Punjabi Chole Masala is a delicious chickpea curry that’s made all over Pakistan and India. It’s made with chickpeas, tomatoes, onions, and a handful of spices. It’s delicious served over jeera rice, or scooped up with a steamy hot naan or soft, flaky pooris. It's also served as part of Halwa Puri a popular breakfast platter in Pakistan.
Today I’m sharing one of my favourite curries to eat, chana masala aka Punjabi chole. This is SUCH a delicious and easy recipe. In my humble opinion, it’s one of the best curries out there. Just look at that bowl of chickpea masala, isn’t it making you want to scoop it up with a fresh out of the oven naan?
Or you could pair it with poori and halwa, and make a poori halwa brunch out of it. YUM!
What You Need
- Chickpeas
- Tomatoes and Onions
- Ginger and Garlic
- Spices
Canned Chickpeas or Raw Chickpeas?
I’ll be honest here, I just use good quality canned chickpeas to make my chana masala recipe (and even my chana pulao and this salad). I feel like as long as you’re using good quality canned chickpeas, the chana masala tastes great. Make sure though that you drain the chickpeas before using them. Some people rinse them with water before cooking, but I feel that affects the taste of the chickpeas.
Traditionally, however, raw chickpeas are used which are first soaked in water and then boiled. With two small kids, I have never time to do this. So I use canned chickpeas.
How to Make It
- Making chana masala at home is super easy!
- We start by frying the chopped onion until its light golden brown. Then add the tomatoes and cook for a couple of minutes.
- Now add the ginger, garlic and spices and about 1/3 cup of water.
- Reduce the heat to medium, and cover the pot with a lid. Cook until the tomatoes have softened and cooked through.
- Once the tomato onion masala is ready, add the chickpeas and cook on high flame for a few minutes while stirring frequently.
- Add about 1/2 cup of water (the amount can vary according to how thin or thick you like your curry to be).
- Now reduce the heat to medium low, cover the pot with a lid, and cook for about 15-20 minutes. Stir every few minutes.
- Remove the lid, and cook on high flame for about 3-4 minutes while stirring frequently until the oil separates from the curry.
- Garnish with chopped coriander.
Want to Have a Halwa Poori Feast? Here are the recipes:
More Delicious Pakistani Recipes
Hariyali Chicken - Green Chicken Curry
Aloo Keema - Easy Ground Beef Curry
Baked Greek Chicken & Oregano Rice
Easy Indo-Chinese Chicken Manchurian
Chicken Teriyaki with Vegetables
Punjabi Chole Masala
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
- 1 teaspoon chopped ginger
- 2 small tomatoes finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon kashmiri lal mirch
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder haldi
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 chickpea cans 400 grams each, drained
- Salt to taste
- Water as required
- Chopped coriander for garnish
Instructions
- In a medium sized pot, bring the oil to a medium high heat. Add the chopped onion and fry until golden brown.
- Now add the tomatoes and cook for 1-2 minutes on high heat. Now add ginger and garlic and all spices and about 1/3 cup water. Reduce the heat to medium and cover the pot. Stir every few minutes until the tomatoes have cooked through.
- Now add the chickpeas and cook on high flame for a few minutes.
- Add about 1/2 cup water (or a little more, depending on how thick or thin you like the curry to be).
- Now reduce the heat to medium, cover the pot and cook for about 15-20 minutes (stir once or twice during this time).
- Now remove the lid, and cook on high heat for 3-4 minutes until you can see the oil separating from the curry.
- Garnish with chopped coriander and serve with rice or roti.
Nutrition
Strangely enough, I DO have a toddler running around my kitchen while I cook now a days. I got a chuckle out of your story. I relate! This dish looks perfect for busy day cooking. And I love whats in it!
Thank you Diane...good to know I'm not the only one with a toddler in the kitchen! 😉
My girls are just past the toddler stage and are now on to the wanting to help with everything in the kitchen, which presents a new set of challenges, but is also a lot of fun 🙂 I love chickpeas and curry, so this is right up my alley it sounds delicious and my girls will enjoy making it with me too!
We love curry here but have never thought to add chickpeas to it. What a great idea. Looks delicious too!
So easy and so good... And yes, moms need real food to eat in peace themselves! This sounds like just the right quick meal for any of us who can't always put much time or attention into cooking.
I love curries, and the addition of chickpeas is such a great alternative to meat!
I'm always looking for good curries and yours looks INCREDIBLY good!! Can't wait to try it!
30 minutes? I'm sold! I'm always in need of some quick sides for dinner and this one looks amazing! I love that I can have it done in about the same time as our dinners usually.
This looks like such a hearty and warming dish. I love chickpeas, and especially cumin!
Been dreaming about this since we talked about it 😀 Definitely will try this when my parents come over 😀 <3 xoxoxox
Been there, done that with both of my children tugging on my leg- I deserve a vacation! This looks delicious! I love curry and chickpeas & together-yum!
I love anything with chickpeas in it, this looks amazing!
Ive never thought of using chickpeas in a curry. That is a great option since Im trying to cut down on the number of meals we have with meats. I also wanted to complement you on your photography--- it all looks so mouth wateringliy delicious! Beautiful!
I love these photos! I am sad I can't try this right now - it sounds so healthy and loaded with flavor.
Great looking recipe, and whilst there are no toddlers running round my kitchen, sometimes a quick n easy meal like this is perfect 🙂
Janie x