Chole Masala | Chickpea Curry

Looking forward to what Mom will be cooking for my lunch box or peeking to see how she goes on about making the food or quickly making 1 or 2 Dosas when she is away for 2 seconds are a few things that made me realize I definitely had a lot of interest in cooking. And I have to majorly credit my mother for nurturing the interest at a very young age. Since the 5th grade, she has been encouraging me to do a little of this & a little of that. No matter how exact the recipe is, a little advice from Mom always reassures my confidence in the dish.

And one such protein rich dish is the very-common-to-the-Indian-Cuisine Curry - Chole Masala (Chickpeas in an Onion-tomato based gravy) I have eaten a lot of Chole in a lot of places. But as clichéd as it may sound, there's no place like home. I am a sucker for my mom's Chole Masala. And I finally got her to give me a 5-minute course on her way of making this healthy dish!
Most commonly, people eat it with Wheat Flour Tortillas | Rotis or Puri | Fried Tortilla. But it can be eaten with or without anything.

Chole Masala à la Momma ~~
Ingredients- (makes enough for 8 people)
Chickpea / Kaabuli Chana - 200 grams
Onion - 3 onions finely chopped
Tomato - 4 tomatoes finely chopped
Garlic - 2-3 cloves, minced
Ginger - 2 teaspoons, grated
Salt - To taste (2 tablespoons)
Sugar - 1 teaspoon (to balance the flavors)
Red Chili Powder - 1 tablespoon (more or less)
Turmeric Powder - 1-2 teaspoons
Coriander Seeds (Dhania) Powder - 2 teaspoons
Chole Masala / Garam Masala Powder - 2 tablespoons

Method -
STEP 1 - Soak the chickpeas overnight. (at least for 6 hours)

STEP 2 - Drain the water. Add ample amounts of salt & water to the chickpea & boil / pressure cook it for at least 10-12 whistles. You have to boil until it is soft & mash-able! :-) Do not throw away the excess water.

STEP 3 - Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a wok / pan

STEP 4 - Add the onions & mix.

STEP 5 - Add the garic

ginger

tomatoes

& mix well
STEP 6 - When the onions turn golden & the tomatoes reduce in size, add all the dry spices (Garam Masal or Chole Masala, Turmeric powder, coriander seeds powder, red chili powder, salt) Cook until oil starts to leave the sides

STEP 7 - Take like 5-6 big spoons of the boiled chickpeas. Using a spoon, roughly mash them to a coarse paste. This gives the curry a thicker consistency.

STEP 8 -  Finally, add the whole chickpeas to the now reduced onion-tomatoes mix.

STEP 9 - Mix thoroughly. You can eat it like that now. Or you could proceed to have a more gravy-based curry.

STEP 10 - Add the mashed chickpeas & mix well

STEP 11 - Add enough water to cover the chickpeas & let it boil for 3-5 minutes

STEP 12 - Once the water is reduced a bit & you can see a semi-thick gravy, your curry is done!

Garnish it with some coriander leaves & serve! :-D

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