Spicy Garbanzo Beans Curry 2 (Punjabi Chole)

Punjabi Chole served with Cumin Basmati Rice with Peas and Cucumber Raita. Sliced onions and Lemon quarters are always served as an accompaniment.

Dried Amla (Indian Gooseberries)

Indian Spice Powder for Garbanzo Beans

Pomegranate Powder for sourness

Following in the footsteps of my earlier post of Spicy Garbanzo Curry 1 , this is another version of using garbanzo beans to cook a mouth watering Indian curry.

Punjabi Chole originated in Punjab, a state located in the northwestern part of India, but it is now cooked in many parts of India and across many continents. It is characterized by a strong brown color in the curry, owing to the boiling of tea bags or amla (indian gooseberries) together with the garbanzo beans. What results is a tempting delicious curry best enjoyed with puris (deep fried puffed indian bread) or wholewheat flatbreads (chapathis).  It goes well with  Basmati Rice, too.


Ingredients (serves 4)
2 cups of dried garbanzo beans, soaked overnight in ample water
6 dried amla pieces (See Note 1)
1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 medium onion, chopped finely
2 tomatoes, chopped finely
1/2 green chilli, chopped finely
2tbsp chole/chana masala (See Note 2)
1/2 tsp garam Masala
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp pomegranate powder (See Note 3)
2 cups of the water the garbanzo beans was cooked in
Salt
Coriander leaves for garnishing

Method
Drain the water and boil the garbanzo beans in pressure cooker till cooked. This should take around 10-15 mins. Remove the amla pieces and drain but keep the water the beans were cooked in. If you are not using a pressure cooker, place the soaked garbanzo beans in a pot with 6 cups of water, salt,  1/2  tsp of baking soda and the amla pieces and let it boil on medium heat till  the beans become soft. Do add in more water as and when necessary.

Take a medium sized pot and heat the oil.
Fry the ginger garlic paste and then the onion till golden brown.
Add in the chopped tomato and the green chilli.
When the tomatoes have become pulpy, add in all the spice powders and let it cook for 5 mins. Add in 1/2 cup of the beans water.
You can now either blend the curry (so as not to see the tomato and onion bits) or leave it as it is as I have done in the photo above.
Now, add in the garbanzo beans and 1 and 1/2 cup of beans water .
Let the whole curry  cook for 15 minutes on medium heat. If anytime, it gets too dry pour in 1/2 cup of the beans water.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Note :
1) Dried amla (indian gooseberry) is added to give a little sourness and that dark brown color to the beans (See Picture 1).
2) Chole or Chana Masala is an all round spice mix for Indian garbanzo beans. There are many different brands out there but I personally like this brand MTR. It is not too spicy so that I can adjust the heat according to whom I am preparing this curry for (See Picture 2). you can make your own spice mix for
3) Pomegranate Seed powder is used to add sourness to complete the flavor of this curry (See Picture 3).  Alternatively, you can also use Dried Mango powder or squeeze a bit of lemon at the end. 

All these food items are readily available in any Indian grocery stores.