Punjabi Chhole , the turbanated cousin of the ghooghni

Bengali's love Punjabi food so much that they wear the Punjabi with pride . Every road , every highway has eateries dedicated to the worship of Punjabi food. Don't remember when exactly but some how this typically Punjabi chickpea recipe started dominating the traditional ghooghni in parties , So here is the interloper

Ingredients:
Chickpeas: 1 cup

Onion: 3 diced
Tomato: 2
Cumin seeds: 1 tea spoon
Cumin powder: 1 tea spoon
Bay leaf : 1
Dried red chilies: 2
Turmeric Powder : 1 teas spoon
Chili powder: 1 teas spoon , or as much/ as less you can handle
Cinnamon :  1 decent stick
White oil: 1 tea spoon
Salt to taste
Tea bag: 1

Store bought chhole masala : Nope not one bit

Though it takes about 20 mins on a good day to make this Punjabi chickpeas you do need to soak the chickpeas overnight. In fact the longer you soak them the faster it cooks. However i tried soaking them for two days once but it went all foamy and frothy and we had to have takeout for dinner.  

The pressure cooker that you brought from home will be handy now. Cook the pre-soaked chickpeas with a tiny bit of salt and a tea bag and water. Do use regular tea, and not green tea, we are not trying to make the peas lose weight but just adding colour to it. This is what separates a ghugni from punjabi chhole so this is crucial. Drain the chickpeas but retain the water .

Add cinnamon,bay leaf, cumin seeds and dried chilies when the oil is hot. Followed by the diced onion.  Fry till it is golden and add turmeric , chili and cumin powder and the tomatoes. You could also substitute fresh tomatoes for canned or pureed tomatoes. Your mixture should resemble the picture above. Add the chickpeas and give it a good toss making sure the masala coats the chickpeas well . Add salt to taste. Add all the chickpea tea and bring to boil.

Now you could serve it in any consistency you want , with some gravy which is perfect to dip chapatis and while feeding a large crowd like I did in Leeds or make it by drying out the gravy. Serve with diced onion and a slice of lemon and some bread.