Chole Bhature Recipe : Punjab’s Spicy and Tangy Dish!

Prev Article Next Article

Looking for some delicious and tasty food? Check the Chole Bhature Recipe and sate your appetite. It is one of the Punjabi Cuisine which is famous all over India and available as fast food in Mumbai. People of Amritsar and in other parts of India consider this dish as one of the street foods. But now even the top restaurants prefer to serve Chole Bhature and want the monopoly in its making.

Chole Bhature

Author: Karishma Shah
Recipe Category: Punjabi Dish
Cuisine: Indian
Serves: 7

Description: Looking for some delicious and tasty? Check the Chole Bhature Recipe and sate your appetite. It is one of the Punjabi Cuisine which is famous all over India

Chole Bhature Recipe

Ingredients for Chole Bhature Recipe

You would need many veggies and spices if you are planning to make restaurant style masala chole at home. The few ingredients required for making Bhature are easily and also commonly available in every house.

Ingredients for Chole:

Chole (Chickpeas) – 1 large cup
Tomatoes – 1 cup – 2 pieces (roughly chopped)
Onions – 1 cup – 2 pieces (finely chopped)
Peppercorn – 1 tbsp.
Fennel Powder – 1 tbsp.
Cumin Seeds – 1 tbsp.
Cumin Powder – 1 tbsp.
Turmeric Powder – 1 tsp.
Coriander Seed Powder – 1 tbsp.
Red Chili Powder – 3 tbsp.
Cinnamon Sticks – 2 pieces
Black Cardamom – ½ tsp.
Green Cardamom – ½ tsp.
Cloves – 6 pieces
Mace – ¼ tsp.
Tea Bags – 2 bags
Garlic Paste – 1 tbsp.
Ginger Paste – 1 tbsp.
Ginger chopped – 1 tbsp.
Ghee – 4 tbsp. (Try Patanjali’s Cow Ghee)
Bay Leaves – ¾ tsp.
Lemon Juice – ½ tsp.
Mango Powder – ½ tsp.
Pomegranate Seed Powder – 1 tbsp.
Water – 1 large cup
Sugar – as per taste
Salt – as per taste

Note: Finely chop tomatoes and the onions. Use the tomatoes for making the tomato Puree. Use 1 onion for making the puree. You can use either rock salt or the white salt. Prepare the lime juice of the lemons. Using the sugar is optional. You can easily make the dry mango powder at home.

Ingredients for Bhature:

Refined Flour – 2 cups
Wheat Flour – 1 cup
Semolina – 5 tbsp.
Baking Powder – 3 tbsp.
Olive Oil or Vegetable Oil – 3 tbsp.
Thick Yogurt – 10 tbsp.
Warm Water – 1 cup (small)
Salt – as per taste

Note: You would need about 3 cups of oil (use saffola oil) for deep frying the Bhature. But it is optional to use it. You can make Bhature only from the Refined flour. So, if you are using only Maida to prepare Bhature then use 3 cups of Refined flour (Maida). It is better to use the homemade Yogurt for making the Bhature.

Method of Making Chole Bhature Recipe

The preparation for the Chole Bhature Recipe is divided to into basic steps. First is to make the Chole and for that, you have to soak the Chole in warm water. The second portion is to separately prepare Bhature.

Pre-Preparation:

Soak Chole:

Wash the chole with clean water.
Take a medium sized bowl.
Pour enough water into the bowl.
Soak Chole approximately for 8 hours.

Note: It is advisable to keep the Chole soaked overnight so that they get puffed up.

Onion Paste:

Take the onions and wash them.
Make the onion paste with them.
Now chop the onions into fine pieces.
Add the chopped onions ina blender.
You can also use the small chutney jar.
Also, add the deseeded and chopped green chilies.
Grind the mixture to form a coarse textured onion paste.
Make the smooth onion paste in the blender.
Transfer the onion paste in a bowl and keep it aside.

Note: Do not add water in the onion paste. It has to be thick paste.

Tomato Puree:

Rinse the rinse the tomatoes.
Remove the seeds within them.
Then chop then into small cubes.
Take the roughly chopped tomatoes.
Put these chopped tomatoes into a grinder.
Add all the tomato juice in the jar.
Grind everything on the medium pace.
Make the smooth and thick tomato paste.
Add little water to and a make the tomato puree.
Transfer the puree into a small bowl
Keep the bowl tomato puree aside for a while.

