easy chole recipe with step by step photos – this one is an easy chole recipe and does not require chana masala spice blend or powder. you also don’t need to make this spice blend at home, as is done in punjabi chana masala recipe already shared on the blog.
again my mom in law’s homely chole recipe that is fab when served with rice or had with rotis or pooris. since this recipe also happens to be our favorite chole recipe, i often end up making this one at home. this recipe is very different than all the chana recipes you will find on the internet or anywhere.
this chana masala recipe is simple in the sense that the chickpeas are cooked first with some spices and onions. then a sauteed masala of onions-tomatoes is made and added to the cooked chickpeas. then everything is simmered till you get a medium consistency in the gravy. so easy to prepare. this is a home style chana masala and the taste of this chana gravy is like the chana masala you can get to taste in indian homes.
one special spice which is added to this chole makes it different and gives an aromatic flavor to the chole. no, its not black cardamoms or cloves or cinnamon. they are carom seeds or ajwain/omam. the carom seeds also help in digestion of the chickpeas. the recipe is also not spicy.
while making any chickpea curry or rajma recipe, its always suggested to soak them overnight or at least for 8-9 hours as then its easier to cook them. usually, i cook them in pressure cooker. you can make it in covered pan also but it will take more time to cook.
i also make sure that chole or chickpeas are cooked till soft. this not only give good texture but the chana/chole also become easy to digest.
serve the chickpea curry, with very finely chopped onions, green chilli and lemon wedges. as thats how many people like to have chole. adding chopped onions or lemon juice to the punjabi chole really adds a lot of taste to the chole.
you can serve the punjabi chole with roti, rice, poori, naan or bhatura.
few more tasty recipes for you!
easy chole recipe
INGREDIENTS FOR easy chole recipe
for pressure cooking chole (chickpeas)
- 1 cup chole (dry chickpeas or white chana) - soaked overnight
- 1 medium onion, sliced thinly OR â…“ cup thinly sliced onions OR 50 to 60 grams onions
- 2 teaspoon chopped ginger (adrak)
- 2 teaspoon chopped garlic (lahsun)
- 1 inch cinnamon (dalchini)
- 2 black cardamoms (badi elaichi)
- 5 to 6 cloves (lavang)
- 1 tej patta (indian bay leaf)
- 1 teaspoon cumin (jeera)
- 1 teaspoon ajwain (carom seeds)
- 3.5 cups water
- salt as required
for sauteing
- 1 medium onion finely chopped OR â…“ cup finely chopped onion OR 50 to 60 grams onion
- 2 medium tomatoes finely chopped OR ¾ cup finely chopped tomatoes
- 2 to 3 green chilies, slit (hari mirch)
- 2 tablespoon oil
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi)
- 1 teaspoon kashmir red chilli powder or deghi mirch or red chili powder
other ingredients for chole recipe
- 1 teaspoon punjabi garam masala powder or garam masala powder
- 1 teaspoon dry mango powder (amchur powder)
- a few chopped coriander leaves (optional)
serving suggestions
- sliced onions
- lemon wedges
- green chilies
HOW TO MAKE easy chole recipe
cooking chickpeas
- rinse the chickpeas well. soak in enough water overnight or for 8-9 hours. drain the soaked chickpeas.
- in a pressure cooker, take the chickpeas, sliced onions, black cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon tej patta, chopped garlic + ginger, cumin, carom seeds and salt.
- pressure cook the chickpeas/chole for 20-25 minutes on a medium to high flame.
- keep the chickpeas aside. no need to drain them.
making home style easy chole recipe
- in another pan heat oil. add the chopped onions & saute them till translucent or light brown.
- then add the tomatoes. saute till the tomatoes soften and till the oil start to leave the sides.
- next add green chilies, turmeric powder, red chilli powder. mix very well.
- add this sauted onion-tomatoes-green chili mixture to the cooked chole/chickpeas.
- mix very well and simmer for 15-20 minutes or more till the gravy or curry becomes smooth and slightly thickens.
- the consistency of this home style chole curry is not soupy or broth like.
- mash a few chickpeas with the spoon to thicken the chickpea curry.
- lastly add garam masala powder and dry mango powder (amchur powder).
- chole should not be cooked too much after the addition of garam masala and dry mango powder. so add them at the very last once you get the smooth consistency in the chickpea curry, as cooking diminishes the flavor and taste of both.
- check the taste of chana masala and add more salt, garam masala or dry mango powder if required.
- serve chole masala hot with roti, rice, poori, naan or bhatura.
- to spice the chole more, serve them with finely chopped onions, green chilli and lemon wedges.
preparation to make easy chole recipe
1. rinse and then soak 1 cup chickpeas/chole/chana overnight or for 8 to 9 hours in enough water.
2. drain them well. then add to the pressure cooker. also add ⅓ cup thinly sliced onions, 2 tsp chopped ginger and 2 tsp chopped garlic.
3. next add all the whole spices – 1 inch cinnamon, 2 black cardamons, 5 to 6 cloves, 1 tej patta, 1 tsp cumin/jeera, 1 tsp carom seeds/ajwain. also add salt.
4. add 3.5 cups water. stir very well.
5. pressure cook for 20 to 22 minutes on a medium to high flame till the chickpeas are cooked well. the chickpeas should not even have a slight bite in them and should have a melt in the mouth consistency.
making home style easy chole recipe
6. in a small to medium shallow frying pan, heat 2 tbsp oil. when the oil becomes hot, add ⅓ cup thinly sliced onions.
7. stir and saute them on a low to medium flame till translucent or light brown.
