Punjabi Chole Recipe (Chickpea Curry Recipe)

This Punjabi chole recipe is a hearty vegan curry made with boiled chickpeas, onions, tomatoes and a medley of spices. It tastes divine with freshly made puri or bhatura (Indian breads), and even plain rice, white or brown. Easy as 1,2,3 in the instant pot!

When it comes to chickpeas, the two Indian dishes that probably come to everybody's mind are chole puri or chole bhature. Curried chickpeas are paired with either puri or bhatura (fried Indian breads) for a truly delicious meal that will leave you satiated. There is something magical that happens when curried chickpeas are paired with these breads. They taste SO GOOD. Don't believe me? Ask anyone familiar with north Indian food about chole puri or chole bhature and they will go into rhapsodies about how amazing they taste.

Here, I share with you an easy vegan chole recipe made in the instant pot.

If you want to know how to make puri or bhatura, check these posts out -

• 2 cups chickpeas - cooked
• 1 cup red onion - diced
• 1 cup tomatoes - diced
• 1 teaspoon each ginger and garlic pastes - available in small jars in Indian grocery stores or even big supermarkets like Walmart. You can make the pastes at home too, and you don't have to make them separately either. Put equal quantities of peeled ginger and peeled garlic into a small blender along with a little water and whizz to get a smooth paste. Store this paste in a glass jar in the fridge for a few days and use as required.
• ⅓ cup cooking oil - I used a mix of canola and olive for this recipe.
• 2 tablespoons Everest Chole Masala - Everest is a good brand and is easily available in Indian stores. If you cannot find it, add a few more spices to compensate for the flavor - 1 teaspoon cumin powder, 1 teaspoon coriander powder, ½ teaspoon garam masala and 1 teaspoon mango powder or amchur should do the trick. Here's a garam masala recipe, if you want to make some of your own. 
• 1 tablespoon pomegranate powder (anardana) - also available in Indian stores. Pomegranate powder. like the fruit, has a sweet and sour taste that adds a lot of zing to the chole. Do try to get hold of this ingredient. If you absolutely can't, use 1 tablespoon tamarind paste.
• 1 teaspoon crushed or powdered red chilli 
• 1 teaspoon each diced onions, tomatoes and green chilli - for garnishing
• juice of half a lime - optional

A huge time saving tip (use canned chickpeas)

• Drain the liquid from the cans and rinse the chickpeas in cold water before adding them to the masala. All that extra sodium and froth will get washed away.

More Instant Pot Vegan Recipes for you

📖 Recipe

Punjabi Chole Recipe (Chickpea Curry Recipe)

Saima Zaidi

This Punjabi chole recipe is a hearty vegan curry made with boiled chickpeas, onions, tomatoes and a medley of spices. It tastes divine with freshly made puri or bhatura (Indian breads), and even plain rice. Easy as 1,2,3 in the instant pot!

5 from 3 votes

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Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Course Breakfast/Brunch

Cuisine Indian

Servings 4 people

Calories 373.2 kcal

Equipment

• 6-quart Instant Pot Duo

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 2 cups chickpeas soaked overnight in 2 cups water
• ⅓ cup cooking oil
• 1 cup red onion diced
• 1 cup tomatoes diced
• 1 teaspoon ginger paste
• 1 teaspoon garlic paste
• 2 tablespoon Everest chole masala
• 1 tablespoon pomegranate powder
• 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped onion for garnishing
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped tomato for garnishing
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped green chilli for garnishing
• juice of half a lime optional
• salt to taste

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

 

• Drain the soaked chickpeas and put them in the inner pot of the Instant Pot along with 4 cups of water and salt. Close the lid and make sure the vent is in sealing position. Press the pressure cooking button and set the timer to 30 minutes. Release the pressure after 10 minutes. Open the lid and take out the chickpeas along with any remaining liquid in a bowl and keep aside.
• Cancel the pressure cooking mode and press saute mode. Add ⅓ cup cooking oil. Add onions and saute until pink. Tip in the ginger and garlic pastes, chopped tomatoes, and all the powdered spices. Cook until the oil leaves the sides of the pot and the masala becomes shiny. Keep adding water little by little to prevent the masala from sticking to the bottom of the pot. (8-10 minutes)
• Add the boiled chickpeas and saute again for 5 minutes.
• Take them out in a bowl and garnish with the chopped onion, tomatoes and green chilli. Sprinkle some lime juice over the chole if you wish to.

Notes

1. If you don't have the time to soak and boil the chickpeas, simply use 2 chickpea cans. Follow the recipe from step 2 in the recipe card and add the canned chickpeas and 1 cup water after preparing the masala. Pressure cook for 3 minutes only with 5 minutes QPR (Quick Pressure Release).
2. Everest chole masala is readily available in Indian groceries, but you can make your own masala if you want to. Add 1 teaspoon cumin powder, 1 teaspoon coriander powder, 1 teaspoon garam masala and 1 teaspoon mango powder or amchur in addition to the other powdered spices in the recipe.
3. Pomegranate powder tastes lovely in chole, but if you don't have it, use 1 tablespoon tamarind paste which is more readily available.

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 373.2kcalCarbohydrates: 43.9gProtein: 9.2gFat: 18.9gSaturated Fat: 1.4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 15.5gSodium: 464.1mgFiber: 8.9gSugar: 2.8g

Keyword chana masala, Indian chickpea curry, Punjabi chole

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