Pindi Chole also known as Pindi Chana is one of the easiest and tasty chickpea dish that you can make. The recipe comes from the Rawalpindi region in Punjab, Pakistan and hence the name Pindi Chana. A unique recipe that does not have any gravy or sauce and is dry – made with soft, tender white chickpeas, fragrant ginger-garlic, spicy chana masala powder and tangy dry mango powder.
Pindi Chana does not have any gravy or curry as no onions or tomatoes feature in it. Thus it is dry, unlike the usual Punjabi chickpea curries. Raw onions are served as a side with the dish instead.
Ingredients:
1.Dried white chickpeas
2.Cloves
3.Cinnamon
4.Black and green cardamoms
5.Tej patta (Indian bay leaf)
6.Black tea bag
7.Red chillie powder
8.Garlic-ginger paste
9.Coriander Powder
10.Chole masala
11.Dry Mango powder
How to make Pindi Chole
1. First start with rinsing of dried chickpeas in water a few times. Then soak the chickpeas water overnight or for 8 to 9 hours.
2. The next day drain all the water from the soaked chickpeas. Rinse the soak chickpeas with fresh water. Drain the water and transfer them to a 3 litre pressure cooker. Add cloves, cinnamon, black cardamoms, green cardamoms, tej patta, black salt and 1 black tea bag.
Swap the tea bags with 3 to 4 pieces of dried gooseberry (dried amla).
3. Pressure cook on medium to medium-high heat for 15 to 20 minutes or until the chickpeas are softened and tender.
4. When the pressure falls on its own in the cooker, then only remove the lid. Check to see if the chickpeas have softened. If undercooked, then pressure cook for some more minutes.
5. Using a colander or strainer, drain the water from the chickpeas and remove the whole spices and tea bag.
6. Crush ginger and 7 to 8 small to medium-sized garlic cloves in a mortar pestle to a fine paste.
7. Heat oil in a pan. Keep the heat to a low and add crushed ginger-garlic or ginger-garlic paste. Sauté the ginger-garlic for some seconds or until the raw aroma disappears.
8. Now make sure the heat is at a low or you can opt to switch off the heat. Add all the ground spices.
9. Sauté the masala for a minute on a low heat taking care not to burn it. Add the cooked chickpeas.
10. Mix the cooked chickpeas with the masala so that the chickpeas get coated with the masala. Add salt too according to taste.
Enjoy pindi chole with sliced or chopped onions, lemon slices, julienned ginger and green chillies with Indian breads like bhatura, naan, roti, paratha, kulcha or puri.