Note: It is better to chop the tomatoes directly above the grinder. Chop them over the mixer grinder.

Steps for Making Chole:

Boil the Soaked Chole:

We need to boil the Chole.
We shall do that by draining the water from the soaked Chole.
Once again clean the Chole with the fresh water.
Now in the pressure cooker along with the Chole, add black cardamom.
Also, add the bay leaves, garlic, baking soda, salt, and water.
Dip the tea bag in the cooker for some time and then take it out.
Keep the Chole in the cooker till they are cooked.
You have to pressure cook the soaked chole until 4 to 5 whistles.
You can wait for more whistles if chole are not cooked.
Wait until they are cooked and have become tender.
It might take half an hour for the Chole to cook in the pressure cooker.
Once Chole has been cooked, filter them from cooker and keep aside.

Make the Chole Gravy:

We will start with the preparation of masala.
For that, you have to heat a pan over a low flame.
Now take the non-stick fry pan and switch on the stove.
When the pan is sufficiently hot, add the spices.
So now take all the whole spices and the spice powders.
Take one by one each of them you have in the ingredients.
Firstly, add cumin seeds and the cardamom seeds to the pan.
Let them crackle along with the chopped green chillies.
Then sprinkle cumin powder and the coriander powder to the pan.
Add the chopped green chillies and mix with the spice powders.
Also, mix the turmeric powder with the fennel seed powder.
Then add the black peppercorns and the cloves to this pan.
Roast of all these spices for some time and add mace strands.
Break and mix the cinnamon stick for two or three minutes.
Keep to roast them on the low flame or else they will burn.
The aroma of the roasted spices should smell delicious.
Now take this warm roasted spice mixture to the grinder.
Grind these whole spices on medium pace to the fine powder.
Once the masala is ready, transfer it to the small bowl.
Keep the bowl of masala powder aside for a while to rest.
Once again, take another pan or vessel and keep in the stove.
Add ghee and melt it over the high flame.
Sauté cumin seeds (Jeera) along with the bay leaves.
Now, add the chopped onions and stir till they change the color to brown.
To this mixture of onion paste, add the garlic paste.
Stir everything well and wait till the oil begins to release.
Then add the chopped tomatoes and once again mix gently.
After mixing these ingredients properly, add ginger pieces.
Sauté the mixture, then sprinkle 1 tsp. of Garam spice masala you prepared.
Cover the pan and let the tomatoes cook.
The final mixture will become mushy.
In the above-prepared mixture, add the onion paste and tomato puree.
Let it mix properly and then give a stir at regular intervals.
Add the masala paste you prepared as well the dry masala powders.
Sprinkle salt, chili powder and the cumin seeds with a bit of water.
You may also add the little bit of sugar to match the taste and balance the masalas.
Boil the mixture till it releases oil, after that mix Chole in the pan.
Take care while mashing the Chole.
Cook for the mixture for some time.
Keep adding water to avoid burning of Chole.
For giving the final taste, sprinkle little lemon juice.
Also, add the Mango powder and Pomegranate powder.
Season the chole gravy with a pinch of salt
Give a final stir to the mixture and let it settle.
Sprinkle some coriander leaves which will give color to the dish.

And the Spicy Masala Chole is ready!

Note: Preparation time will be 30 minutes. After some time, when you remove the tea bags, you can remove black cardamom as well if you want.

Steps for Making Bhature:

Make Dough for Bhature:

In a bowl, add the flours and baking powder.
Then mix semolina along these two ingredients.
Then add a pinch of sugar and salt as per taste.
Sieve it well and then add yogurt to the dough.
Knead the mixture and add oil and water.
You must properly knead the dough.
You have to combine all with your fingers and knead.
Knead the dough for minimum 15 to 20 minutes.
You must knead the dough unless it shapes into a smooth ball.
The more nicely you will knead the dough, the better your dough would be.
Wait you have properly transformed the mixture to smooth dough.
Then begin to make the circular shape of the dough.
Now cover this with a damp cloth and keep in a humid place.
It should probably take 2 hours for the dough to settle.

Once you have covered it with cloth and allowed it to rest for a while, then start making Bhature.

