Chole masala

Spicy and hot!!

The other day, I was lunching with my collegue who has never been to India in his entire life and yet knows 'chole', the better known name for chick peas in Hindi. And that made me think how big a small-town dish like chole masala had made it! So, here's to chole! Served with rotis, batures or rice, but necessarily served hot.

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Ingredients:

1 cup chole
4 medium sized white onions, chopped
4 tomatoes, chopped (alternatively. tomato puree)
3 potatoes, chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard
4-5 curry leaves
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp amchur powder
2 tsp chili powder
salt to taste
oil for cooking
coriander for garnishing
lemon for garnishing


Method:
Soak the chole overnight. Boil for an hour with a bay leaf.
Meanwhile pour some oil into a pan. Allow it to heat.
Add the mustard. When it starts to splutter, add the cumin seeds. Saute.
Add the curry leaves. When it turns crisp, add the bay leaf. Saute.
Add the onions and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the ginger garlic paste.
When the onions are nearly done, add the potatoes and fry.
Add the tomato (or puree) and fry.
Add the masalas (garam masala, chilly powder and amchur powder).
Add the salt to taste. Add water to match the required consistency.
Garnish with coriander leaves and lemon
Savour!!