Chhole recipe | a simple recipe for that authentic punjabi taste...

Authentic punjabi chhole recipe?

What would you call authentic chhole when there are more than a dozen Chhole kulche walas selling delicious chhole, each one is different from the other and each one is such that you can call as authentic as it can be. So for me chhole is authentic as long as it tastes 'punjabi', no wonder when I say this as I have tasted a few bihari and bengali versions of chhole and those have been far from tasting like chhole. Authentic punjabi chhole is something where the taste of chickpeas should not be overpowered by spices and the gravy should be thick and coating consistency and blackish in color, the chickpeas melting in the mouth and the spiciness just enough to complement the buttery textured chhole......

While the Bihari version is loaded with onion and garlic and garam masala (good to taste but not like chhole), the Bengali version which they do not call chhole but ghugni is different too, I loved the ghugni with keema in it called 'mangsho'r ghugni'. I am sure there is a version including curry patta and tamarind and that too must be tasty but it should be named something else, not chhole. As there is Sundal, there is a tamarind-curry patta chickpeas too.

Coming to the 'chhole' chhole, here is my version which has fetched me many complements, people have been comparing it to the popular chhole walas of the city. Also, this chhole has been complemented for not causing flatulence though I do not add any saunf or ajwain to the recipe.

Cooking the chhole till it gets buttery is the key, the chickpeas should get cracked and should look like falling apart. Also, look for the smallest sized white chickpeas available, smaller the chickpeas tastier it is. Read on......

ingredients...

chickpeas/garbanzo beans/ kabuli chana 250 gm ( I use the smaller variety )
soak the chickpeas overnight
split chick peas/ chana daal 2 tbsp
ginger root 2 inch piece
whole dry red chillies 4-5 or to taste
coriander seeds 1 tbsp
cumin seeds 2 tsp
black pepper corns 2 tsp
bay leaves 2-3 nos.
cloves 4 nos.
black cardamom 2 nos.
amchoor powder 2 tsp or more if needed
salt to taste
mustard oil 1 tbsp

procedure...

Mix the soaked chickpeas with chana daal, add salt to taste and cook in a pressure cooker with enough water to be an inch from the surface, 20-25 minutes under pressure should be enough for cooking.

Sometimes when the cooking water is hard the chickpea takes more time to cook so use filtered water to cook. Adding a pinch of soda bi carb helps to cook the chickpeas thoroughly, as they should get cracked n about to fall apart.....this is an important point while making chhole n should not be ignored.

Scissor cut the dry red chillies and bay leaves into very small bits and chop the ginger too. Now grind all the whole spices in the spice grinder jar of your mixie, adding little water to make a fine paste.

Heat oil in a iron kadai and pour the spice paste into the hot oil, fry till oil is released form the mixture.

Now pour the cooked chhole into the kadai and add water if needed, add the amchoor powder, adjust salt if needed and let it cook for about 30 - 40 minutes on low heat. This step is important too as it will lend a nice deep brown color to the chhole and the taste of the spices will blend well with the mushed up cooked chana daal, making a gravy of coating consistency. the chana daal gives a creaminess to the gravy and keeps it milder even if the masala looks very rich in color n texture.

Serve hot with sliced onions, bhatoora or kulcha is the bread to go with it but it can be enjoyed as it is topped with finely chopped onions and an assortment of chutneys, like a chaat.

We enjoyed it with fried bhatoore, made with yeasted dough, using half maida (all purpose flour) and half whole wheat flour, the bhatooras turn really fluffy and soft that way and do not soak oil like the traditionally made bhatooras. The bhatooras are not authentic for that matter.

It is a hearty Sunday brunch and we are set for the day, there is no lunch on Sundays most of the times in my home. I make a large bowl of fruit salad for lunch if the breakfast had been lighter, but if it is chhole bhatoore, even the fruit salad is out of question.

A free Sunday for a leisurely reading session or a nice outing without feeling hungry and grabbing a burger, makes sense for us.

Even chhole chawal with some vegetable added on the side is my favourite meal.

Some people add a tea bag to the boiling chhole, that can be done if you don't have an iron skillet or kadai. Adding amla powder or even pomegranate skin can make it dark but they all hamper the taste. I have had good results with unsweetened cocoa powder though, using 1 tsp for this quantity. Try it if you like and tell me if you find it useful.

This recipe does not use onion, garlic, turmeric and tomatoes. The absence of tomatoes adds to the dark color too. Tomatoes are a common addition to chhole as many people in this part of the world cannot do without tomatoes, I feel tomatoes interfere with the taste of chhole and amchoor or dark anardana powder from the hills is a better souring agent for Chhole.

What do you feel ???

vegetable biryani with fenugreek leaves

I had to prepare a Sunday lunch without the use of onion and garlic couple of weeks ago. It was a rainy Sunday and somebody was coming for a pakoda party on a very short notice. I made lots of corn pakodas with a hot and tangy chutney accompanied by tea for a late breakfast. It was great as the soft drizzle outside the window made it very very pleasant.

