Amritsari Chole

4.91 from 43 votes

Amritsari Chole is a delicious variation of the Indian chickpea curry from the city of Amritsar. This recipe of Amritsari Chole is vegan and gluten-free.

Prep Time8 hrs

Cook Time45 mins

Total Time8 hrs 45 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: North Indian

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Servings:

Calories: 226kcal

Author: Dassana Amit

Ingredients

For Soaking Chickpeas

1 cup dried white chickpeas
3 cups water - for soaking

For Cooking Chickpeas

1 inch cinnamon
2 black cardamoms
3 cloves
1 tej patta (Indian bay leaf)
1 teaspoon crushed ginger or ginger paste
3 dried amla pieces
½ teaspoon black salt or regular salt
3 cups water - for pressure cooking

Other Ingredients

2 to 3 tablespoons oil
½ cup finely chopped onions or 1 medium-sized onion
1 cup finely chopped tomatoes (tightly packed) or 2 medium to large tomatoes
1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder or ½ teaspoon cayenne or red chilli powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon fennel powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon dry mango powder (amchur powder) or pomegranate powder
½ teaspoon Garam Masala
1 cup water or chickpea stock
2 to 3 green chillies - slit
salt as required
1 inch ginger - julienne
1 to 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Cooking chickpeas

Firstly, rinse the chickpeas a few times in water. Soak the dried chickpeas overnight in water or for 8 to 9 hours.
Drain all the water and rinse the chickpeas again once or twice. Again drain the water and set aside.
Now you can cook the chickpeas in a 3 litre stovetop pressure cooker or Instant pot.
Add the soaked chickpeas, cinnamon, black cardamoms, cloves, tej patta, crushed ginger, dried gooseberry pieces, black salt or regular salt in the stovetop pressure cooker or in the steel insert of the Instant pot.
If you do not have dried gooseberry, then opt to use 1 tea bag or 1 teaspoon black tea powder or black tea leaves tightly wrapped in a muslin.
Add 3 cups water and give a stir.
For stovetop pressure cooker, cook the chickpeas on medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes or more if required.
For instant pot, pressure cook on high pressure mode for 25 to 30 minutes.
Whether you have cooked the chickpeas in the stovetop pressure cooker or Instant pot, wait for all the pressure to fall naturally. Then only remove the lid.
The chickpeas have to be tender with a melt in the mouth texture.
Strain the chickpeas and reserve 1 cup stock together with the whole spices if you have used dried gooseberry. If you have used tea leaves or tea powder, then discard the stock.

Making onion tomato masala

In a heavy frying pan or wok, heat oil. Add the finely chopped onions. Sauté onions stirring often until golden on medium-low heat.
Add the chopped tomatoes and chopped ginger and sauté the tomatoes till they become soft and mushy. The oil should separate from the onion and tomato mixture.

Making amritsari chole

Add the cooked chickpeas and mix very well.
Add all the ground spice powders, stir and sauté for one to two minutes.
Now, add the strained chickpea stock or water, slit green chillies and salt as needed. Mix thoroughly.
Simmer on medium heat until the curry thickens a bit. Mash a few chickpeas so as to thicken the curry.
Check the salt and seasonings and add more if needed.
Serve Amritsari Chole hot garnished with ginger julienne and chopped coriander leaves with some bhatura, naan, roti, poori or steamed basmati rice.

Notes

The spices and seasonings can be adjusted as per your preferences.
You can also use 3 cups of canned chickpeas instead of dried chickpeas. Rinse the canned chickpeas in fresh water first a few times. Drain the water and then add the canned chickpeas to the onion-tomato masala base.
Swap dry mango powder with lemon juice. Add 1 teaspoon lemon juice or as needed when the cooking the curry is complete. Instead of dry mango powder you can also add dry pomegranate seeds powder.
You can add a pinch of baking soda while cooking the chickpeas. If you have used baking soda, then discard the stock and use water while making the curry base later. The same applies if you have used tea bags or tea leaves/tea powder. Discard the stock and use water.

Nutrition