Chole
Chole Recipe with stovetop & Instant Pot Instructions – Chickpeas cooked in a delicious, flavorful, tangy & spicy gravy. Punjabi Chole Masala served with Bhatura is a favorite among many Indians and is a very popular meal in Dhabas and North Indian restaurants. The combo of Chole Bhatura & Chole chawal (Basmati rice) are simply irresistible & delicious. If you love Indian foods, you will return to this vegan and protein packed dish time and again.
Chole, or chana masala, is a spiced chickpea curry from India. With a base of caramelized onions, spices, and a touch of tomato paste, chole is a transformative way of using up a can of plain ol’ chickpeas. This simplified version uses commonly available ground spices and is a flavorful and economical meal, great all by itself with rice or flatbread or as part of a larger spread of dishes. Chole is naturally vegan and gluten-free and a great dish to add to your meal-prep or batch-cooking plan because it keeps well for a few days in the fridge and can also be frozen.
Blending the spice paste may seem like a tedious step, especially on a weeknight, but it really helps break down the onion, ginger, and garlic and open up the flavor of the spices in a bolder way. If you really can’t stand to do it, simply grate the ginger and garlic with a Microplane before adding it in the recipe so it melts away as it cooks (the onions remain thinly sliced) and skip the blending.
Chole usually gets its characteristic twang from amchur or dried green mango powder, but lime juice steps in as a worthy and more accessible substitute. Serve the chole with extra lime wedges for squeezing over the top. I also like a bowl of thinly sliced raw onions (soaked in iced water for 15 minutes to neutralize its pungency) on the side to scatter over my serving of chole for a bright, fresh crunch.
How to Serve Chole
- My favorite way to eat chole is scooped up in a piece of warm flatbread such as naan or roti, preferably homemade and dripping with ghee or butter.
- Chole is also good with steamed basmati or jasmine rice.
- Spoon chole over split, buttered, and toasted buns (such as Martin’s potato buns) for a vegetarian take on sloppy Joes. Bonus points if you have a spicy cilantro chutney to drizzle over the top.
Main Ingredients in Chole
- Chickpeas are the hero of any good chole or chana masala. Cooking your own from dried is great, but because the sauce is so flavorful good-quality canned chickpeas work quite excellently here. Try to avoid low-sodium or unsalted versions because they won’t be as flavorful.
- Spices are important for a good, well-balanced end result so don’t compromise here! Seek out fresh spices from a reputable source. I like Burlap & Barrel.