January 13, 2023

Chole Bhature (Home Style )

Chole Bhature is a popular dish in Northern India. It was originally a culinary dish of Punjab and Delhi. Chole Bhature is a spicy tomato base curry made of chickpeas served with Bhature ( fried bread). Chole Bhature has so many different types of recipes. You can say every kitchen has its own recipe for this dish.

1 . About the recipe

2 . Ingredients

3. Step-by-step method

4 . Tips

1. About the recipe :

This dish is so popular not only in India but also in Pakistan. This spicy and delicious dish is one of the most eaten breakfast/snacks. Chola Bhatura can be served as breakfast, lunch, or dinner. This is one of such dishes which you can find almost everywhere. Be it a restaurant, dhaba, or roadside small eateries. Chola Bhatura would be there. Chola Bhatura is very good to go with onion rings, pickles and fried potatoes. This dish comes in great variations; here I am sharing with you my recipe, which is easy to make and tastes very good.

Let’s start cooking!

2. Ingredients :

For Chola

200 gm chickpea ( soaked overnight)
4 large tomatoes ( finely pasted)
1 large onion ( finely chopped)
2 tablespoons ginger garlic paste
A pinch of baking soda
2 tablespoon chole masala
2 teaspoons of red chilli powder
1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
1 teaspoon of garam masala powder
1 teaspoon of cumin powder
1 teaspoon of coriander powder
1 teaspoon of kasoori methi (fenugreek leaves)
1 teaspoon of carom seeds
1 black cardamom
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon of amchoor powder or pomegranate seeds (anardana) or lemon juice
4 to 5 green chilli

For Garnish

Coriander leaves chopped

For Chola Masala

2 to 3 black cardamom
2 to 3 green cardamom
1-star anise
¼ Fenugreek seeds
1 tablespoon of coriander seeds
2 mace
½ nutmeg
3 to 4 whole dry red chilli
Pinch of asafoetida
1 tablespoon of cumin seeds

For Bhatura

300 gm (all-purpose flour)
1 teaspoon of baking soda
3 tablespoons of semolina ( suji or rava)
2 tablespoon yoghurt
Salt
1 teaspoon of sugar
2 tablespoons refined oil
Water is required for kneading
Oil for deep frying

3. Step-by-step method :

Preparation of Chola Masala powder.
In a bowl, mix all the spices of Chola masala.
In a hot pan, transfer all the spices and dry roast them until they turn aromatic.
Transfer it into a grinder jar and grind it finely. Keep it aside.

Preparation of Chola :

Rinse 200 gm of chickpea 2 to 3 times in water. Then, soak them in enough water for 7 to 8 hours or overnight.
After soaking, they will increase in size.
Drain all the water.
In a pressure cooker, add the chickpea with 3 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of ginger garlic paste and paste.
Add a pinch of baking soda for the soft texture of Chola. Baking soda is optional; you can skip it if you don’t want it.
Pressure cook Chola on high flame. After the first whistle, lower the flame and cook on a medium flame for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, stop cooking; once the pressure settles down, open the lid of the pressure cooker and check if the chickpeas are cooked well or not. Chickpeas should be a soft and melty texture.

You can also cook Chola on a deep bottom pan; it will take one hour or a little more time to cook properly.

Masala Gravy Preparation :

In a kadhai or deep bottom pan, put oil, add bay leaves, black cardamom, and carrom seeds ( crush carrom seeds between your palms
Add chopped onion, and fry for a few minutes until they turn golden brown.

At this stage, add chopped green chillies, ginger garlic paste, tomato puree, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder,garam masala powder, cumin powder, and Chola masala powder.

Stir fry for a few minutes on medium flame. Keep stirring until oil starts to leave the side of the masala. The masala will also thicken and turn glossy.

Add amchoor powder or pomegranate seeds to the masala. Mix the spices very well and cook for a minute or two.
Add boiled Chickpeas to the masala.
Mix well, and add 1 cup of water. The addition of water depends upon the consistency you want.

Taste salt at this stage; add salt or any other spices as required and stir again.
Simmer the gravy on low flame for 5 to 10 minutes. Mash some chickpeas with the back of a spoon. This will help in thickening the gravy.
Add 2 to 3 green chillies, kasoori methi, and chopped coriander leaves.

Serve Chola with pickle and onion rings.
Enjoy it with Bhature, Poori or Paratha.
You can also eat it with plain rice.

Preparation of Bhatura:

Bhatura is made with plain flour or maida using an additional leavening agent, i.e. baking soda. It helps the dough to make it rise and also inflate while deep frying. Bhatura is big in size, but you can make it small in size, too.

In a large bowl, take flour, three tablespoons of suji or rava, sugar, salt, baking soda and two tablespoons of oil. Mix it well.
Now add two tablespoons of yoghurt and mix well. Make sure that everything is well combined.
Add water as required and knead the dough.
Knead the dough into a smooth and soft texture.
Grease the dough with a little oil and cover it with a lid for one hour.

After one hour, knead the dough slightly.
Make a ball-sized dough; using a rolling pin, roll the dough balls slightly into an oval or rounded shape, applying oil or dry flour to prevent them from sticking.

In a deep bottom pan or kadhai, heat oil. On medium-high heat, drop the rolled dough into the hot oil. It will quickly start puffing in the oil.
Turn the bhatura and fry the other side. You can flip once or twice.

After Bhatura turns golden brown, remove the oil; drain on tissue paper or a paper towel to remove excess oil.

Serve hot Bhatura with spicy Chole along with onion rings and pickles.

Enjoy!!

4. Tips:

The addition of baking soda in flour will give a nice texture to the bhatura.
The addition of baking soda while boiling chickpeas will give a soft texture to the Chola.
If you don’t have amchoor powder or pomegranate seeds, you can use lemon juice also for tanginess.
Soaking chickpeas will help in less cooking time.
You can use readymade Chole Masala also.