Chole Bhature

What are Chole Bhature?

Timmi’s Tips and Tricks

What if I forgot to soak the chickpeas overnight?

No problem. Use preboiled garbanzo beans instead.

Can I use canned, preboiled chickpeas?

Yes! If they’re not too soft yet, you can still pressure cook them with the specified spices for one whistle. If they’re already at the desired softness, just skip the boiling step and add the cardamom and cloves after the ginger and garlic.

What Chana Masala should I use?

I use and recommend the MDH chana masala. Other brands have different spice proportions but they’re still great to use. Most other brands tend to be spicier, so I don’t recommend adding any more spice if you use one of those (unless you prefer spicier food).

What Garam Masala should I use?

A good garam masala is vital to this dish. You can make your own using my recipe here or buy one. I’ve used and recommend the MDH one, which works great for a lot of North Indian dishes.

How do I make the chole more decadent?

Add more ghee or oil! This applies to basically all Punjabi food!

How do I make my chole darker?

The tea bag when pressure cooking the chickpeas should help bring some color. The color will also continue to darken if you simmer the chickpeas for longer once all the spices are added.

How do I know if the oil is hot enough for deep frying?

In order to test if the oil is hot enough, drop a small piece of dough into the oil. If the dough immediately comes to the top, the oil is ready. If the dough lingers at the bottom before coming up, the oil needs to heat up a bit more before it’s ready for frying. Cooking bhaturas in oil that’s too cold will result in oily bhaturas.

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Chole Bhature

Servings: 2

Ingredients

Chole

• 1 cup chickpeas
• 2 cups water
• 2 pods badi elaichi black cardamom
• 5-6 whole laung cloves
• 1 tea bag
• small pinch baking soda
• 1.25 tsp salt
• 1 medium red onion
• 1 medium tomato
• 1/2 tsp garlic minced
• 1 tsp ginger minced
• 4 tbsp oil
• 3/4 tsp sukha dhaniya dry coriander powder
• 3 tsp chana masala see notes above for details
• 1 tsp ground anardana ground dried pomegranate powder, optional
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• dhaniya cilantro, for garnish

Bhature

• 2.5 cups maida white all-purpose flour
• 1 cup yogurt
• 1 pinch baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup water

Instructions

Chole

• Wash and soak chickpeas for 8 hours or overnight.
• Add chickpeas, water, cardamom, cloves, tea bag, baking soda, and 3/4 tsp salt to a pressure cooker.
• Turn heat to high and allow this to cook until one whistle sounds.
• Once whistle sounds, turn heat down to simmer for an additional 20 minutes.
• Set this aside for the time being.
• In a separate kadai or wok, add oil and turn on the heat to high.
• Once oil is hot, add ginger and garlic. Stir to mix.
• Add in the onion. Sautee until translucent.
• Add tomatoes and stir to mix.
• Add the remaining salt, coriander powder, chana masala, and anardana.
• Cook until tomatoes have cooked.
• Drain the chickpeas but preserve the water in which it cooked.
• Add in the chickpeas and about 1/4 cup of the chickpea water.
• Cover and simmer for approximately 5 minutes so the chickpeas can absorb the flavor from the gravy.
• At this point you can adjust the salt and add in any additional chickpea water to get the gravy to the desired consistency.
• Add garam masala and stir to mix.
• Garnish with cilantro.

Bhature

• Sift together flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
• Add yogurt, salt, and sugar. Mix well.
• Add water little by little and combine ingredients into a dough.
• Knead the dough well, about 2-3 minutes.
• Rub a little oil on the dough, cover with a damp cloth, and rest for 30 minutes.
• Add oil to a kadai or wok to prep for deep frying. Heat on medium high.
• Divide the dough into 8-10 pieces and form each piece into a ball.
• To make a bhatura, roll out a dough ball to flatten. Get the dough as thin as you can without any tears. Add oil to the dough as needed if the dough is too sticky.
• Drop flattened dough into the frying oil.
• Once the bottom of the dough is cooked, flip the dough.
• Once both sides are cooked, remove and place on a paper towel to remove residual oil.
• Repeat with remaining bhaturas.

Chole Bhature

• Eat the bhaturas hot and fresh with the chole!

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