8. then add ¾ cup finely chopped tomatoes.
9. mix very well and saute the tomatoes on a low to medium flame.
10. saute them till they turn mushy, soft and the oil starts to release from the sides.
11. add 2 to 3 green chilies (slit or sliced). you can add more green chilies too.
12. next add ½ tsp turmeric powder and 1 tsp kashmiri red chili powder or deghi mirch.
13. stir and mix very well. switch off the flame.
14. now add this sauteed onion-tomato masala to the cooked chana.
15. mix very well.
16. keep the cooker on the stove top on a medium to high flame and simmer the chana masala gravy for 15 to 20 minutes. the gravy should become smooth and thicken slightly.
17. mash a few chickpeas with the back of the spoon to thicken the chickpea curry.
18. when the chana masala gravy reaches to a medium consistency, add 1 tsp dry mango powder (amchur).
19. then add 1 tsp garam masala powder. chole should not be cooked too much after the addition of garam masala and dry mango powder. so add them at the very last once you get the smooth consistency in the chickpea curry, as cooking diminishes the flavor and taste of both.
20. mix very well. check the taste of chana gravy and add more salt, garam masala or dry mango powder if required. the consistency of this home style chickpea curry is not soupy or broth like.
21. serve chole gravy hot with roti, rice, poori, naan or bhatura. to spice the chole more, serve them with finely chopped onions, green chillies and lemon wedges.
Excellent awesome recipe. Thanks
thank you and welcome.
I love your work on vegrecipesofindia.com. Your Website is the first resource I check whenever in need of a recipe. Made this chole just now and it turned out wonderful. I did not have tomatoes on hand so chose to add a bit more aamchur and also added anardana churna.
Thank you!
thank you much. so glad to read your feedback. sure, tomatoes can be skipped and the amchur powder can be increased a bit. anardana powder will also give a nice sour taste. thanks again.
Hi Dasana
I tried this recipe today and it came out really very nice..thank you so much for sharing..I tried your various recipes and everytime find them delicious..
thanks a lot komal for sharing the feedback on the recipes you have tried including the easy chole recipe. glad to read them.
most welcome and happy cooking.
Hi Dassana
Thanks for much for your helpful reply and that’s a great tip about adding a bit of mashed potato! I am definitely going to try this recipe again at the weekend.
Ruby
welcome ruby. thanks and i hope this time chole masala turns out delicious.
Hi Dassana
I made this dish this evening. I followed the instructions you gave to another reader below because I only had canned chickpeas and so I fried up everything first like a tarka then added the chickpeas and water and cooked it for a while on the hob. It turned out fairly nice but I think it would have been far better to use dried chickpeas which are soaked overnight. Also, I used 4 tomatoes which was probably too much. I followed everything else exactly though. Next time I will follow the recipe with dried chickpeas. It is probably far healthier that way 🙂
thanks ruby for the comment. even i feel 4 tomatoes must have been too much. when the tomatoes are more in a chole recipe, a tip is to boil some potatoes. mash them roughly and add to the gravy. this will reduce the tang of the tomatoes and also thicken the curry. i agree the chole tastes better with dried chickpeas and canned chickpeas. next time you can definitely reduce the tomatoes and use dried chickpeas. happy cooking.
I’m excited to try this recipe but I have no ajwain. Will it still taste good without it? Thank you for posting such delicious recipes!
ajwain gives a lot of flavor. but you can skip. some flavor profile will be lost but still the chana will taste good. welcome meghna.
Very nice
Easy to cook
thanks.
It came out great Dassanna. Thanks
Hi, This looks wonderful – but is it possible to make it with pre-cooked chickpeas from a can? Thank you.
thanks jane. yes you can make this recipe with precooked chickpeas. but here, you will need to saute everything. add oil. add all the whole spices (1 inch cinnamon
2 black cardamoms, 5-6 cloves, 1 tej patta/indian bay leaf, 1 tsp cumin/jeera, 1 tsp carom seeds/ajwain) and saute for a few seconds till they are fragrant. then add onions (1 large onion, finely chopped) and saute till the onions become a light golden. add chopped ginger-garlic and saute till their raw aroma goes away. then add tomatoes and saute till you see oil leaving the sides of the mixture. the tomatoes should become mushy. add the green chilies, spices powders, salt. add water and chickpeas. simmer for some minutes till the gravy looks thickens a bit. lastly add garam masala powder and amchur powder. stir and simmer for a minute. garnish with coriander leaves and serve.
Thank you – will be trying this soon. Thank you also for always getting back to me so quickly and being so helpful.
welcome jane 🙂
Nice and easy to make but chickpea should be soaked along with 1/2 tspn soda as it will soften chickpea very well when cooked
thankyou for your tips zeenat 🙂
Marvellous
thankyou dr venkata ramana murty avancha.
Hi
Thank you for the recipe. I don’t have garam masala, I was thinking to add some coriander and ginger in its place .. not sure if its good idea.
Also, I don’t have mango powder .. would tamarind work a a substitute?
Thank you
welcome dave. add coriander powder and cumin powder in place of garam masala. in place of dry mango powder, add lemon juice or dry pomegranate seeds.
Can we cook chole in rice cooker with steam option?
lucky, i suggest to cook in a pan or pot. not sure about rice cooker.
Sounds delicious! What if I don’t have a pressure cooker? How is the best way to cook the chickpeas initially?
Thank you!
welcome amy. you have to cook chickpeas in a pan or pot with enough water. it will take more time to cook. the time also depends upon the quality of chickpeas. older the chickpeas, more time they will take to cook.