Palak chole recipe with step by step photos – North Indian style delicious curry made with spinach and chana (white chickpeas). It is yet anothe chickpea dish that is liked by many people.
The palak chole recipe is like the North Indian chole curry and just has the addition of spinach. Basically an onion-tomato paste sauteed with spices to which the spinach and then the chickpeas are added.
The recipe can be made with regular spinach or baby spinach. Instead of using dried chickpeas, which require cooking, canned chickpeas can also be used. For more spinach recipes, you can check this collection of 29 palak recipes.
This is a healthy dish obviously due to the combination of spinach and chickpeas. Together with rotis or rice it becomes a complete meal.
In our home chickpea is one of our favorite ingredients and we make a variety of curry recipes with it. I have shared a few such variations on the blog like:
You can serve Palak chole with roti, naan, tandoori rotis, steamed rice or jeera rice.
You can adjust the consistency of the gravy as per your choice. When we want to serve it with rice-based dishes like basmati rice or cumin rice then we keep the gravy slightly thin.
On the other hand when we want to have it with Indian flatbreads like roti or plain paratha then we keep the gravy slightly thick.
How to make palak chole
1. Rinse and then soak 1 cup of dried white chickpeas overnight or for 7 to 8 hours.
2. Drain the soaked chickpeas.
3. Add chickpeas with 3 to 4 cups of water in the pressure cooker.
4. Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon salt or as required.
5. Pressure cook the chickpeas till they are cooked completely. You can also cook the chickpeas in a pot.
6. The boiled chickpeas should be soft and tender. If not then you can cook them for some more time.
7. Meanwhile add 1 large onion, 1 to 2 green chilies, ½ inch ginger and 3 to 4 garlic in a grinder or blender jar.
8. Grind to a smooth paste. No need to add water while grinding or blending. Remove and keep aside.
9. In the same jar, add one large sized chopped tomato. Grind to a smooth puree. No need to add water while grinding or blending.
10. Rinse the spinach leaves very well in water.
11. Then chop the spinach leaves. Keep aside. You will need 4.5 to 5 cups of chopped spinach leaves.
12. Measure and keep all the ingredients ready for the palak chole recipe.
13. Drain the boiled chickpeas and keep aside.
Making palak chole
14. Heat oil in a kadai. Fry 1 inch cinnamon, 3 cloves, 2 green cardamoms, 1 black cardamom and 1 tej patta till they are fragrant.
15. Add the onion paste.
16. Saute and keep stirring often. Saute till the onion paste turns light brown.
17. Then add the tomato puree.
18. Stir and mix very well.
19. Sprinkle ½ teaspoon cumin powder, 1 teaspoon coriander powder, ½ teaspoon red chili powder, ¼ teaspoon turmeric and ¾ teaspoon garam masala powder.
20. Stir and mix well again.
21. Continue to saute till oil leaves the sides of the masala and the masala is well browned.
22. Then add 4.5 to 5 cups of chopped palak. Mix well.
23. Sprinkle salt as required.
24. Stir and saute for 4 to 5 minutes.
25. Add the cooked chickpeas.
26. Stir well.
27. Pour 1.5 to 2 cups water or as per the consistency you want.
28. Add crushed pomegranate seeds powder or dry mango powder. I used ¾ teaspoon of dry mango powder (amchur).
29. Stir well.
30. Also mash a few chole with the back of the spoon. This helps to thicken the gravy.
31. Simmer till the palak chole gravy thickens and becomes smooth.
32. Lastly add crushed 1 teaspoon of crushed kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves).
33. Simmer the gravy for 1 to 2 minutes.
Serve Palak chole hot with rotis or naan or steamed rice or jeera rice or biryani rice or ghee rice and onion-lemon salad.
They can also be packed in lunch box with roti or poori or paratha or rice.
Few more tasty Punjabi recipes for you!
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Palak Chole
By Dassana Amit
Ingredients
main ingredients
- 4.5 or 5 cups chopped spinach or palak
- 1 cup dried white chickpeas (chole or kabuli chana or safed chana)
- 1 large tomato – pureed
- 1.5 to 2 cups water
- 3 to 4 tablespoon oil
- ¾ teaspoon pomegranate seed – dry roasted and crushed or ½ to ¾ teaspoon dry mango powder (amchur powder)
- 1 teaspoon kasuri methi – crushed (dry fenugreek leaves)
- salt as required – for boiling chole and for the gravy
to be ground to paste
- 1 large onion, roughly chopped
- 1 or 2 green chilies , chopped
- 3 to 4 garlic cloves , chopped
- ½ inch ginger , chopped, optional
whole spices for palak chana
- 1 inch cinnamon
- 3 cloves
- 2 green cardamom
- 1 black cardamom
- 1 tej patta (indian bay leaf)
spice powders for palak chole
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder (ground cumin)
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder (ground coriander)
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder or cayenne pepper or paprika
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder (ground turmeric)
- ¾ teaspoon Punjabi Garam Masala Powder or chana masala powder or garam masala powder
Instructions
preparation for palak chole recipe
- Soak the dried white chana (chole) overnight or for 7 to 8 hours.
- Drain and Add chickpeas with 3 to 4 cups of water in the pressure cooker. Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon salt or as required.
- Pressure cook the chickpeas till they are cooked completely. You can also cook the chickpeas in a pot or pan.
- Meanwhile, prepare the onion paste with green chilies, ginger and garlic. Also prepare the tomato puree. Keep aside.
- Rinse spinach leaves very well in water. Then chop them. Also drain the cooked chickpeas and keep aside.
making palak chole
- In a pan heat oil. Fry all whole spices till fragrant.
- Add the onion paste. Saute till light brown.
- Add the tomato puree and all the spice powders mentioned in the above list.
- Fry till oil leaves the sides of the masala and the masala is well browned.
- Now add the chopped palak and salt. Stir and saute for 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add the cooked chole and stir. Pour 1.5 to 2 cups water.
- Add crushed pomegranate seeds powder or dry mango powder.
- Also mash a few chickpeas with the back of the spoon. This helps to thicken the gravy. Simmer till the gravy thickens and becomes smooth.
- Lastly add crushed kasuri methi and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Serve palak chole hot with rotis, naan or steamed rice or jeera rice and onion-lemon salad.
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Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes. I enjoy trying new recipes and you make it easy.
Thanks a lot.