Make the Bhature:

Make medium or small sized round balls of the thick size.
Roll to it the size of paratha’s or small Puri shape.
Place them on a round surface and roll them with a roller.
If would be easy for you to roll, if you dust some flour over them before rolling.
Make them of similar size as the Roti or Paratha but keep them slightly thick.
This way, you have to roll out each ball individual in the shape and size similar to paratha.
Then deep fry them till they become fluffy from both sides.
So, take a deep frying pan and heat around 3 cups of oil.
When the oil is sufficiently heated, add the Bhature in it.
Reduce the gas flame to the medium and fry the Bhature completely from one side.
While the Bhature are in the oil, press their surface with the back of the spoon and submerge them deep in the oil.
After the one side is fried, turn the Bhature and let other side fry properly.
The final Bhature has to be crispy and light brown coloured but not burned.
Keep them on the oil-absorbent paper to remove the excess oil.

Note: The cloth used for covering the dough should be damp or use a wet muslin cloth. Store the dough at a humid temperature. The Bhature would fry well if the dough is kept for more than 2 hours, preferably overnight. The best place would be in your oven with the light on.
Additional Information:

Calories: 195 calories
Total Time: PT45M
Date Published: 2016-07-06

Get Daily Dose of Delicious Recipes… Subscribe Now!

It is very easy to make this all-time favorite restaurant style Chole Bhature at home. The whole dish of Chole Bhature is nothing but the combination of spicy chickpea curry which served the fried Bhature. The chole is made by boiling the chickpeas and then cooking them with various spices to make a chole curry. Whereas the Bhature is a refined flour Poori which is deep fried.

In this recipe, the boiled chickpeas are simmered with the spice mixture. Then it is tossed in the onion and tomato puree along with Garam masala powder and other condiments. This blends of various ingredients result in an amazing Punjabi dish which is relished by a large number of people. You can tweak with the traditional version of chole. However you make, it gets ready in minutes.

Eat as soon as it made and it would simply taste delicious. There have various twist to this dish as well but none can beat the authentic way of its preparation. The combination of the healthy chole with various Indian Condiments is commendable. The chole is soaked and tossed with various whole spices. Then it is seasoned with onion-tomato based curry along with other spice powders. The spicy chole is eaten with mild Bhature.

Remarks:

Use baking powder. Soda can be used in the replacement of baking powder but it is generally not advisable to use it.
You can store the excess Bhature dough in the fridge and re-use it again. The dough that you made for the Bhature can be reused till minimum three days.
Wheat flour is not necessary nor is the Pomegranate powder and Amla powder. You can also squeeze lemon juice or add the chopped amla. These are optional.
Use masala paste only in the required amount, the excess of it can spoil the dish. Even the addition of the dry masala powder has to be in the proportion of how much spicy you wish to have.
You should specifically add garlic with the onion paste.
Add sugar along with tomato to balance the taste of the excess tanginess.
Cooking time is less than one hour, approximately 45 minutes.
This dish is preferred in lunch, dinner and also as fast food.
The minimum serving is 10-12 people, the number varies along with the usage of ingredients.
If you are unable to roll the Bhature, then avoid to cut them with a cookie cutter. If you do so then will not puff up.

Garnishing Idea:

Take the Chole Bhature from the hot pan and transfer them to the plate. The strong aroma of the Chole Bhatura is very tempting. But with proper plating and interesting garnishing, you can make your Chole Bhature more appealing to eyes.

Transfer the Chole Bhature in a nice and fancy serving plate.
Ladle the Chole Bhature in a large serving bowl.
Serve the Chole Bhature in the brass serving kadhai.
You can also keep Chole Bhature Masala in the fancy oval plate.
Pour the Chole Bhature a nice looking plate.

You can also garnish chole Bhature with:

Fried Green Chilies
Slit Chopped Red Chillies
Chopped Coriander Leaves
Fried Onion Rings
Whipped White Cream

If you want, you can use chopped parsley leaves or cilantro leaves instead of coriander leaves for garnishing.

Serving Suggestion:

Serve the authentic Chole Bhature along with a glass of chilled Lassi.
The Chole Bhature can be paired with any of your favourite homemade chutney.
You can eat the delicious Chole Bhature with a sweet and tangy pickle.
You can also have Chole Bhature with chilled Raita made from various ingredients.
You can eat the spicy Punjabi chole Bhature with plain sour flavoured curd.
You can also eat it with sweet Curd which would balance the spiciness of this dish.
Keep the small plate of refreshing Salad along with the spicy Chole Bhature.
You can eat it along with any fried chips or snack to give a bit of crunchiness.
Generally, in restaurants, this dish is served with Masala Papad.
You can keep some Kachumber salad in the plate of chole Bhature.
It is better to eat the spicy chole Bhature with chilled refreshing drink.

