aloo chole ki sabzi recipe with step by step photos – this aloo chana ki sabzi is a delicious punjabi dish made with potatoes and white chickpeas. this aloo chole sabzi recipe is usually had for breakfast and is served with hot pooris.
the combo of aloo chole masala with poori and mango pickle is simply delicious and thats how they are served in punjab. although, at few places the aloo chole sabzi 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 aloo chole recipe is adapted from book “the dhabas of amritsar” by yashbir sharma. the author yashbir sharma has mentioned that in the early 50’s this chana masala recipe 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 chole was awesome.
there are many variations of making aloo chole recipe from dry to semi gravy to a curry version. chole are made in so many ways in north india. each family has their own way of making them. this is a no onion no garlic version of aloo chana masala.
few such delicious variations of chole recipes posted on blog are:
this aloo chole sabzi goes best with roti, poori, bhature or naan. the aloo 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.
if you are looking for more punjabi recipes then do check:
aloo chole
INGREDIENTS FOR aloo chole
main ingredients for aloo chole sabzi
- 1 cup chole (dried 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 (lavang)
- 5 to 6 whole black pepper (sabut kali mirch)
- 1 inch cinnamon (dalchini)
- 2 black cardamoms (badi elaichi)
for pomegranate seeds paste
- 2 teaspoon dry pomegranate seeds or sookha anardana
- 6 to 7 teaspoon water for grinding the pomegranate seeds
other ingredients for aloo chole recipe
- 3 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
- 2 to 3 green chilies or as required - slit or sliced
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi)
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon red chili powder (lal mirch powder)
- 2 tablespoon oil or 2 tablespoon ghee
- ½ inch ginger, julienned (adrak)
- 1 green chili, sliced (optional)
- 1 to 2 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves (dhania patta)
- salt as required
HOW TO MAKE aloo chole
preparation for aloo chole ki sabzi
- soak the dried chickpeas or chole in enough water overnight or for 8-9 hours. drain the water.
- rinse the potatoes very well. in a pressure cooker, add the chickpeas, potatoes and 3-4 cups water. pressure cook on medium to high flame for 7-9 whistles.
- 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 flame 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 8-10 minutes on low to medium flame.
- heat 1.5 tbsp ghee or oil in a small pan.
- add this hot oil or ghee to the chana mixture. stir and cook for 2-3 mins.
- then add 3/4 to 1 cup water and continue to cook for further 4-5 minutes or till the gravy thickens.
- check the taste and add more salt if required. heat the remaining 1/2 tbsp ghee or oil in the same small pan and add the hot oil or ghee to the aloo chana masala.
- switch off the fire and stir in the ginger juliennes, coriander leaves and green chilies.
- serve aloo chana sabzi hot with bhaturas.
preparation to make aloo chole sabzi
1. soak the dried chickpeas or chole in enough water overnight or for 8-9 hours. later drain the water.
2. rinse the potatoes very well. in a pressure cooker, add the chickpeas, potatoes and 3-4 cups water.
3. pressure cook on medium to high flame for 7-9 whistles. remove the potatoes and peel and quarter or dice them. strain the stock of the chickpeas and keep it aside.
4. make a fine powder of the “chana masala spices” (1 tej patta, 3 to 4 cloves, 5 to 6 whole black pepper, 1 inch cinnamon and 2 black cardamoms). also make a paste of the dry pomegranate seeds or anardana. you can use 6 to 7 teaspoon water for grinding the pomegranate seeds.
making aloo chole
5. in a pan take the cooked & drained chickpeas and add the pomegranate seeds paste.
6. stir and cook on a low to medium flame stirring occasionally, till the liquids dry up. now add the tomatoes, green chilies, the ground chana masala powder, red chili powder, green chilies and 1 cup of the strained chana stock (the stock in which the chickpeas & potatoes were cooked).
7. stir well and add the boiled potatoes, turmeric powder and salt as required. let the gravy cook for 8-10 minutes on low to medium flame.
8. heat 1.5 tbsp oil or ghee in a small pan. add this hot ghee or oil to the chana mixture.
9. stir and cook for 2-3 mins. then add ¾ to 1 cup water and continue to cook for further 4-5 minutes till the gravy thickens a bit. check the taste and add more salt if required.
10. lastly add ½ tbsp of hot oil or ghee. switch off the fire and stir in the ginger juliennes, coriander leaves and green chilies.
11. stir and serve aloo chana sabzi hot with rotis, pooris or bhaturas or naan or roomali roti.
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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.