Friday, May 22, 2009

Chole Paneer Masala




Chole(Chickpeas/Garbanzo Beans) masala originated in North India and is popular all over the country especially by the name Chole Bature. Chole/Channa is served with Batura which is an Indian bread deep fried in oil. This is a popular breakfast dish served with curd and pickles. It is also a snack food sold by street vendors. The method of preparation varies in different parts of the country due to the choice of spices and other ingredients.


The recipe which I have outlined here is Chole Paneer Masala. I love Paneer and prefer to gobble it up in any form-roasted, grilled or even in curries. The addition of paneer to Chole gives an added taste to the entire dish.This can be had for breakfast along with Appam/Puttu/Idiappam-the traditional breakfast dishes of Kerala cuisine as mentioned in one of my earlier posts or can be had for dinner along with Indian breads like Chapati/Roti/Naan/Bature.

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked chickpeas(Garbanzo beans)
Paneer - 8 oz(225 g) cubed
1 big red onion chopped
2 ripe tomatoes pureed
3/4 tsp mustard seeds
2 sprigs curry leaves
1 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp ginger paste
3/4 tsp chilly powder(adjust according to your taste)
3/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp chole/channa masala
Coriander leaves/Cilantro for garnishing
Salt to taste
Coconut oil for cooking

Method:
  • Soak chickpeas/channa in water for about 8 hours.
  • Pressure cook the soaked channa adding enough salt along with the water used for soaking channa.
  • Heat 1 tbsp butter in a pan and stir fry paneer cubes till it turns golden brown at the edges. Drain and keep aside.
  • In the same pan heat 1 tsp oil at medium heat, add chopped onions and saute till brown.
  • Remove from heat, cool and grind to a fine paste.
  • Heat some oil in the same pan and splutter mustard seeds. Add curry leaves and saute till it turns crisp and you get the aroma.
  • Add onion paste,ginger garlic paste,mix well and saute for some time.
  • Add tomato puree and cook for few minutes.
  • Add chilly powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, channa masala,salt and saute for few seconds until the raw smell of spices go.
  • Add water left over from pressure cooking channa. You may add additional water if you need.Bring this to a boil.
  • Now add cooked channa, reduce the heat and cook till gravy has turned thick.
  • Add fried paneer cubes and cook for few more minutes.
  • Add chopped coriander leaves and remove from heat.
This goes to My Legume Love Affair 11th Helping hosted by Lori and started by Susan.


Pooja.

Other Vegetarian Dishes:

Palak PaneerMushroom CurryPotato StewLobia Mushroom CurryKerala Kadala CurryIshtuPaneer Tikka RollsPaneer Mushroom Masala

34 comments:

ARUNA said...

oh yeah now it is working Pooja...........sometime bac i tried to comment but your whole page went blank!!!!

Pooja said...

Thanks a lot Aruna for your prompt response :) Can breathe a sigh of relief now!

ARUNA said...

i guess now its fine right!
Even i had a similar experience sometime back......hope u have a back up! Just save everything!

Pooja said...

I guess so! Thanks a lot for your help Aruna..I do have a backup..will check again too :)

Lena Jayadev said...

Hi Pooja, it sure looks yummy... :).
I couldnt see the update on my dashboard.... no need to worry though ,google servers are slow....i had the same issue with Bharathy's new entry... it got updated on my dashboard after a whole day...:)

Pooja said...

Thanks Lena :) And for updating me too! Hope this gets resolved soon..mine is not getting updated even after two whole days!

Ramya Vijaykumar said...

Wow Pooja looks very yummy lovely color dear!!! Btw I dont find this post in my dashboard Pooja!!! :( Sometimes I used to think there was a prob with my dashboard!!!

Pooja said...

Thanks Ramya :) And for updating me! I'm now convinced that my blog updates arent visible anymore! Wonder what went wrong!

Dhanya Ganesh said...

Looks so yummy. Yup yaar I can see the chole curry and stew. i did comment on the stew yesterday:).

Pooja said...

Thanks Dhanya :) But are you able to see the update on your Google reader from your dashboard? Thought there is some prob with the reader!

Vrinda said...

U r right dear.i couldn't c the new updates on my dash board..i am also facing some issues from last 2 days,when i open a blog,the blank page is loading with the warning operation aborted..will ask my hubby to check on it..Chole masala gravy looks so yummy,poori thinnan kothiyavunnu kanditte...hav a nice weekend Pooja..

Pooja said...

Thanks a lot Vrinda for updating me! I'm also trying for a solution. Hope it gets resolved fast!

Priya Suresh said...

Tempting chole masala looks yummy!!!

Pooja said...

Thanks Priya :)

Vibaas said...

Looks delicious :)

Pooja said...

Thanks Vibaas :)

Sweta (My Indian Dietitian) said...

Oh that a DOUBLE TREAT-channa and paneer together!! Looks great-I've never eaten it with appam though.Should give it a try :)

Gita Jaishankar said...

wow..my favorite dishes combined together...love it :)

Home Cooked Oriya Food said...

Lovley chole paneer masala. I add paneer to gobi or chole to add zing to the dish and also to avoid eating too much paneer! I just love yours!

Pooja said...

Thanks Sweta..Yes its a great combo! Do give a try :)
Thanks Gita :) My favourites too :)
Thanks HCOF..yes it adds a special taste to the dish :)

chef and her kitchen said...

Love chole n paneer.....very nice combo

Pooja said...

Nice combo of chole and paneer...Looking delicious pooja..Iam getting your updates pooja..

Chitra said...

Looks great pooja.never tried this!!

Christo Gonzales said...

garbanzos and paneer - this is perfect!

Pooja said...

Thanks Prathibha :)
Thanks Pooja :) I had problem with my blog feed not getting updated and my page going blank few times. Solved it finally :)
Thanks Chitra :)
Thanks DB :)

Uma said...

looks so delicious Pooja! Nice combo :)

Shabs.. said...

HIpooja, i dont think u have to worry....I can see ur recent recipes in my dashboard,even the last post.....keepblogging....By the way, that chole paneer masala looks yummy....

Parita said...

chole paneer masala looks soooo delicious and mouth watering...pass some to me :)

Pooja said...

Thanks Uma :)
Thanks Shabs :)
Thanks Parita..sure expect some soon :)

Lisa Turner said...

Never can resist chickpeas. I am now following your creations. Thank you.

Pooja said...

Thanks Lisa :)

Lori Lynn said...

It sounds absolutely delicious. Wonderful combination of spices. I love paneer too.
I'm from Chicago, have to look up where Loves Park is...great name :)
Lori Lynn

Pooja said...

Thanks Lori :) Hey nice to hear that you r from Chicago. Loves Park is in Rockford about 1.5 hrs away to the west of Chicago.

Anu said...

I was looking for a chole paneer recipe and landed on your blog! I will need to try this out. The pic looks so yum and inviting!