Punjabi Chhole

I have always loved this dish, but each time I want to make it, I forget the masala mix. I am borrowing this from the web( website given below) as this seems like a really good one.

Punjabi Chole
(Chickpeas, the Punjabi way)
Serves 6

3 C Qabooli Chana (chickpeas/garbanzo beans), soaked overnight (or soak for 3-4 hours in hot water)
½ t soda-bi-carb

1” piece of ginger, peeled and grated
2 C chopped onion
1 C chopped tomatoes
2-3 T oil
2 t red chilli powder
1 t garam masala (optional)
salt

for the masala
2 T (heaped) coriander seeds
1 T anardana (seeds of wild pomegranate), omit if not available
1” piece dalchini or cassia bark
4-5 cloves
1 t black peppercorns
3-4 badi elaichi (black cardamom)
2 t cumin seeds
1 tejpatta (now that I have cleared all the confusion, I don’t need to use Italics, right?)
1 or 2 whole dry red chillies (optional)

to garnish
green chillies, slit down the middle
tomatoes, cut into thick wedges
lime, sectioned

Drain the chhole; some of what makes these beans hard to digest is water soluble and you will get rid of some of that this way. Rinse them out once more to make sure. Put them in a pressure cooker with enough water to cover them (by about an inch). If you like your chhole a bit on the softer side, add half a teaspoon of baking soda (more will make them mush) to the chhole. No salt at this point. Cook under pressure for 20 minutes, or cook covered in a heavy pan till tender.

While the chickpeas are cooking, heat a pan to roast your whole spices – I use my cast iron pan. On medium heat roast the spices, all together, shaking and tossing, till they have almost blackened. Cool and grind to a powder.

Heat oil in a heavy pan (or karahi). Add ginger and stir till just fragrant. Add chopped onions and cook till pink, when they are just getting tinged at the edges. Now add the tomatoes and fry (bhuno), stirring all the time, till the oil separates. There isn’t much oil to separate here, so it has to be done on medium heat and takes a long time (20-30 minutes). If there is some parallel kitchen activity going on, then this works very well. When cooking a larger quantity (or when short on time), I would suggest you increase the amount oil (one and half times or double) since you don’t want to be in the kitchen for the good part of a day.

Once the ginger-onion-tomato is fried well and almost dry, add the fresh ground spice blend, garam masala (optional), and red chilli powder. Add the slit green chillies . Remove the green chillies and add this fragrant paste to the cooked chhole, and salt. Adjust water to your liking – I like mine really thick. Mix and cook (simmer) for 20 minutes, stirring every now and then, or cook in the pressure cooker for 10 minutes.

Serve hot with poori, bhature, or naan, garnished with the green chillies you have set aside, wedges of tomatoes (drizzled with oil and swirled around in a hot pan for a minute or two, if you like), and lime. Now, I love chhole.

From : http://madteaparty.wordpress.com/2007/12/09/punjabi-chhole-chickpeas/