Cholia aur Aloo Ki Sabji

Cholia aur Aloo ki Sabji is an amazing combination of fresh green chickpeas and potatoes to create a magical curry which tastes amazing with some hot rotis or rice!

Sitting here in Bangalore, far away from Delhi, I find myself often dreaming about Delhi winters. Of sarsoon ka saag and makki ki roti, of gajar ka halwa, of moongfali, of gajak and of cholia. And this cholia aur aloo ki sabji!

Cholia is essentially fresh Garbanzo beans aka chick peas aka white channa. Every winter in Delhi, we would have hawkers come in with carts full of these and once bought, the whole family would sit on the terrace in the sun and peel those.

Some would go in bowl that mum kept, but a lot would go directly in our mouths and in the end, there would be a healthy argument on who eat the most and who ate the least and which of us was a good girl 🙂

Since I have moved to Bangalore, every year I try and recreate those winter foods as much as I can. I know there isn’t much winter here but at least the food can be made and relished. The other day we were driving by and I suddenly saw a cart full of cholia on the road. It took me back in time and I suddenly steered the car to the side of the road. N and O were both shocked at my excitement at seeing the cart. Well, with the fear of getting abandoned by the family I calmed down and bought not one, not two but THREE kilograms of cholia. I came back home a happy girl that evening. When I posted the picture of it in instagram (are you following me yet?) a lot of people ask me what do I make out of this.

So starting today, I will be doing a series of posts using Cholia in traditional Punjabi (just like how my mum made) recipes and here is the first one – Cholia aur Aloo ki sabji. This one is a cousin of the famous Punjabi aloo mutter only it is much more delightful. Has a deeper character and taste and so delicious!

Cholia aur Aloo Ki Sabji

Cholia aur Aloo ki Sabji is an amazing combination of fresh green chickpeas and potatoes to create a magical curry which tastes amazing with some hot rotis or rice!

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Course Main Dish

Cuisine north indian, punjabi

Ingredients

  

• 2 onions medium grated
• 3 tomatoes medium pureed
• 3 potatoes diced
• 1 to 1.5 cups cholia seeds
• 1 tsp jeera seeds
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsps coriander powder
• to taste salt
• 1/2 tsp garam masala

Instructions

 

• Heat oil in a pressure and add hing, roast till one minute and add jeera seeds. Roast till they turn golden brown.
• Add the grated onions to it and fry till deep brown in color, constantly stirring.
• At this stage, add the ginger garlic paste and tomato puree. Fry till the oil starts to leave the side.
• At this stage, add all the dry masalas apart from garam masala, Fry further for one minute.
• Add the potatoes and cholia at this stage and fry for 2-3 minutes till they are coated in masalas.
• Add enough water to just cover the cholia and aloo. Close the pressure cooker. After the first whistle, lower the gas and cook for 5-6 minutes.
• Switch off the gas and let the pressure release on its own before opening the pressure cooker.
• Add the garam masala and mix. Serve hot with phulkas.

Notes

 

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 !

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!