Traditional Spicy Chole Tikka Masala Recipe

Punjabi Chole tikka masala is one of our fav recipes ever. It is perfect for those hearty Sunday brunches with the family. Chole tikka masala is made with chickpeas, obviously, and it is packed with flavour. Chickpeas are also a rich source of protein. It is traditionally served with basmati rice and some home-made yogurt.

Chole rice or chickpea curry with rice has always been our go-to brunch for Sundays. I can still remember those summer days when we used to enjoy chole rice with yogurt, some pickle and papad on a lazy sunday afternoon.

To make this chickpea curry recipe, you can either use canned chickpeas or dry chickpeas, both work fine. You can find chickpeas at most of the supermarkets. They also go by the name of garbanzo beans. We usually use the dry chickpeas and we soak them overnight and then pressure cook them for 10 minutes. It sounds like a lot of work, but we are used to it, I guess.

You can use canned chickpeas as well. This chickpea curry recipe works perfectly fine with either. And it makes for a very soulful meal that keeps you full for a long time.

Chickpea or chole tikka masala is a chickpea curry which is very thick and rich. It goes perfectly well with some plain parathas as well.

How to prepare:

Step 1:

If you are using dry chickpea, soak them overnight or for 5-6 hours. Then pressure cook them with 1 tsp salt and enough water for about 2-3 whistles. We do not want to be overcooking the chole because we are going to be grilling them in a while.

Step 2:

Chop all the veggies i.e onions, tomatoes, green chillies and garlic. Do not stress about finely chopping the veggies because we are going to blend everything later and make a gravy.

How to make chole tikka masala:

Step 3:

In a pan, add a little ghee or mustard oil, whatever you prefer cooking with. And when the ghee is hot, add in cumin seeds and let them crackle.

Step 4:

Once the cumin seeds start to crackle, add in the roughly chopped onions, tomatoes, green chillies and garlic along with 10-12 cashews. Let all this cook for about 5 minutes or till them tomatoes start to get mushy.

step 5:

Once the tomatoes are mushy, turn off the stove and transfer the mixture to a blender jar and allow to cool. Do not blend it while it’s still hot, it could damage the motor of your blender or the blender jar.

Step 6:

While the gravy mix cools down, we will prepare the chole to go in. Take the boiled chickpeas in a bowl, and add in all the spices i.e salt, turmeric, dry mango powder, red paprika, cumin powder etc and give it all a good mix. Make sure you do not throw away the water from the boiled chickpeas. Keep that aside because you can use that later on to adjust the consistency of gravy.

step 7:

On a non stick pan, roast the chickpeas for about 10 minutes till they start getting dry and crisp. Make sure to keep tossing them every now and then.

Step 8 :

Now that the mixture is cooled down, blend it all together to make a thick puree. Do not add any water at this point of time. Blend it into a smooth paste.

Step 9:

In a pan add 1 tsp of ghee and add 1 tsp of red paprika. cook for about 20 seconds when the ghee is hot and then add the gravy mix from the blender. Mix everything well and let it all cook for another 5-7 minutes or so.

Step 10:

Add in the roasted chickpeas, give it all a good mix and cook for another 5 minutes so that the chickpeas can soak up the spices from the gravy.

Step 11:

Garnish with some butter and some dried fenugreek leaves or coriander, whatever you prefer. Serve hot with Basmati rice.

Some tips:

• You can use either canned chickpeas or dry chickpeas. If you are using the dried chickpeas, soak them overnight or at least for 5-6 hours.
• While boiling the chickpeas, do not add anything other than salt. Some people put in a few tea bags to change the color of chickpeas. But for this recipe we want them to stay yellowish after they are boiled.
• Do not blend the gravy mix while it’s still hot. Allow it to cool down first.
• Chole tikka masala is best served with basmati rice or plain lachha parantha.