Chole

Hello boys and girls!

Welcome to cooking with Varun! You know how as you get older, your little bubbles of belief go pop pop. Like, 'Santa Claus isn't real' or 'There's no such thing as the tooth fairy'? Well I have a real doozy for you! Brace yourself. Sit down if you need to. Ready? Here it comes. Unless you're from north India, the 'chole' that you have been eating all your life with bhaturas or pooris or even in your 'Punjabi' chaats aren't real. They're impostors. Pretenders. They are merely chana masala operating under an alias! Is your mind blown yet? No? Well it will be after you've tasted the outcome of this oh-so-simple recipe.

Today's recipe is what is referred to in my house as kicchad chole. Kicchad meaning muck. This muddy moniker has been conferred upon this dish owing to it's thick muck like consistency. The chole aren't hard and chewy like the ones you've probably had. They're soft and melty. The thick gravy is alive with the flavour of ginger and masalas. Best coupled with fluffy yellow rice, hot crispy bhaturas or aloo tikkis, these chole are the real deal!

Without further ado, on to the recipe!

For my Chole, you will need the following:

Chole (chick peas)	300 gms (Please do not get the canned variety!)
Onion	1 large
Ginger	big chunk
Garlic	2-3 cloves
Dhaniya (coriander) powder	2 tsp
Jeera (cumin) powder	1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder	2 tsp
Chole masala	1 tsp (Yes, chole masala. It works!)
Garam masala	1/2 tsp
Amchoor (dried mango) powder	1 tsp
Salt	to taste
Oil

Prep:

1. Soak the chole overnight.
2. Slice the onion.
3. Julienne the ginger. (Psst.. cut it into straws!)
4. Peel the garlic cloves.
5. Mix all the masalas.

Method:

1. Drain the soaked chole.
2. Empty the chole into a pressure cooker.
3. Add in water until the chole are submerged about 3 fingers deep.
4. Drop in the onion.
5. Plop in the ginger.
6. Pop in the garlic.
7. Sprinkle in some salt.
8. Slap the lid on.
9. Turn on the gas.
10. Crank it up to high.
11. Bung the cooker on.
12. Wait until the first whistle.
13. Drop the heat to low
14. Listen to the whistles and groans for 30 minutes.
15. Turn the gas off.
16. Let the cooker sit until all the steam escapes.
17. Turn on a smaller burner.
18. Bung on a pan.
19. Splash in some oil.
20. Count to 20.
21. Add in the masalas.
22. Cook until very brown.
23. Take the pan off the burner.
24. Open the pressure cooker. 
25. Put the cooker back on the burner.
26. Add in a cup of water if the water is all gone.
27. Smoosh some of the chole against the side of the cooker.
28. Mix well, randomly squishing and bruising the chole. (This is to thicken the gravy.)
29. Add in the browned masalas.
30. Mix well.
31. Add salt to taste.
32. Let the chole bubble and simmer for a few minutes. (Adjust the water content to get the right thickness.)
33. Turn the gas off.
34. Serve with yellow rice, bhaturas or aloo tikkis.
35. Stuff face.
36. Bask in the glory in your successfully executed dish.

Tip: Don't be alarmed at all the whistles and groans in the 30 minute wait. Patience will get you soft melty chole!

And remember, overeating is a myth. A full tummy is a happy tummy!