy and enhances the taste.