Aloo Chole
Potato and Chickpea Curry
Punjabi
Pat Chapmans India: Food and Cooking
Serves 4
Potato (aloo) and chickpea (chole) are a formidably good combination, especially when curried as in this benchmark dish from the Punjab.
Ingredients
250 g (9 oz) whole chickpeas (kabli chana)
2 litres (31/2 pint) water
2 tablespoons butter ghee
1 large onion, chopped
1 - 4 green chillies, finely chopped
1 tablespoon tomato purée
1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
6-8 small potatoes, peeled and boiled
4 firm tomatoes, quartered
2 tablespoons fresh coriander leaves, chopped
salt to taste
Masala
1 teaspoon cummin, ground
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon mango powder
1/2 teaspoon coriander, ground
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, ground
2 cloves, ground
2 bay leaves, ground
1/2 teaspoon pomegranate seeds, ground (optional)
1/2 teaspoon Kala Namak (Black Indian Rock Salt)
Method
Soak the chickpeas overnight in plenty of water to allow them to swell and soften.
Drain and rinse the chickpeas well. Bring the water to the boil in a 3.5 litre (6 pint) saucepan. Add the chickpeas and simmer until tender - about 45 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Mix the masala with enough water to make a pourable paste.
Heat the ghee in a karahi or wok. Add the masala and stir-fry for about 1 minute. Add the onion and the chillies and continue to stir-fry for a further 3 or 4 minutes.
Add the tomato purée and ketchup, the potatoes and tomatoes. When well mixed in, add the cooked chickpeas and stir carefully until hearted through. Season with salt and garnish with fresh coriander. Serve hot or cold.
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Recipe Testing Notes
03/07/2010 - Soaked and boiled dried chickpeas, used home made tomato ketchup. Couldn't be bothered to grind bay leaves or pomegranate seeds, so left out. Replaced all salt with black salt (Kala Namak). Result - very good!
13/09/2010 - Tested again, soaked and boiled dried chickpeas, used shop bought tomato ketchup. Put in whole bay leaves and pomegranate syrup (got in Middle Eastern Shop). Result - lovely!
08/10/2010 - Cooked (without the aloo) for the vegetarians that attended Framlingham Business Club. They (the vegetarians) were very generous and shared it with the chicken eaters!
