Chole Bhature
Punjab's classic pairing of dark, tangy spiced chickpea curry with puffy, golden deep-fried bread leavened overnight with yogurt — a Sunday-morning staple across North India.
Vegetarian
⚠ Contains: Gluten, Dairy. Always check your own ingredients — this isn't a guarantee for severe allergies.
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
- 2 black tea bags (for color)
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 tomatoes, pureed
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 2 tsp chole masala
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp amchur (dried mango powder)
- Oil, for cooking and frying
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (maida)
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp sugar
- Salt, to taste
Steps
- Boil the soaked chickpeas with the tea bags and salt until tender, about 40 minutes. Discard the tea bags and reserve the cooking liquid.
- Heat oil, fry the cumin seeds, then the onion until golden, followed by the ginger-garlic paste.
- Add the tomato puree and cook until the oil separates, then stir in the chole masala and amchur.
- Add the cooked chickpeas and some of their cooking liquid, and simmer 15-20 minutes until thick and dark.
- For the bhature, mix the flour, yogurt, baking soda, sugar, and salt with enough water to form a soft dough. Cover and rest at least 2 hours.
- Divide the dough into balls, roll into ovals, and deep-fry in hot oil until puffed and golden on both sides.
- Serve the chole hot alongside the fresh bhature.