Chole Masala/Channa masala/Chickpeas Curry

After a hectic day of cleaning, I was about to make the same classical stereo type channa masala and chapati. I had soaked channa overnight (it's been soaking for almost a day and half) then thought of my daughter who was not able to eat her fav channa bhatura last week due to her sore throat L So I changed my plan to chole and poori. Usually, I don’t cook chickpeas in tea decoction as my daughter doesn’t like the color change of channa. Moreover, we can avoid the caffeine.

Some health facts of channa/chickpeas:

1 Assists in weight loss

2 Boosts energy and immunity

3 Stabilizes blood sugar levels

4 Regulates hormonal levels in women

5 Prevents anemia

6 Controls your blood pressure

7 Protects from digestive problems

8 Maintains a healthy heart

Cuisine: Indian (Rajasthani/Gujarati) Category: Side dish Serves: 3 Prep time: 8 hrs(Chickpeas soak time) Cook time: 30 Mins Ingredients to soak: 1 cup Chickpeas/channa Ingredients to grind: 1 large Onion 1 large Tomato 1tbsp Ginger 5 Garlic pods 1 green Chilli Ingredients to temper: 1tbsp oil 1 tsp Cumin/Jeera To garnish: 1 tbsp coriander leaves Other Ingredients: 1 tbsp tea powder 1 tbsp Kasuri methi 1 tbsp Chilli powder 1.5 tbsp Corriander powder 1 tbsp Chole masala powder(I used Everest brand) 1 tbsp Lemon juice Method: 1. Soak channa overnight. Pressure cook it with tea decoction and ample water for 4-5 whistles.(Or till it is cooked soft) 2. Meanwhile, grind the ingredients given for grinding. 3. Wait till all the pressure comes down from pressure cooker and drain the water from channa, keep it aside. 4. Heat oil in a wok and temper jeera. Once cumin is fried add the ground mixture and methi leaves followed by cooked channa, salt, chilli powder, coriander powder, chole masala powder. 5. Add a cup of water to the gravy stir well and close the lid. Cook for about 10 mins until the gravy is thick or reaches desired consistency.Switch off flame. 6. Add lemon juice. Garnish with coriander leaves and a tbsp of ghee. Serve with poori/bhatura/roti/naan/bread/rice

Method in pictures:

Serve with poori/bhatura/roti/naan/bread/rice

Note:

You can avoid the tea decoction part, if so channa retains its natural color.  Soak channa for at least 8hrs so that you can reduce the cooking time and save nutrients in it.