Pindi Chole

A dry, tangy and spicy chickpea curry originally from Rawalpindi, Pakistan, hence the name. This recipe, however, is a Punjabi version
Ingredients - Serves 6-8
  • 2X400 g can of chickpeas, or 1 cup of dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
  • 1 black tea bag or 1 tsp black tea in a muslin pouch
  • 1 tbsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tbsp dried pomegranate seeds (known as anardana)
  • ½ cup oil
  • 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste or 1 tbsp ginger and 1 tbsp garlic, finely chopped
  • 3-4 green chillies, slit lengthwise (adjust based on your spice/heat tolerance)
  • 2 tbsp ground coriander
  • 2 tbsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp dry mango powder (or amchur)
  • 1 tsp red chilli powder, optional
  • Salt, to taste
Steps
  1. Drain the chickpeas and rinse well. Cook with the tea bag and plenty of water until soft
    2. Use a {pressure cooker} to speed up the cooking
  2. Drain the chickpeas and reserve the tea water
  3. Dry roast the cumin seeds and pomegranate seeds till slightly browned. Grind to a fine powder. Set aside
  4. Heat oil in a saucepan. Saute ginger-garlic paste (or ginger and garlic) till the raw smell is gone
  5. Add all the remaining spices and cook till the mixture looks dry
  6. Add ½ cup of the reserved tea water and cook the spices till you can see oil separating out from the paste
  7. Add the chickpeas, green chillies and salt and another ½ cup of the tea water. Cook for 3-4 minutes
  8. Sprinkle the ground cumin-pomegranate seeds mixture over the chickpeas and mix well
    9. Use small amounts of the mixture and decide the quantity according to your tastes
  9. Serve hot with chapati, a wedge of lemon and a few slices of raw onion
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