Chole Bhature is one of my favorite foods in the world. Sharing with you our family recipe for the same. It has a secret ingredient which my grandmother taught me and will get you the best results ever!
Chole bhature is my second most favorite food in the whole wide world. What can beat this you ask? Of course, my favorite food of all time in this world and the other if there is one, kadhi chawal!
Every single thing about this recipe counts as sinful and fully sinful. That why it’s made very very rarely at our household. But when it’s made, everyone’s plate is wiped off clean!
Chole bhature is eaten as breakfast or brunch pretty much all over Punjab, Haryana and U.P. My childhood would have incomplete without those delicious bhatures. I have spent countless days sitting on the kitchen counter, while Mom would make bhatures by the dozen. Don’t how but they used to be polished off within minutes. All us sisters fondly recall the silly fights we would have over whose bhatura is bigger. The careless childhood days.
The secret of the best Chole
Although I don’t make bhature too often – chole is made almost every other week! And the chickpeas get the magic from dried gooseberries. The gooseberries in the recipe give this dish a tang and color.
I know a lot of people use tea leaves for that deep brown color in the chole but my granny would cringe and get angry if anyone ever brought tea leaves closer to Chole. She would say ‘peene ke cheez, glass main daalo cooker main nahin” (tea is to drink, put it in the glass, not in the cooker). The traditional way (at least what my family is using for generations) is to get the color in chole by using dry gooseberries and roasted spices. Apart from giving a deep brown color, it also gives a flavor which is kickass. Try it once and I promise you will never go back to your tea leaves again.
Coming back to Bhature, as the child says, one is incomplete without the other. On days when I feel like indulging myself and everyone around, this dish is my answer. This filling breakfast (we have it for any meal, really) has been my go-to comfort food as well. The way the flaky bhatura and the spicy chole go so well together-yummm!
And the best part is when you take a bite of the fried green chilies or the cut onions sprinkled with lemon juice along with this – like I said before, the way the tangy and spicy chole meet the flaky and melt in your mouth bhature, it is truly a match made in heaven!
If you make this, share a picture with me on twitter, instagram or Facebook? I would love to hear what you have to say about it!
Chole Bhature : Spicy Chickpea Gravy Served With Fried Bread - Truly A Match Made In Heaven
Ingredients
For the chole
- 1.5 cups chickpeas soaked overnight
- 1 large onion grated
- 5-6 dry gooseberries
- 1 large tomato pureed
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- 3-4 cloves
- 4-5 peppercons
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 black cardamom
- 2 green chillies
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp dry mango powder aamchor
- 2 tsp anardana
- 2-4 tsp channa masala I prefer to use Roopak, quantity depends on how spicy you want your dish
- Salt to taste
- 2 tsp Mustard Oil/Ghee
For garnishing the chole
- 2 nos onions cut into thin rings
- 1 nos tomato cut into thin rings
- 1 handful handful coriander leaves chopped fine
For the aloo side
- 3 large potatoes
- 3 tsps coriander powder
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1/2 tsp chana masala
- 1 tsp anardana
- 1 tsp tava fry masala (this is optional - skip if you don't have it handy)
- to taste salt
- 1 tsp mustard oil
For the mirchi side
- 5-6 green chillies slit
- to taste salt
- 1/2 tsp dry mango powder
For the bhatura
- 2 cups all purpose flour / maida
- 1 cup curd
- 1/2 tsp ajwain
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- to taste salt
- to knead water
Instructions
The chole
- Boil the soaked cholas with some salt, dry gooseberries and a pinch of turmeric in a pressure cooker. After one whistle, lower the flame and let it cook for about 15 minutes
- Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan and add cumin seeds to it
- After they turn brown, add all the sabut masala (bay leaves, cloves, crushed black cardamom, cinnamon, peppercons). Fry for 2 minutes
- Add the green chillies and fry for 1 min
- Add the grated onion and fry till golden brown
- Add the tomato puree and fry for about 5 minutes
- Add all the dry masalas and fry for another minute or so
- Take out some of the boiled channa, and mash it well and roast for about 2 minutes or so
- Add the rest of the boiled channa (don't add the water yet) and mash very little and roast for another 5 mins
- Now add water and cook for another 5 mins
- Garnish with cut onion and tomato rings and top with some fresh corrainder
The Aloo
- Boil the potatoes in pressure cooker
- Peel and cut them in cubes
- Heat oil in pan, add all dry masalas.Roast for 1 min
- Add potatoes and mix well
- Fry for 5 minutes or so
The Chilli Side
- Slit the green chillies from the center, don't remove the stalk, if you don't like it very spicy remove the seeds else leave them.
- Mix all the dry masalas together and roll the green chillies in it
- Deep fry up to 2 minutes in hot oil
The Bhature
- Mix all the ingredients together and using water and knead to form a soft dough.
- Cover with a damp cloth and leave aside for at least 1 hour or so.
- Make round balls and roll like chapatis and deep fry in hot oil
- And now put them all together in a plate, add some green chutney and attack
i want i want i want!!!
yay!
now the rajma one also please!
looks yum. i did not know about amla. i thought you could use tea leaves to get the dark colour and anardana later for the khatta taste. I’ll definitely try this and also the aloo recipe sounds good, the new variations for me are the tava fry masala and the chana masala.
thank you for sharing
Yummmy 🙂
Why why why do you post this when I am trying to eat right? 🙁
Sigh! looks absolutely yummy.
You cannot torture us like that Monika. 🙁
I think of dieting from today and here you are………..
I want chole bhature NOW NOW NOW.
SLurp … I am done attacking 😉
Thats so yummy…now, I am going to soak the chick peas…it has to be done tomorrow…no more delays…Oh, God, how can I sleep with images of bhature hit me temptingly…
Monu, how can u tempt us all like this ???? Its one of the girls’ fav food… 🙂
I love those puffy breads! Yummm. The green chutney sounds delicious, too. Thanks for sharing.
Look very tempting and from the recipe I can imagine it is super-yummy 🙂
Wow! It looks so goooood! I so am going out for a plateful for lunch! It really looks amazing.
I knead the maida in soda. That makes the maida bhatura lighter than it is otherwise. The bhatura also comes out really fluffy. You don’t have to leave it aside for an hour either
And I am still droooooooooooooooling 🙂 Chole bature is an all time favourite…… yummmy!!!
Not fair!
Goodness..June is also a month of food festival I guess..apart from naplobloblo of course!
Thats looks sooooooo yummmmmmy! *Slurp*
come over sweety will make for u
coming soon 😀
yeah u could use that too but the original recipe asks for amla plus the tea bag leave a lingering tea taste in it which i dont enjoy too much
he he me too bharti me too
hope the girls like it u should bring them to blore I will make it for them
Slurp..thats my MOST favourite food in the world. And I WANT IT NOW NOW NOW!!!
just what I needed..Bookmarking the post for future use 🙂
What timing to be reading this Mon! I have been thinking about making Chole Bhature the past few days for the daughter. Yay, now I have access to a recipe too! 🙂
Hi Monica .. the ingredients list doesn’t seem to be there
Sorry Rashmi, that was the problem with the migration. Fixed it now
Hi Monika,
Can I use fresh gooseberries? I have a whole packet of fresh ones lying. Thanks.
Fresh gooseberries work well for the flavour. Might not give the color though
my fav chole recipe :). Have made it soo many times to go with rice.