After this heavy breakfast the lunch had to be lighter as well as less time consuming. I had quickly planned for a vegetable biryani and had already chopped the vegetables. When you are not using onions and garlic the chopping becomes easier. Some beans and carrots were chopped finely and potatoes in cubes. I have a jar full of dried fenugreek leaves from the last season and that is super flavorful, you can use kasuri methi but the flavors will be slightly different.

Fresh methi will be better so use a cup of tightly packed fresh methi leaves for each tablespoon of dried leaves. That's it.

The pictures I took when i had actually started eating, it was so delicious that I wanted to share it here. Ihis was the first time I made the fenugreek pulav or birayani kind of rice without onion and garlic and it turned out great.

I make a low calorie high fiber version of this rice which is great too but this one is rich and qualifies to be called a biryani by every means. Yhe rice grains are white and lightly coated with the masala seasoning, fragrant with the whole spices and the dried fenugreek leaves and every piece of the vegetables retain their individual texture and taste ......

Yes I made it using the layering technique, only the layering was done hastily and roughly.

Ingredients...
(to serve 5-6 adults)
basmati rice 2 cups (I used basmati tukda)
finely chopped carrots 1 cup
finely chopped french beans 1 cup
potatoes peeled and cut in 3/4 inch cubes .. 2 cups
thin strips of ginger 2 tbsp
whole dry red chilies 4-5 nos. ( as per taste )
dried fenugreek leaves 2 tbsp
black cardamom 2 pods
green cardamom 3 pods
inch long cinnamon sticks 4 nos.
star anise 1 no. ( i used 4-5 pieces of broken stars )
cumin seeds 1 tsp
shahjeera 1 tsp
black peppercorns 2 tsp
cloves 8 nos.
bay leaves 2-3 nos.
a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
aromatic garam masala 1 tsp ( optional )
ghee 1/2 cup
salt to taste 

procedure...
Wash the rice and soak in 4 cups of water. Keep aside.

Prepare for the other ingredients and just as you start cooking the other ingredients, cook the rice either in microwave or on the other burner of your gas stove, add a bay leaf and a stick of cinnamon to the cooking rice. Watch when you are cooking the veggies on the other side and you need the rice cooked al dante'...

Heat ghee in a wide pan (with a tight lid as the pan needs to cook on dum). Add the cumin seeds, ginger and potato cubes first in the hot ghee, stir for a couple of minutes till you get a ginger aroma, now add all the whole spices reserving a stick of cinnamon and one bay leaf. Add 2 pinches of salt for the potatoes and toss and fry till the potatoes become 3/4 cooked.

Frying potatoes this way results in firm yet porous potatoes in a biryani (or a tahiri), this way the potatoes retain their shape and yet absorb all the subtle masala taste. The only way I like potatoes in rice preparations.

Meanwhile, start cooking the rice on the other side of the stove or in microwave as suggested earlier. The rice will cooked along with aromatic cinnamon and bay leaf. Take care to cook it 3/4 done and the rice will not be completely dry and fluffy yet.

To the cooking potatoes add all the chopped veggies (I sometimes add soya nuggets too) and fry adding salt to taste within 3-4 minutes the veggies will be almost cooked and it is time to add the dried methi leaves. Keep  stirring till the aroma of fenugreek fills the kitchen, sprinkle the garam masala and nutmeg powders and mix.

The rice should be cooked to desired level till this point, if rice still needs some time to be cooked you can put the flame off for the veggies, cover the pan and wait till the rice is ready.

Pour half of the rice in to the veggies pan, turn lightly to mix them roughly and pour the remaining rice, fluff up one last time and cover with a tight lid. Cook on very low flame for a good 10 minutes, placing a hot griddle below the biryani pan may be a good idea if it is not thick based.

It can be served immediately after removing from heat, but needs to be fluffed up before serving. It is very very aromatic as soon as you open the lid and the perfect accompaniment is a cool raita.

It was a pineapple, onion and boondi raita seasoned with salt pepper n dried mint powder this time....

This picture is taken with the leftover we enjoyed the next day and it was as good as the freshly made biryani. Potatoes in a tahiri or biryani is the husband's choice and fenugreek is mine. It is great if it is medium hot and the aroma of the spices is preserved by dum cooking.

If using fresh fenugreek leaves you will notice the color of the prepared rice is bright green and it looks more like a tahiri or pulav. The taste will be fresh but the aroma and texture of finished rice will be entirely different from this preparation. I have posted a soya methi tahiri using a paste of dill leaves and fenugreek leaves and that's a completely different recipe, a healthier version though.

Vegetarians have their own pulaos, tahiris and biryanis and since one pot rice meals always make comforting food it doesn't matter whether some biryani enthusiast approves it as a biryani or scorns it as a tahiri. They would know if they taste it.

Go make some no onion garlic vegetable biryani right now.