Aloo Chole Recipe (Aloo Chana Sabji)
Aloo Chole recipe also referred to as Aloo Chole ki Sabji is a delicious tangy curry from the Punjabi cuisine and made with potatoes, white chickpeas, tomatoes, chilies and spices. This comforting and filling dish is usually had for breakfast and is served with hot and fluffy Indian fried breads like Poori or Bhatura.
About Aloo Chole Recipe
The combo of aloo chole with poori and Mango Pickle is simply delicious and thats how they are served in Punjab.
Although, at few places, it is served with pooris which are made in pure ghee. So that makes this a delicious combo and a very heavy breakfast meal for the start of the day. But I fry the pooris in oil and not ghee.
This recipe of aloo chole sabji is adapted from the book “The Dhabas of Amritsar” by Yashbir Sharma. The author has mentioned that in the early 50’s this chickpea and potato curry was the signature dish of Kwality restaurant in Connaught Place, Delhi.
Kwality ke chole is still famous in Delhi. I have never had chole from Kwality so I cannot compare. But I can tell you the aloo chana was awesome.
There are many variations of making chickpea and potato curry from dry to semi gravy to a curry version.
This is a no onion no garlic version of aloo chana. Chickpeas are made in so many ways in North India. Each family has its own way of making them.
Few such delicious variations of chickpeas recipes posted on the blog are:
This aloo chole sabzi goes best with roti, poori, bhature or naan. The potatoes are soft and melt in the mouth and are not mashed.
You can have this dish for lunch or dinner also. The gravy consistency can be altered as per your requirement by adding more or less water. Usually we keep it semi-gravy.
How to make Aloo Chana ki Sabji
Prep Chana
1. Rinse 1 cup dried white chickpeas (a.k.a. chole or chana) in fresh water a few times.
Then soak the dried chickpeas in enough water overnight or for 8 to 9 hours. Later drain all the water from the chickpeas and again rinse the soaked chickpeas in fresh water a couple of times.
For best taste ensure that the chickpeas are fresh and in their shelf period. The aged chickpeas take a lot of time to cook and also don’t taste as good as the fresh chickpeas.
2. Rinse 3 to 4 medium-sized potatoes very well in fresh water. In a stovetop pressure cooker, add the soaked chickpeas, potatoes and 3 to 4 cups of water.
3. Pressure cook on medium to high heat for 7 to 9 whistles. Remove the potatoes and peel and quarter or dice them. Strain the stock of the chickpeas and keep it aside.
Ground Spices
4. Make a fine powder of the spices listed below:
- 1 tej patta (Indian bay leaf)
- 3 to 4 cloves
- 5 to 6 whole black pepper
- 1 inch cinnamon
- 2 black cardamom.
Also make a paste of the dry pomegranate seeds or anardana. You can use 6 to 7 teaspoons of water for grinding the pomegranate seeds.
Make Aloo Chole
5. In a frying pan or kadai take the cooked and drained chickpeas and add the pomegranate seeds paste.
6. Stir and cook on a low to medium heat stirring occasionally, till the liquids dry up.
Now add the following ingredients:
- 3 medium sized finely chopped tomatoes
- 2 to 3 green chilies or as required – slit or sliced
- The ground chana masala powder
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon red chili powder or cayenne pepper or paprika
- 1 cup of the strained chickpeas stock (the stock in which the chickpeas and potatoes were cooked).
7. Stir and mix well. Then add the boiled potatoes, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder and salt as required. Let the gravy cook for 8 to 10 minutes on low to medium heat.
8. Heat 1.5 tablespoons of oil or ghee in a small pan. Add this hot ghee or oil to the chickpea and potato mixture.
9. Stir and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Then add ¾ to 1 cup water and continue to cook for a further 4 to 5 minutes till the gravy thickens a bit. Check the taste and add more salt if required.
Note that the consistency of the gravy can be altered as per your preferences by adding less or more water.
When serving with rice we add more water and if serving with flatbreads like roti, paratha or naan we add less water and make a semi dry gravy.
10. Lastly add ½ tablespoon of hot oil or ghee. Switch off the fire and stir in the ginger juliennes, coriander leaves and green chilies (slit or sliced).
11. Stir and serve aloo chole sabzi hot or warm with Roti, pooris or bhatura or Naan or Roomali Roti or Tandoori Roti.
It will also taste great with Paratha or Lachha Paratha. They can also be packed for lunch box with roti or plain paratha or whole wheat bread or dinner rolls.
Store any leftover curry only for a day.
If you are looking for more Punjabi Recipes then do check:
Step by Step Photo Guide Above
Ingredients
Main ingredients
- 1 cup chole (dried white chickpeas or white chana)
- 3 to 4 medium potatoes
- 3 to 4 cups water for pressure cooking
- salt as required
For making chana masala powder
- 1 tej patta (Indian bay leaf)
- 3 to 4 cloves
- 5 to 6 whole black pepper
- 1 inch cinnamon
- 2 black cardamoms
For pomegranate seeds paste
- 2 teaspoon dry pomegranate seeds
- 6 to 7 teaspoon water for grinding the pomegranate seeds
Other ingredients
- 3 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
- 2 to 3 green chilies or as required – slit or sliced
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder (ground turmeric)
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon Red Chili Powder or cayenne pepper or paprika
- 2 tablespoon oil or 2 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter)
- ½ inch ginger, julienned
- 1 green chili, sliced (optional)
- 1 to 2 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves
- salt as required
Instructions
Preparation
- Soak the dried chickpeas or chole in enough water overnight or for 8 to 9 hours. Later drain all the water and wash the chickpeas again in fresh water a few times.
