Pindi Chole Rawalpindi Style Chickpea

Method

1. 1

   Soak and cook chickpeas dark: Soak chickpeas overnight. Pressure cook with 3 cups water, teabags and salt for 6 to 7 whistles until very soft. The tea makes them very dark. Remove teabags.

2. 2

   Drain the chickpeas: Drain the cooked chickpeas reserving the cooking liquid separately. The dark cooking liquid will be used in the gravy.

3. 3

   Heat oil and add whole spices: Heat 2 tbsp oil in a heavy pan. Add bay leaves, black cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and coarsely ground black pepper. Let them sizzle 20 seconds.

4. 4

   Cook onions to very dark: Add finely chopped onions. Cook on medium heat for 15 minutes until deeply dark golden-brown. Pindi chole needs very dark onions for its characteristic colour and taste.

5. 5

   Add ginger and garlic: Add ginger paste and garlic paste. Stir continuously for 3 minutes until fully cooked and darkened slightly.

6. 6

   Add spice powders: Turn to low heat. Add red chilli powder, coriander powder and cumin powder. Add anardana powder. Stir on low heat for 3 minutes.

7. 7

   Add the chickpeas: Add the drained chickpeas to the spiced base. Stir to coat every chickpea with the dark masala.

8. 8

   Cook dry style: Add only 1/2 cup of the reserved dark cooking liquid — pindi chole should be nearly dry with very little gravy. Stir and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the masala clings to the chickpeas and the liquid evaporates. Add more cooking liquid in small amounts if it becomes too dry before the chickpeas are fully coated and cooked through.

9. 9

   Add garam masala and mash some chickpeas: Add garam masala. Using the back of a spoon, press and mash about 1/4 of the chickpeas against the pan wall — this creates a thick paste that binds the rest. Stir well.

10. 10

    Serve: The pindi chole should look very dark, nearly dry, with each chickpea coated in a thick, dark masala. Add salt to taste. Serve with raw onion rings, green chilli and lemon wedges. Eat with puris or bhaturas.

11. 11

    Note: Pindi Chole gets its name from Rawalpindi (in present-day Pakistan) — the style of chole preparation associated with that city before the 1947 partition of India. Many families who migrated from Rawalpindi to Punjab and Delhi brought this recipe with them. It is noticeably drier, darker and spicier than the chole made in other parts of Punjab. The anardana (dried pomegranate seeds) provide the characteristic tang without using tomatoes.