Chole

Chole is one of the common items served at Indian restaurants. This dish gets its tangy taste with the addition of tamarind paste. If you don't have tamarind paste, you can substitute it with lime juice. 

It is very unusual for me to recommend canned products for any recipe. However, in this recipe, canned chickpeas work just fine. If you are a purist, you can soak dried garbanzo beans and cook them in the pressure cooker until they are soft and proceed with the recipe. 

I prefer to serve chole as vegetarian chili. You can serve it with garlic naan for a sumptuous meal.

Serves 6
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups chopped red onions
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 - 3 sliced or minced fresh green chilies, such as serrano
• 1 tablespoon coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon roasted cumin powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tablespoons tamarind paste or lime juice
• four 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed well
• ½ teaspoon garam masala powder

Raw Seasoning
• 1 - 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 - 3 sliced or minced fresh green chilies
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• ½ cup chopped red onions

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. When oil is hot, add onions. Sauté until onions are translucent and edges begin to brown. Stir in ginger, green chilies, coriander powder, cumin powder, salt, turmeric and cayenne. Stir fry for 2 minutes. Add sugar and tomatoes. Cook until tomatoes are soft and some of the moisture evaporates. Add tamarind paste and cook through. Stir in chickpeas. Cook while stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Stir in 2 cups of water. Bring it to boil and reduce heat to medium. Cook until sauce is thick. Stir in garam masala powder.
For raw seasoning, mix everything together in a bowl. Stir in just before serving.

Cook’s Note: Don’t mix in raw seasoning until just before serving to keep onions crunchy.

This recipe is adapted from my cookbook. 

For more memorable recipes, tablescapes, and entertaining ideas, please check out my book, Entertaining From an Ethnic Indian Kitchen, at my website komalinunna.com. 

I am joining Foodie Friday  and  Cindy for Show and Tell.