BHATURE CHOLE

 

Bored of cooking simple chole with the same old basic masalas along with channa masala… today I tried the bhature chole… my sister shared her recipe with me and it turned out tasty.  To get that deep blackish brown colour, I cooked my chole in a iron kadai and left it for a couple of hours…

INGREDIENTS

Chole (Kabuli Channa)	250 grams
Tea Powder	2 bags or 1/2 tbsp
Dried Amla	4 pieces
Black Salt	2 tsp
Rock or iodised salt	To taste
Ghee	2 tbsp
Oil	2 tbsp
Ginger	1 tsp paste and some Juliennes
Onion	2 big 1 finely chopped and 1 sliced
Tomato	1 big finely chopped
Ananrdana Powder	2 tsp
Fresh Coriander	3-4 tbsp finely chopped
Soak
Magaj ke beej or watermelon seed	2 tsp (powdered)
Coconut	1 tbsp (packed)
Turmeric Powder	1 tsp
Red Chilli Powder	2 tsp
Coriander Powder	2 tsp
Amchur / Dry Mango Powder	1/2 tsp
Kasuri Methi	2 tsp
Jeera / Cumin Powder	1 tsp
Roast & Grind (Khada masala)
Cinnamon	1” stick
Black Pepper	8 pepper corns
Clove	2-3
Badi Elaichi / Black cardamom	2
Whole Red Chilli	1 – 2

METHOD

• Soak chole for 8 – 10 hrs or overnight.  Drain the water, add fresh water (about 3 cups) and pressure cook it along with tea bag, dried amla (tied in a clean muslin cloth) and black salt.  I generally pressure cook the chole on high flame for 3-4 whistles and then for another 20 min on low flame.  Remove the pouch containing amla & tea powder.  Keep aside.
• Powder the watermelon seed and soak it along with all the ingredients mentioned under soak in about 1/2 cup of water.  Keep aside.
• Roast, grind and sieve the ingredients mentioned under roast & grind.  I sift the ground masala to remove the skin of badi elaichi and other big pieces of the khada masala.  I got 1/2 tbsp of powdered masala.
• Heat ghee and oil in a iron kadai and sauté ginger paste, then, fry the finely chopped onion till it turns golden.
• Add anardana (pomegranate seed) powder and fry for a couple of minute.  Anardana powder will turn the gravy brown.
• Throw in finely chopped tomato and cook till mushy.
• Now, add in the soaked masalas and ground powder.  Fry till the raw smell is completely gone.
• Add in the cooked chole and stir cook for 10 minutes and then add sliced onion and ginger juliennes and cook for another 5 minutes or till the masalas are absorbed by chole.
• Garnish with finely chopped coriander and serve hot with bhature / roti / parantha or jeera rice.