This is a very easy one pot chole recipe. You basically dump everything in one pot, let the chole absorb the flavours from all the spices, and serve hot with some rice or Indian bread. How easy is that? You don’t even need tomatoes for this recipe, and trust me – this is how my mother makes it.

There are three main flavour sources in this recipe that are really important. The first one is the dried pomegranate seed powder, aka anardana powder. A little bit of acid really brings out the flavour in chickpeas, and this adds just that. The second one is the chole masala. It’s a special mix of spices that goes really well with chickpeas. While you can buy a premade spice blend from any Indian store, you can also make your own by following this instant chole spice mix recipe on my blog. The third one is the date-tamarind chutney. Now, this one is purely a garnish – but a garnish can completely change the meal. You don’t need it for the meal, but this tangy sweet-and-sour chutney really will take this one pot chole recipe to the next level.

Anardana powder is the life of this meal. Unfortunately, it is often quite gritty and can easily ruin the texture of a nice creamy gravy. To avoid this, we’re going to soak the anardana powder in water, preferably overnight. The idea is to trap all the flavour in the water and discard the gritty remains of the pomegranate seeds. I always forget to do this the night before, so don’t worry if you did too. Just give it at least 15 minutes, and it should work out fine.

One-pot Chole

Recipe by EshCourse: DinnerCuisine: IndianDifficulty: 3

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Total time

30

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp Sunflower oil

• 1 Onion, medium

• 2 Garlic cloves

• Thumbsized piece of ginger

• 1 Chilli

• 2 tsp Anardana (dried pomegranate seed) powder

• 2 Tins of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• 2 Tbsp Homemade chole masala or storebought spice mix

• [Optional] 2 tsp Date and tamarind chutney for garnish

• [Optional] Chopped coriander for garnish

Directions

• Soak the anardana powder in 1 cup of water overnight, or soak a larger quantity of it for at least 15 minutes.
• Heat some oil in a saucepan. Add in the onion, garlic, ginger, and chilli and cook for a few minutes until softened.
• Strain the anardana-soaked water into the saucepan. Throw away the gritty pulp and only add the water to the saucepan.
• Cook for a minute longer on medium heat before adding in the chickpeas.
• Add the chole spice mix. Add about 1 cup of water and cook with the lid on for another 10 minutes.
• [Optional] To make the gravy very thick and creamy, take a hand blender and blend a small amount of chickpeas into the gravy.
• Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Add more water if needed to reach a desired consistency.
• Take the saucepan off the heat. Serve the chickpeas in small bowls and add some date and tamarind chutney to each bowl as garnish. Garnish with some chopped coriander before serving.

Notes

• If you aren’t able to soak the anardana powder overnight, then just add more anardana powder to the water and soak it for at least 15 minutes.
• You can probably make this without the anardana powder. You just need to find something else that adds acidity to this meal. I would recommend trying to find it at your local Indian store, since it’s a fairly common cooking ingredient.
• Date and tamarind chutney is also very easy to find in any Indian store, or can be bought online. It is only a garnish for this recipe, but a very important one.

Header photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash