When you think about Punjabi Cuisine, for a lot of us, the first picture that comes to mind is that of pindi chole! It is one of those popular dishes that you find in almost every Indian Restaurant.

So how did Pindi Chole come into being?

It is said that Pindi Chole originated in undivided India, in the city of Rawalpindi, which now forms part of Pakistan. Pindi comes from the word ‘Pind’ meaning village in Punjabi, and the Kabuli Chole come from the neighbouring city Kabul of Afghanistan, where these Chole (chickpeas) originated from.

What makes Pindi Chole so special is that it is one of those dishes which is flavoured only with masalas. The dark brown colour comes from boiling the chickpeas with tea bags. We have also added the Chana Daal to make it a little thicker.

So give this recipe a go and drop us your feedback in the comments!

SERVES: 4

COOKING TIME: 2 Hours

DIFFICULTY: EASY

Ingredients

To Boil And Cook The Chana (Chickpeas)

½ cup chickpeas

1 tbsp chana dal

2 cups water

3 cloves

2 green cardamom

2 black cardamom

a inch petal of mace

1 stick of cinnamon

2 tea bags

1 tsp cumin seeds

½ tsp carom seeds powder

salt, to taste

To Make The Masala 

2 tbsp ghee

1 bay leaf

2 green chilies

1 tbsp ginger,chopped fine

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp garam masala

1 tbsp chana masala

1 tsp red chili powder

1 tsp chaat masala

1 tsp dry mango powder

Instructions

(1) Soak the Chole and Chana Daal in water overnight.

(2) The next day, drain off the excess water. Add the chana to the pressure cooker and add water.

(3) Then, add the cloves, green cardamom, black cardamom, mace, cinnamon stick, tea bags, cumin seeds, ajwain powder and salt.

(4) Cook the chole for about 20 minutes or till they are almost cooked.

(5) Carefully open the lid once the steam is out, remove the tea bags and set the chole aside.

(6) To make the masala, add ghee to a separate pan. Once it melts, add a bay leaf, green chilies, ginger, coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala, chana masala, red chili powder, chaat masala and mango powder. Mix all the masalas in the ghee.

(7) Add the cooked chana to the masalas and cook until almost all of the water has evaporated.

(8) Sprinkle with chopped coriander, ginger slices and green chilies!

Step By Step Instructions

This is a list of ingredients for the pindi chole.

Soak the chole and chana dal in water overnight.

The next morning, drain off the excess water.

Add the chole and chana dal to a cooker.

To that add more water.

Next, add the cloves, green cardamom, black cardamom and mace. Then, add the cinnamon stick.

Next, add the tea bags.

Add the cumin seeds.

Then, add the ajwain powder.

Finally, add the salt.

Cook this in the cooker, till the chole are cooked completely.

We cooked the chole on medium heat for 7 whistles (about 20 minutes).

Remove the tea bags and discard them. Set the chole aside.

To a new pan, add the ghee. Melt this on medium heat.

Once the ghee melts, add a bay leaf.

Next, add the green chilies.

Add the finely chopped ginger.

Then, add the coriander powder.

Next, add the cumin powder.

Add the garam masala.

Add the chana masala.

Add the red chili powder.

Add the chaat masala.

Add the dry mango powder.

And mix all the masalas together. Cook them in the ghee for about a minute.

Finally, add the cooked chole to the pan.

And cook the chole until almost all of the water has evaporated.

This is how the chole look like when they are cooked completely through.

Transfer onto a serving disk and sprinkle with chopped coriander on top.

You can also top them with julienned ginger pieces and red chili slices.

Enjoy this delicacy with various types of naan.

How do we make naan, did you ask?

Check out our Plain Naan and Garlic Naan recipes!