North Indian Vegetarian

Punjabi Chole Masala

Name: Punjabi Chole Masala
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: North Indian
Ingredients: 1½ cups (300 g) dried kabuli chana (white chickpeas); 1 tea bag (or 2 tsp loose tea tied in muslin); 2 black cardamoms; 1 bay leaf; 1 tsp salt; 4 cups water; 3 tbsp oil or ghee; 1 tsp cumin seeds; 2 medium onions, finely chopped; 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste; 2 green chillies, chopped; 2 medium tomatoes, puréed; 1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder; 1½ tsp coriander powder; 2 tbsp chole masala (store-bought is fine); 1 tsp amchur (dry mango powder) or 1 tsp anardana powder; ½ tsp garam masala; Salt to taste; Ginger juliennes; Sliced onion rings; Fresh coriander; Lemon wedges; A knob of butter (optional)

Dark, tangy, dhaba-style Punjabi chole: chickpeas cooked with tea for colour, then simmered in a deeply browned onion-tomato masala.

By Dhruv Agrawat

North IndianPunjabi Chole Masala

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 50 min
Total: 65 min
Serves: 4
Effort: Easy

This is the chole of Delhi and Punjab — the one that comes with bhature or kulche from a street stall: dark brown, tangy, spicy and full of flavour. Two small tricks give it that colour and depth: cooking the chickpeas with a tea bag and black cardamom, and browning the onions properly before anything else goes in.

Plan ahead: the chickpeas need to soak for 8 hours or overnight.

Method

Soak and cook the chickpeas

Brown the masala

Simmer

Tips that make the difference

The tea bag gives the classic dark colour without changing the taste — don't skip it.
Soft chickpeas are essential: they should almost melt. Add a pinch of baking soda to the soak if your chickpeas are old and stubborn.
Chole tastes even better the next day, once the spices have settled in.
It's naturally vegan if you use oil instead of ghee and skip the butter.

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