Chole or Chana Masala is a delicious curry from the northern parts of India. The main ingredient for this recipe is chickpeas which is cooked in an onion-tomato based gravy with lots of Indian spices and herbs. This crowd-favorite curry is served generally along with rotis or pooris. It also tastes very good with steamed rice or Jeera rice.

Using canned chickpeas chole masala can be prepared in under 30 minutes. However, if you are using dry chickpeas, they need to be soaked in water overnight and then pressure cooked before using. Continue reading if you want to know how to make this delicious chole masala.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Servings: 3

Ingredients:

preparation:

1. Blend chopped onion into a fine paste(without adding water) in a mixer grinder. Transfer it to bowl and set aside.
2. Drain out water from soaked cashews, transfer it to a mixer jar and blend it along with chopped tomatoes into a fine paste. Transfer the paste to another bowl and set aside.

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3. Heat oil in a cooking pan on medium heat.
4. Add all the dry spices – bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and fry until they turn aromatic.
5. Then add cumin seeds and fry for 10 seconds.
6. Pour the onion paste and saute until the raw onion smell goes completely and onion turns light brown.
7. Add ginger-garlic paste and saute until the raw smell goes.
8. Add all the powdered spices – turmeric, red chili, coriander, garam masala, and salt. Mix and cook the masala for a minute on low flame. 

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8. Pour the tomato-cashew paste and mix well. Cover and cook until oil separates from the gravy.
9. Add canned chickpea into the cooking pot and combine it with the onion-tomato gravy.

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10. Pour 1/2 cup (100ml) of water and stir to mix the curry well.
11. Close the lid and cook on low flame for 5-6 min allowing the chickpeas to soak in all the spices and masala.
12. Finally, garnish with coriander leaves and salted butter. Turn off the heat.

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13. Enjoy this delicious chole masala with chapatis/Poori.

Note:

• You can tweak the quantity of each ingredient as per your taste and preference.
• If you are going to use dry chickpeas, then soak it overnight, drain out the water before using and pressure cook until well cooked. After that, follow the same recipe.
• You can either use grated onion/onion paste or finely chopped onion.
• Chole masala can be stored in the refrigerator for a day.

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