There are few foods more distinctly North Indian than chole (pronounced chho-lay) or chickpea curry, and there are probably as many recipes for making chole as there are households in North India. This is the recipe my mother has always used.
The trick to making this recipe as delicious as possible is to use whole herbs and spices, and to use ones that are as fresh as possible. Take a whiff of your spices if there are some in this recipe that you don't use frequently. Anything musty or off, toss and buy new if you can.
Serve this crowd-pleasing dish piping hot and accompanied by pooris or bhatooras, which are two different kinds of fried Indian bread.
INGREDIENTS
3 large onions, sliced thin and divided
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 tablespoon ginger paste
2 tablespoons garlic paste
2 tablespoons vegetable oil , or canola oil
2 bay leaves
5 to 6 cloves
3 to 4 whole green cardamom
5 to 6 peppercorns
1 teaspoon cumin powder
2 teaspoons coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoons garam masala
2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans chickpeas
Kosher salt, to taste
Water, enough to make a gravy
1 (1-inch) piece ginger, julienned
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped fine
PREPARATION
Prep
Gather the ingredients.
Grind 2 of the sliced onions, the tomatoes, and the ginger and garlic pastes together into a smooth paste in a food processor.
Heat the vegetable oil in a deep, thick-bottomed pan on medium heat.
Add the bay leaves, cloves, cardamom, and peppercorns and sauté until slightly darker and mildly fragrant.
Add the remaining sliced onion and cook until light golden in color.
Add the onion-tomato paste you made earlier and cook until the oil begins to separate from the paste.
Add the ground cumin, coriander, red chili, turmeric, and garam masala. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 more minutes.
Drain the chickpeas and rinse them well under running water.
Now add the chickpeas to the masala. Stir to mix everything well.
Add salt to taste and enough hot water to make the gravy—about 1 1/2 cups.
Simmer and cook covered for 10 minutes.
Use a flat spoon or potato masher to mash some of the chickpeas coarsely. Stir to mix everything well.
Garnish with juliennes of ginger and finely chopped fresh coriander leaves. A squeeze of lemon and a handful of very finely chopped onion tastes great as a garnish too.
Serving Suggestions And Storage
Chole doesn't freeze well, and while they taste even better the day after they have been cooked, and will be good for a few days thereafter, they are best eaten the day they are prepared.
You can also make the ginger and garlic pastes ahead of time.
In this recipe, canned chickpeas are used because they're so convenient, but you can also use dried chickpeas. If you do so, then factor in the time required to soak the dried chickpeas. After soaking, boil the chickpeas with a little salt, until soft and then use.