Quick Tip:

Avoid the addition of baking soda for making the Bhature dough. The use of soda is harmful because it may cause indigestion.
It is not compulsory to use the tea bags, they are optional. If you dip them in Chole, they would help in imparting the dark brown color.
You can use the whole roasted spices or grind them to powder form.
You can roll the Bhature into round shape or even triangular shape ad per your choice. Make them in the shape that looks great.
Always eat the Bhature hot and warm as they are fried. Once they become cool, it would be hard for you to chew them.
To avoid Bhature from becoming rubbery and chewy, you can add some mashed potatoes in the Bhature dough mixture. It also softens the Bhature.
All the spice powders used in the Chole Bhature Recipe, can be prepared at home.

Time	Serving	Calories
45 minutes	6 to 7 people	195 calories

The traditional way to make the Bhature dough was with the addition of leavening agents like soda and curd. Then you have it to leave the dough for hours to ferment before they could start using it. We have used the thick yogurt but we have used baking powder instead of baking soda. Once, the dough is settled, you have to small balls and they are to be rolled out and deep fried.

Bhature is nothing but another version of Indian bread which is crispy, flat and fluffy from both the sides. You may add potato and paneer to the Bhature which transforms it to “Aloo Bhature” and “Paneer Bhature”. This fried and crispy Bhature are prepared to pair with the spicy curry of Chole. Though they have the crunchy outer layer, they are soft and spongy to eat. You can ever eat them with the mildly spicy and tasty Chole Palak Punjabi sabzi.

The Chole of this dish can be prepared in the various manners, either spicy or tangy as preferred to the taste of your palates. If you feel the heat of spices is very high, then you can add sugar to balance the flavors. You can also adjust with the proportion of other ingredients as per your choice in the Chole mixture. Adding of fresh herbs and lime juice would enrich both the taste and flavors of the dish.

The best places to eat this Punjabi dish are “Punjabi Dabha’s”. Though it is available in every five-star restaurant, but they cannot give the authentic feel. The best way to prepare the Chole Bhature is to follow the traditional method of making it. You can make Chole Bhature of your breakfast, lunch as well as in dinner. They can also be eaten for brunch as they are tummy filing. So prepare Chole Bhature for the party at your place and let your guest droll over the dish.

Jain Punjabi Chole Bhature Recipe:

The delicious Punjabi Chole Masala can also be prepared in the Jain Style. In the Jain Punjabi Chole Bhature Recipe, you have all the ingredients and spices of your choices except onion and garlic. You can use ginger if you want and add more of Asafoetida to substitute the pungent flavors. Make the classic Punjabi chole Bhature (spicy curried chickpeas) without the addition of onions and garlic.

In the Jain style preparation of Chole Bhature, the recipe of chole changes a bit. Whereas there is no change in the preparation of the Bhature. You must be wondering how to make Jain chole. But the process of preparing the chickpea gravy remains same. The chole are boiled with the tea leaves and then they are cooked. The cooked chickpeas are simmered in spicy tomato gravy and tossed in various spices.

It is a believed that the curries without the onions and garlic do not have much taste. But it is not sure. Even in the Jain food, they are fantastic flavors. This Punjabi Jain style chole Bhature are highly aromatic and full of flavors. It is completely a wrong belief. This Chole Masala Recipe is a No Onion or No Garlic version of regular chole gravy. Follow the steps to prepare the Jain version of spicy Chole:

Soak the Chickpeas.
Boil the Chickpeas.
Make the Tomato Puree.
Pressure cook chole.
Make the spice masala powder.
Prepare the gravy for chole.
Then add tomato puree.
Mix the drained chickpea.
Sprinkle the spice powders.
Adjust the seasoning of salt.
Check the taste of spice powders.
Stir and sprinkle coriander leaves.

Once the Chole is prepared, make the Bhature and serve the no onion no garlic Chole Bhature.

Punjabi Chole Bhature Recipe – Microwave Method:

The Punjabi chole Bhature are extremely delicious and tasty to eat. But they are a bit calorific as well. For all the health conscious people, if you want to reduce on some calories, then you can prepare the chole in the microwave and bake the Bhature. This method is also useful when you are in hurry.

Make Chole in Microwave: