I think in availability, price, food value, versatility and taste, chickpeas are without any match. There is no better way to prove this to the uninitiated than by sampling a few dishes that make use of this tasty and nourishing legume.
For people who are always searching for a new dish to add variety to their meals, one day, they will discover the hearty Punjabi fare, chana masala or this aloo chole; and when they do, I am sure they’ll turn into ‘Choleacs‘ like us. We Love Chole!
Recipe:
3 cups of dried chickpeas
(soaked in water beforehand then pressure cooked to tender)
A fistful of cooked chickpeas made into smooth paste2 potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
1 large onion and 4 ripe tomatoes finely chopped
1 tablespoon – readymade chana masala powder(any brand will do)
1 teaspoon – garlic-ginger-cilantro paste
½ teaspoon each – red chilli powder, salt and turmeric
For garnish – finely chopped cilantro and lime wedges
Ingredients for Aloo Chole
Heat one teaspoon of ghee or peanut oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add and toast quarter teaspoon each – mustard seeds and cumin, wait till they start to dance; then add ginger-garlic-cilantro paste and onions, saute for few minutes until onions soften.
Add the ingredients – potatoes, tomatoes, chickpea paste, chana masala powder, red chilli powder, salt and turmeric, along with 2 to 3 cups of water. Cook them covered for about 15 minutes, until potatoes are slightly tender.
At this stage, stir in chickpeas. Turn the heat to medium-low, and simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until the curry thickens. (When curry served on a plate, it shouldn’t spread like flodding river.) Garnish with finely chopped fresh cilantro and serve.
My favorite way to have this curry is with limejuice squeezed and few finely chopped onions (washed beforehand in water) on the side with parathas.
Aloo Chole with Parathas – Creating Indian restaurant kind of meal at our home ~ Our weekend brunch.
oh those parathas look so gorgeous – almost like the roti-prata available in Singapore…!
Comment by Shammi — November 22, 2005 @ 9:17 am
The combo looks delicious. Those look like south Indian style plain parathas made with maida. Can you post the recipe for paratha also?
Comment by mika — November 22, 2005 @ 9:22 am
I have been looking for a good Chole recipe and everytime I search the net and try out, it has never come out this good..I will try out this week end ( long weekend being trying out some of ur recipes as my friends are cming down ;))
ur paratha’s look yumm-oh!
Comment by IBH — November 22, 2005 @ 9:53 am
Shammi: Here, Indian groceries import these parathas from Malaysia.:)
Mika.. these are Indian store, frozen parathas, an occasional indulgence for us. I do know how to make parathas but it involves lot of ghee, I will definitely post the recipe one of these days.
IBH.. good buffet kind of dish this is. Perfect for a friends get-together. Do let me know, how it turned out and happy thanksgiving.
Comment by Indira — November 22, 2005 @ 10:23 am
hey indira were do we get peanut oil, i have searched for it in the indian stores, cant find ’em. And can u tell me its speciality ? i have tried only sesame oil,corn oil,vegetable oil and olive oil. hey the recipes is YUMMM ! shall try it sooooon .thanx
Comment by priya,ar — November 22, 2005 @ 12:06 pm
The recipe is an improvization over the regular chole chana. Its great. Keep your recipes posted. Happy thanksgiving. Have fun.
Comment by shaila — November 22, 2005 @ 1:04 pm
I so agree with you Indira. Chickpeas are so versatile, and one of my huge favourites for parties!
Love your variation. I have tons of varied chole recipes as well. Drop by sometime!
Comment by Meena — November 22, 2005 @ 1:57 pm
Your recipe looks delicious! I bought spinach parathas at Patels the other day. They were in the refridgerator case. I heated them in the toaster oven for a few and they tasted amazing with the okra sambhar!
Comment by Marisa — November 22, 2005 @ 2:27 pm
Would 1 lb tomatoes correspond to approximately 1/2 kg??
Comment by Shakthi — November 22, 2005 @ 3:27 pm
Hi Priya.. you can find peanut oil in walmart supercenter at a reasonable price. I use peanut oil because of all oils, I tried, I found it is the best and also peanut oil is what my family back in India uses for regular cooking.
Shaila.. yep, it’s almost like chana masala except I added some potatoes to this . Happy Thanksgiving to you.
Meena.. I do check your website regularly, you are doing a great job!Thanks for dropping by.
Marisa..Did you read my reply to your okra sambhar comment earlier? You are so lucky to live nearby Oak tree road. I am jealous:)
Shakthi.. 3 pounds=1 kg approximately. I will make it easy for you, I used about 6 medium sized ripe(plum)tomatoes for this recipe. Hope this helps.
Comment by Indira — November 22, 2005 @ 6:23 pm
I tried alot of recipe’s from your site.All tasted very good.The photos of all recipe’s really makes everyone to cook.
Indira says…
Hello Swarna, I am glad they all turned out great. Thanks for the comment, hoping to see many more visits and feedback from you about the recipes.
Comment by Swarna — November 22, 2005 @ 6:28 pm
Hi,
Your website is amazing.For a bad cook like me, your blog is a lifeline.Never think of discontinuing ur good work, please
Comment by reema — November 23, 2005 @ 12:24 am
I cant blv ,being such a food lover and a recipe searcher on the net, I didnt stumble across this excellent blog. I tasted Andhra food in Bangalore actually and fell in love with it. I am from Kerala and I think Kerala has one of the best food in the world,but i would say Andhra is the second on my list of great foods :-). I really really wish you were a non-vegan,so I could just get all that good recipes too. Your blog is just great,the best recipe site I have seen – since everything is tried out,traditional,authentic and made with lots of love!the pictures are just spectacular!i really feel like eating them right out of the screen.
When I visited this Andhra restuarant,at the table,they used to have small steel vessels filled with all kids of ground dry powder.The waiter would give us a small sppon of ghee to mix this powder and have with rice and they tasted soooo delicious. I have asked lot of Andhra friends about this and none of them have even heard about such stuff. I am sure you know lot of ground dry chutneys and please please please post them.
Your wud-be-daily visitor
L.G
Indira says
Hello L.G, thanks for your kind words about my blog. I did post some dry chutney powder recipes earlier. Please check the ‘recipes blogged sofar’ page, and see that’s what you are talking about. I will definitely add as I blog, some more recipes for spicy powders. Thanks!
Comment by L.G — November 23, 2005 @ 5:36 pm
Indira, Parathas with Chole looks delicious. Can you post the recipes for Parathas sometime. I’ve tried some of your recipes and they are a great hit at home.
Indira says…
Hi Kay, I am very bad responding to requests. But I will post the recipe for paratha one of these days. Thanks.
What did you decide about banana pepper curry? Did you try it?
Comment by Kay — November 24, 2005 @ 4:10 pm
Indira
Would like to know what’s the best tool for grinding small quantities of spices or chuntney pastes.
i am too lazy too use a pestle and mortar the old fashioned way.
could you suggest any electric grinder for grinding such small quantities.
SB
Indira says..
Best one in my view is Indian type of mixie like Sumeet, Priti etc.,. Little bit expensive but I couldn’t find anything comparable to our Indian mixie for both wet and dry grinding, small or large quantities. Hope this helps:)
Comment by sb — November 25, 2005 @ 10:21 am
Indira, I decide to pass the banana peppers curry. It sounds too hot. I used to eat pretty hot stuff when I was younger, but these days I don’t know why I eat my food moderately hot and spicy.
Comment by Kay — November 28, 2005 @ 11:32 am
I’ll sure wait for your Paratha recipe. And guess what? I’m trying your above chole recipe today. I dont have potatoes at hand so, It’s going to be just chole 🙂 will let you know how it turned out.
Comment by Kay — November 28, 2005 @ 11:33 am
hey indira, i tried this recipe yday with methi leaves poori, and it was yummy. Thanx for the recipe. Can u post authentic andhra pulusu please, i searched lots of sites but iam not really confident making those.thanx
Comment by priya,ar — November 28, 2005 @ 2:03 pm
Priya,ar:
What is meant by “authentic andhra pulusu”?
I was reading through the comments and I’m just curious.
Thanks.
Comment by J — November 28, 2005 @ 2:51 pm
J, pulusu is andhra vegetable sauce/curry. I guess there are different variations. I meant the most common pulusu ( basic )made in Andhra Pradesh.
