PINDI CHOLE

This hearty, healthy dish is straight out of the heart of Punjab in North India and a dish very close to my heart being a family favourite. The dish gets its name from a place called Rawalpindi, Punjab in Pakistan where it originated in the days before India-Pakistan partition. This is a dry, tangy, spicy dish best served with any Indian bread.

Serves: 4 people | Prep : 20 mins | Cooking : 20 mins

Health Hack: Chickpeas are high in protein and make an excellent replacement for meat in vegetarian and vegan diets.

Fresh Ingredients

White chickpeas – 400gms
Water – 1.5 litres

Spices

Cloves - 3
Cinnamon - 2 (1-inch sticks)
Black cardamom - 3
Bay leaf - 1
Green cardamom - 3
Tea bag - 1
Salt - to taste

Spices

Ginger - 3 tbsp (finely chopped)
Green chilli - 1 whole, slit and stuffed with salt
Kashmiri chilli powder - 2 tsp
Roasted cumin powder – 1 tbsp
Garam masala powder - ½ tsp
Aamchur (dry mango powder) - 1 ½ tsp
Anardana powder (pomegranate powder) - 1 tbsp
Coriander powder - 2 tbsp
Black salt - to taste

Step 1

Cooking Instructions For boiling chickpeas: Wash and soak the chickpeas for 8-9 hours or overnight. Drain the water and boil the soaked chickpeas with the whole spices, salt, and tea bag in a pressure cooker for 15-20 minutes until they become soft.

Step 2

Drain the chickpeas and reserve the cooking liquid. Remove the whole spices and tea bag.

Step 3

Cooking Instructions For making the Pindi chole: Heat oil in a pan and fry the chopped ginger along with the green chilli. Once the ginger has fried for 3-4 minutes, add all the dry powdered spices.

Step 4

Fry the spices on low heat for 1-2 minutes. Add the boiled chickpeas and mix them well with the masala.

Step 5

Add black salt and check for seasoning. Mash some of the chickpeas with the back of the ladle for a thicker consistency and add some of the reserved cooking liquid.

Step 6

Let the chickpeas cook for 5-7 minutes in the masala on a low flame. Serve hot with onion rings, green chillies, and lemon wedges accompanied by any Indian bread.