chole masala

Firstly, in a pressure cooker take soaked chana. I have soaked 1.5 cups of chana in water for 8-10 hours. Add 2 tea bags, ¼ tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt and 3 cup water. Soda helps to cook chole well. Cover and pressure cook for 5 whistles. If you do not have tea bags, then you can prepare tea decoction and add to cooker. Once the pressure releases, open the cooker and discard the tea bags. Keep aside.

In a large kadai, heat 2 tbsp oil, 1 bay leaf, 1 black cardamom, 2 pod cardamom, 1 inch cinnamon, 1 tsp cumin, ½ tsp kasuri methi. Saute on low flame until the spices turn aromatic.

Now add 1 onion, 1 tsp ginger garlic paste and saute until onions turn golden brown. Add ¼ tsp turmeric, 1 tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, ½ tsp cumin powder, ½ tsp garam masala, 1 tsp amchur and ¼ tsp salt. Saute on low flame until the spices turn aromatic.

Further add 1½ cup tomato puree and saute until the oil separates. to prepare tomato puree, I have blended 2½ ripened tomatoes in blender without adding water. Once the raw smell of tomatoes go away, add boiled chole and mix well. Adjust consistency by adding water if required.

Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, or until chole absorbs all the flavor. Last step is to prepare the tempering, For that heat 1 tbsp ghee in a pan. Add 2 green chillies, ¼ tsp turmeric, ¼ tsp chilli powder and ¼ tsp garam masala. Saute on low flame without burning the spices. Pour the tempering over the chole masala, add 2 tbsp of finely chopped coriander leaves and mix well.