Indira says…
hi Priya… ‘Pulusu’ is the Telugu term for kurma or gravy curry. There is no specific or authentic recipe for it. Again, as you said already, ‘Pulusu’ ingredients varies with the main vegetables. Ex. of ‘pulusu’ is drumstick curry, potato kurma, capsicum curry with sesame-peanut sauce etc., I already posted recipes for these types of curries. I know you are anxious about new recipes and requesting recipe for ‘pulusu’ . I have to say this, I am very bad responding to requests mainly because I prepare food and post recipes depending on my mood and our food preferences that day. I will definitely respond to requests but only on my time and mood. Hoping for your understanding and patience.
Cheers
Comment by priya,ar — November 28, 2005 @ 4:22 pm
i really understand , anytime is fine. Thank u indira
Comment by priya,ar — November 29, 2005 @ 9:36 am
Indira, I tried it and it is as delicious as I envisioned. Thanks for the recipe! I posted a review on my blog.
http://towardsabettertomorrow.blogspot.com/
Indira says…
Kay, I am glad that it tuned out like you envisioned and letting me know. Thanks.
Comment by Kay — November 29, 2005 @ 8:28 pm
Hi Indira, I love to try out the recipes in your blog. This Chole with potatoes was also a great success.
Indira replies:
Thanks for letting me know, Liz.
Comment by Liz — April 29, 2006 @ 7:02 pm
Hi Indira,
Your recipes are sooo delicious. Meeru chala brahmandamga unde recipes iccharandi!
Thank u
Champa
Comment by Champa — May 18, 2006 @ 4:06 pm
interesting…..
Comment by alyss — September 7, 2006 @ 10:38 pm
your recipe for this chole with potatoes is just yummyummohhhh!!
Comment by reena — November 8, 2006 @ 4:02 pm
in your recipe it says add mustard seeds and cumin, but in your ingredient list the amounts for these items are not listed.
Indira replies:
Hi Lora, I added the quantity in the recipe, please check it out. And if you try this recipe, please do let me know how you like it. Appreciate your feedback. Thanks.
Comment by Lora — March 25, 2007 @ 12:34 pm
hi!!!
i just loved ur recipe…it looks yummy…i looked for the paratha recipe….but dint find….can u please post it….thanks
Comment by shweta — April 5, 2007 @ 6:32 am
Hey, thanks, I just tried this recipe last night, my first time making an Indian dish from scratch and it was pretty damn delicious! It took me like 2 hours, though, so now I’ve discovered the secret of pre-grinding and storing ginger garlic paste in the fridge. Love all your recipes- thanks again!
Loretta
Indira replies:
Hi Loretta, glad to hear that you tried and liked this recipe. Thanks for letting me know. Usually with a pressure cooker and some preplanning, you can prepare this recipe in 30 to 45 minutes. I think it needs a bit of practice though. Happy cooking!Thanks.
Comment by Loretta Allison — April 5, 2007 @ 9:47 pm
hey this recipe was yummy my kids really enjoyed ghar ka khanna, i think if i try some more i 2 may 4get my mom ke haath ka khanna 🙂
Comment by shainaaz — September 28, 2007 @ 2:59 am
Eventhough there are hundreds of food blogs around, yours standsout, only because of healthy choices of food and your writing skills. Keep going Indira . I depend on you for my everyday meal planning. Thankyou so much.
-Anitha
Comment by Anitha — January 6, 2008 @ 10:41 pm
hi, iam a north Indian. I really liked ur recipe, they r very much tempting.
can u suggest some dishes with least oil content!
Comment by mikki — June 14, 2008 @ 9:05 am
Hi Indira,
its a great recipe.I’m goin to make it today and let you know how it turned out.Thanks for sharing.
Comment by neema — October 20, 2008 @ 6:11 pm
Thanks for the nice recipe. Turned out very well.
Here’s my link:
http://n33ma-recipeswap.blogspot.com/2008/10/chole-with-potatoes.html
Comment by neema — October 21, 2008 @ 9:59 am
[…] It started out as Aloo chole from the blog Mahanandi, with a few adjustments and the addition of cauliflower. So I guess that would make it Aloo gobi chole. […]
Pingback by Cauliflower, potato & chickpea curry : Thrifty Living — October 8, 2009 @ 5:59 pm
awesome!:)
Comment by zehra — July 11, 2011 @ 12:11 am
Hello, I tried it today. Came out yummy. Probably the first time a Chana dish I made came out very well. I added chopped coconut along with erh ginger-garlic-coriander and I pressure cooked for 3 whistles instead of cooking over the flame.Thanks for the recipe.
Jyo
Comment by Jyo — May 22, 2015 @ 8:01 am