- Rinse the potatoes very well. In a stovetop pressure cooker, add the chickpeas, potatoes and 3 to 4 cups water. Pressure cook on medium to high flame for 7 to 9 whistles.
- Once the pressure settles down in the presurec cooker on its own then only open the lid of the cooker.
- Remove the potatoes and peel and quarter or dice them.
- Strain the stock of the chickpeas and keep it aside.
- Make a fine powder of the spices mentioned under the “Chana masala powder” list in a dry grinder.
- Make a paste of the dry pomegranate seeds. Keep aside. If you want you can strain the pomegranate seeds paste.
Making aloo chole ki sabzi
- In a kadai or pan, take the drained chickpeas and stir in the pomegranate seeds paste.
- Cook on a low to medium heat stirring occasionally, till the liquids dry up.
- Now add the potatoes, tomatoes, green chilies, the ground chana masala powder, turmeric powder, red chili powder, salt and 1 cup of the strained chana stock.
- Stir well and let the gravy cook for 8 to 10 minutes on low to medium heat.
- Heat 1.5 tablespoons ghee or oil in a small pan.
- Add this hot oil or ghee to the potato and chickpeas mixture. Stir and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Then add ¾ to 1 cup water and continue to cook for further 4 to 5 minutes or till the gravy thickens. You can adjust the thickness of gravy as per your taste preference.
- Check the taste and add more salt if required. Heat the remaining ½ tablespoon ghee or oil in the same small pan and add the hot oil or ghee to the aloo chana gravy.
- Switch off the fire and stir in the ginger juliennes, coriander leaves and green chilies.
- Serve aloo chana sabzi hot or warm with bhatura or roti or plain paratha or naan or tandoori roti. It can also be packed for lunch box.
Nutrition
Aloo Chana recipe from the archives was first published on October 2013.
This was fantastic. I didn’t have pomegranate powder so I substituted amchur but it was still delicious. I was really reluctant to omit garlic and onions but it turns out this was amazing even without them. Really nice acidity, very different to what I’m used to. The black cardamon gave a nice smokey undertone and the raw ginger at the end ties it all together.
I have never had a bad meal when following your recipes so thank you very much for your work, Dassana!
thanks sam for the review and feedback. amchur powder can be easily substituted in place of pomegranate powder. in fact even lemon juice can be added. i am glad to hear that omitting onions and garlic did not affect the recipe. yes black cardamom gives that smoky flavor and really compliments the other elements in a chana or chole recipe.
thank you much and i am glad that the recipes are helping you to cook good indian food.
I tried this recepie and had amazing chole. Thanks for sharing !
thanks for the review and feedback shreya. welcome.
Hi! Thanks for this recipe. How can I incorporate garlic and onion into this? Or would you advise otherwise?
you can add onion and garlic. saute finely chopped onions in oil or ghee. when onions turn translucent add garlic paste. saute till raw aroma goes away. then add the tomatoes and saute till they become pulpy. then add green chilies, chana masala, red chili powder, turmeric powder. mix well. add water or chana stock, cooked chana, pomegranate paste and boiled potatoes. add salt. simmer till the chana masala gravy thickens a bit.
Jus tried ur aloo Chana masala..and it turned out to b yummmmm????????I always have a standard way of making Chana masala..as I saw ur recipe thought of giving it a try n whola…it’s awesome..I didn’t have dried pomegranate n so substituted with fresh ones n it worked out..tx so much for sharing the recipe..hearty wishes 4 the success of ur blog as always!!
thanks radhika for this lovely feedback on aloo chana masala recipe. dried pomegranate gives a tang to the gravy. i am wondering how the fresh pomegranate worked. anyways thanks for sharing.
I just tried this recipe, and had to communicate to you, how much I appreciate the recipe. The chole turned out fantastic, and it was my first try! I am certainly going to repeat the recipe and use it even when I am entertaining friends and family. Thank you for sharing the recipe, I am going to try few more recipes from your wonderful website! Keep up the good work. God bless!
welcome kalyani. glad to know this. thanks for sharing positive feedback on chole and for your blessings.
We are strictly no onion no garlic family….so we never enjoyed Chile bhature as it was something goes well with lots of onions and garlic…. But ur this this recipe was awwwsssssom….every one including my hubby ( who is strictly nonvegiterian) loved it……thank you very very much…….u r doing great job….I always feel that u write in such a different way and I love this…and ur moong dal halwa rocks in my family. Thanks on behalf of everyone……!!
welcome richa. glad to know this. i just write spontaneously…. may be thats what you like in the writing. more than writing i love cooking and researching recipes. thanks for your sweet feedback.
Thank you so much for responding me…I’m soooooo happy…….!! Wish u good luck….. May ur blog become the most successful with millions of readers….!!
welcome richa. thanks for your kind words.
It is nice recipe. I wish to know the substitute for dry pomegranate seed so that I can taste the true taste of Punjabee aloo chole masala.
sunil, you can substitute dry pomegranate seeds with 1 tsp amchur (dry mango powder) towards the end… add amchur when the chole is completely cooked. for 1 cup of dried chickpeas 1 tsp of amchur is enough. after adding amchur don’t boil chole for more than 5 minutes.
Great recipe. I made that one time. Important thing with the chickpeas is, never consume the water drain from the soaked chickpeas. It is known in the south americans, but, Indians are not used to that process. A toxic component can be drained with water and some left over would be destroyed in pressure cooking.
thanks muralidhara for this tip. i personally don’t use the water which is used for soaking chickpeas. i always make chole with fresh water.