Chola Kulcha

Chola Kulcha is one of the most authentic dish from North-India. Chola is an authentic North-Indian style chickpea curry made with chickpeas, onions, tomatoes and freshly powdered spices. On the other hand, Kulcha is a popular North-Indian flatbread made with all purpose flour. 

Now, let me share a few tips and suggestions for making Chola Kulcha. First, it is always better to soak the chickpeas for 7-8 hours or overnight as it becomes easier to cook them. But, in case you forget to soak the chickpeas, then add them to hot boiling water and cover and soak them for 2 hours. Second, adding tea bag to the chola is optional, in case you do not prefer dark chole you may skip them. Another great option to add instead of tea bag is dried amla. Third, you can adjust the spices as per your spice level. Therefore, you can even add in lemon juice towards the end if the chickpea curry turns a bit spicy. Finally, you can shape the kulchas into any shape that you prefer. 

Servings:- 2 people

Course:- Main Course

Cuisine:- North Indian, Punjabi

Ingredients:-

For kulcha:

1.75 cup all purpose flour/maida

3 tbsp curd

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp baking soda

1.5 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1.5 tbsp oil or ghee

Water for kneading

For chola:

For pressure cooking chickpeas:

1/2 cup white chickpeas

1.5 cup water

1 black tea bag

1/4 tsp salt

For gravy:

1/2 medium sized onion, finely chopped

1/2 medium sized tomato, finely chopped

1/4 tsp ginger-garlic paste

1/8 tsp turmeric powder

1/4 tsp red chilli powder

1/8 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp amchur 

1 green chilli, slit

1 tbsp oil

For chole masala powder:

1 cardamon

1/2 inch cinnamon

2 black pepper

1 clove

1/8 tsp carom seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp coriander seeds

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

1 dried red chilli

Method:-

Making chole:

1. Firstly, rinse and soak the chickpeas in enough water for 7-8 hours or overnight. Next day, in a pressure cooker, add the chickpeas along with 1 black tea bag. Further, add in water and salt and pressure cook them for 10-12 whistles. The chickpeas should be cooked well and must be softened. 

2. Next, in a pan, take cardamom, cinnamon, black pepper, clove, carom seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, fennel seeds and dried red chilli. Begin to roast them on a low flame. Roast the spices till they get browned but do not burn them. Allow the roasted spices to cool and grind them to a fine powder. Keep aside. 

3. You can also see that the chole has been cooked and has obtained a dark brown color. Remove the tea bag from the stock and keep the chole aside. 

4. Now, heat oil in a kadai. Add in ginger-garlic paste and saute them for a few seconds. Next, add the chopped onions and saute them till the onions turns translucent. 

5. Next, add the chopped tomatoes and saute them till they soften. Further add the powdered chole masala along with red chilli powder, turmeric powder and garam masala. Saute the masala and then add the slit green chilli. 

6. Now, add the cooked chole along with the stock. Further add salt as required and stir them well. Also add in amchur and cover and cook them for 5-10 mins on low flame. Mash a few chickpeas as this helps to thicken the gravy. Simmer till you get a semi-thick consistency. 

7. Garnish the chole with a few coriander leaves and serve them with kulcha or bhatura. 

Making kulcha:

1. Firstly, in a large mixing bowl, take all purpose flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Mix them well. Now, make a well in the center and add curd, oil and water. 

2. Next, mix the liquids with the flour and then start kneading the dough. Knead to a soft and smooth dough. Cover the dough with a wet cloth and keep them aside for 2 hours. 

3. Now, make small balls from the dough and spread some nigella seeds (kalonji) on the balls. Next, with the help of a rolling pin, flatten the dough and roll each ball into oval shaped kulcha. 

4. Further, heat a tawa and place the kulcha on it. Cook one side till it is half-cooked. Flip over and cook the other side till half-cooked. Apply oil or ghee on both sides while cooking. Cook the kulchas till you see golden spots on it and are evenly cooked. Prepare all the kulchas in the similar way. 

5. Finally, serve hot or warm kulcha with punjabi chole.