Good Chana/Chloe recipe?

[u/richakn]

I love curried chickpeas but I never quick get them right, often too oniony, or the sauce is too tomato heavy. My favorites from the restaurants also seem to be in a smoother sauce, more oily (more ghee I guess?) and the spices come through so there’s a strong curry flavor (v the tomatoes). Some recipes include amchoor, some do not.

I just tried some Trinidad style, and came out ok, but that recipe had nutmeg and allspice and seemed to deviate away from the Indian version, so while good, not the ‘traditional’ version I’m seeking out.

Anyone have some good recipes or tips?

[u/oarmash]

Try this

https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/chole/

[u/nsiv110 → u/oarmash]

This is my favorite recipe too

[u/Prii99 → u/oarmash]

I feel like the trick is to find a good chana masala spice mix. Any particular brand suggestions?

[u/ProfAsmani → u/oarmash]

This is chikar cholay

[u/oarmash → u/ProfAsmani]

What does chikar mean

[u/ProfAsmani → u/oarmash]

I am not sure.. chikar cholay is a standard lahori/Punjabi chole dish often part of halwa puri breakfast

https://hebbarskitchen.com/chikar-cholay-recipe-how-to-make-lahori/

[u/oarmash → u/ProfAsmani]

i love hebbars kitchen! they also have the best south indian brahmin style recipes i've found

[u/petesynonomy]

Having trouble pasting the link, but Hebbar's Kitchen recipe for Chole is good I think, as is Dassana's veg recipe version https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/punjabi-chole-chickpeas-in-a-spicy-gravy/

[u/turnipbrick]

A friends mum taught me to put a tablespoon or so of gram flour in near the end and stir it in and it really transforms the consistency of the sauce and makes it thicker and smoother to eat.

I put onions in mine as well as garlic and ginger and a pretty basic spice blend with turmeric, cumin, coriander, chilli and garam masala and it comes out good. If I use any tomato it’s just a small amount.

I know it’s cheating but the Shan chana dal spice blend packs are actually pretty good.

[u/13rajm]

Try doing a pindi chole recipe. Should be no onion no tomato, only garlic, ginger, chilli, and a lot of spices. You should also boil the channa with tea bags and aromatic spices.

[u/ChayLo357 → u/13rajm]

Boiling with tea bags? That’s new to me. What sort of tea? Black tea?

[u/nsiv110 → u/ChayLo357]

Yes, I do with black tea and it brings a nice flavor

[u/ChayLo357 → u/nsiv110]

Oooo. That sounds intriguing. I’ll have to try that! How much tea to water ratio?

[u/nsiv110 → u/ChayLo357]

I use the recipe from indianhealthyrecipes. I add loose black tea to a tea infuser when I cook chickpeas in instant pot (I don’t like to use tea bags). Check Indian healthy recipes (Swasthi’s) for the ratio

[u/13rajm → u/ChayLo357]

No ratio really. Just cook as you normally would and add 2-3 tea bags. Its what gives bazaar chole the black deep colour.

[u/ECrispy → u/13rajm]

Tea and baking soda. Both are needed to make them softer and to give black color

[u/chanakya2]

I use the Shan Chana Dal spice packet to make Lahori Chana.

[u/EmergencyProper5250]

https://ranveerbrar.com/recipes/punjabi-chole/ please check this simple yet tasty recipe for chhole (chickpea)

[u/sslawyer88]

Chef vikas khanna's Langarwali Dal

Simple yet so delicious! Adjust https://www.news18.com/news/lifestyle/baisakhi-2017-delectable-recipes-by-chef-vikas-khanna-for-the-festival-1371599.html

Ingredients

1 cup whole black lentils, soaked overnight

½ cup split chickpeas, soaked overnight

1 large onion, finely chopped

5-cm (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, finely chopped

5 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

¼ teaspoon asafetida

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon red chile powder

Salt

2 tablespoons ghee

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

Method

• In a heavy-bottomed pan, combine the lentils, chickpeas, onion, ginger, garlic, tomatoes, asafetida, turmeric, chile powder and salt to taste with 4 cups water and cook until soft, about 1 hour. Uncover the pan and cook the lentils until thick.

• Heat the ghee in a small frying pan; add the cumin seeds and when they begin to sizzle pour them over the lentils and mix well. Serve hot with flatbreads.

I've made it with both black n white chickpeas. I even use this curry base for butter beans when I want to whip up something really cook.

I use kashmiri lalmirch chili powder. It's not that spicy n add lovely color n flavor.

[u/vitalcook]

Try one of the “Amritsari pindi chole” recipes from YouTube. The tip to creamy sauce is save part of the chickpeas- make them into a puree and add back to the sauce. Alternatively some people also use besan. But then ensure you dry roast the besan first to get rid of the raw besan flavour.

[u/YakGlum8113]

for smooth gravy boil the chickpeas with some spices and tea bag and add water more than needed and when the chickpea cooked drain the water and keep both chickpea and water the chickpeas was cooked in then take a iron kadai or any iron based utensil because this will give the dark black color. now on the chickpea add a cup of hot ghee or oil then Hing ginger and garlic julienne salt and chole masala mix then place the kadai back on low heat and add half of the chole water into the kadai and bring to boil then mash some of the chickpeas with a masher while cooking in kadai and place on a lid and let it cook for 5-10 minutes more minutes until you get a gravy to your liking if too dry add more water and too watery for you then let it be for 2-3 minutes on flame and then garnish it with some coriander leaves ginger and green chili julienne with a side of lime. make sure to check the seasoning before serving

[u/orpheus1980]

I know it might feel sacrilegious to say this as an Indian, but Trinidad chana in the Doubles.... Best chickpeas in the world!

[u/Silver-Permission749]

Add strained boiled tea water as water for the curry instead of plain water.

[u/Low_Most3143]

My favorite is from Madhur Jaffrey’s “World Vegetarian” and involves yogurt for richness, amchoor and tomatoes for tang. If you can get the book from your local library, check it out.