The best Punjabi chole recipe you can find is right here! Straight from my grandmother’s kitchen to yours, you will not find a more authentic tasting recipe. Though it tastes just like the traditional version, we use a modern twist and make my Punjabi chole in the Instant Pot. One taste of this perfectly cooked chickpea dish and you won’t want to eat this any other way.
What is Punjabi Chole?
Punjabi Chole, Punjabi Chole Masala, or chole is a traditional and my favorite Indian recipe that my grandmother used to make all the time when I was growing up. Chole is chickpeas cooked in a spicy and flavorful gravy. The delicious gravy pairs well with basmati rice, jeera rice, naan and roti.
Why make Punjabi Chole in the Instant Pot
Of course my grandma didn't have an Instant Pot. She made this Punjabi Chole recipe on a stove top pressure cooker. However, making this in the Instant Pot is just for us! The pressure cooker yields consistently tasty results in far less time than it takes to make this dish on the stove top.
New to Instant Pot cooking and nervous about making this in your pressure cooker? Don't be! This is an easy recipe for even Instant Pot beginners to make. And if you are still not feeling confident about Instant Pot cooking, check out our easy guide to the Instant Pot called Is the Instant Pot Worth It. It breaks down everything you need to know to get you pressure cooking like a pro.
Chole Recipe Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need for this delicious Instant Pot Chole:
- Dried chickpeas - preferably soaked overnight to ease digestion
- Water
- Ghee or oil - use oil for vegan option
- Red onions - you can use yellow or white onions too, if you don't have red onions.
- Ginger and garlic paste
- Fresh tomato puree
- Salt - to taste
- Chana masala - don’t substitute this spice blend if you want an authentic flavor
You can also add these following, optional ingredients to add even bolder flavors to your dish:
- Bay leaves
- Cinnamon stick
- Black cardamom pod
- Green cardamom pods
- Cloves
- Black peppercorns
- Pomegranate powder - this adds a slight tang to the recipe.
- Kasuri methi
- Black Tea bags - the tea bags will give the dark color and deepen the flavor.
For the garnish you can add
- onion rings
- green chilies if you like
- cilantro
- ginger juliennes
Unsure of about the spices? We break down what they all are in our Complete Indian Spice Guide.
How to make Chole in Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker
This is super easy and cooks in less than 30 minutes. Here is what you need to do for both the Instant Pot and a stove top pressure cooker (yes, the steps are the same!) :
- Start by soaking your chickpeas overnight. Soaking the peas is important in aiding in digestion and helps remove some of the extra starchiness.
- As you are ready to make the recipe, turn on Saute mode on the Instant Pot or medium-high heat on the stove top and add the ghee or oil.
- Once the ghee or oil is hot, add the options ingredients (except for the pomegranate powder and tea bags). These ingredients add extra flavor, but you can skip them if you don’t have them on hand. But trust me, adding them makes it that much better!
- Next, add the ginger garlic paste.
- Stir until fragrant.
- Then add the onions.
- Sauté until golden brown.
- When the onions are ready, add the tomato puree.
- Sauté again until the oil starts separating from the sauce
- Next, add the chana or chole masala spice blend, salt, pomegranate powder.
- Cook for another minute.
- Finally, add the drained chickpeas and water.
- Add the tea bags.
- Once they are added, close the lid, seal the vent, and pressure cook for 25 minutes on high pressure followed by a natural pressure release.
- When the pin drops, carefully open the lid.
- Use a spoon to remove the tea bags.
- When the tea bags are out of the pot, use a potato masher to mash some of the chickpeas. This will help thicken the sauce some and makes it a bit creamier too.
- Once you have crushed a few peas, you are ready to serve.
Garnish with ginger juliennes, pink onion rings, and a green chilli. Serve the chole with Bhatura (fried bread) or rice. You could also pair it with pickled onions and raita (flavored yogurt) or a mango lassi.
Punjabi Chole Pro Tips and Tricks
For the best tasting punjabi chole, you should follow these tips and tricks:
- Make sure you soak the chickpeas, especially if you don’t use the Instant Pot.
- Add as many of the “optional” ingredients you can find or have. They add great extra flavor.
- I prefer to use a store bought chole masala powder than dry roasting the chole masala at home for better flavors.
- Don’t forget to remove the tea bags before mashing the peas at the end, you could end up with tea leaves over everything if you don’t remove them!
- Serve with rice or flat bread to help soak up as much of the gravy as possible.
- Don’t quick release the pressure, let it come down naturally.
Serving Suggestions
This pairs well with rice, naan, bhature, and several other dishes including:
- Dal Makhani
- Shahi Paneer
- Matar Paneer
- Mushroom Masala
- Dum Aloo
- Chana Masala
- Lassi
How to store this Chole Recipe
It is very easy to store once you make it. Allow it to cool to room temperature and place in either one large airtight container or into several smaller containers if you want to send it with your family for an easy lunch. You can store it for about 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator.
You can also freeze the chole if you like. To do this, place it in freezer safe containers when it is cooled to room temperature. Place in the freezer for up to 6 months.
When you are ready to serve, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight. You can then heat it up in a microwave or on the stove top in a pot over low heat.
Although the primary ingredient for all the above recipes is chickpeas, it's the curries that are different.
Chana Masala, is made using an onion-tomato gravy where you use tomatoes generously, thus the orange reddish color.
Although Chole uses onions and tomatoes too, but the use of tomatoes if very little compared to Chana Masala. Chole get's its dark color from the use of tea in the recipe.
On the other hand, Pindi Chole is cooked without the use of onions and tomatoes. It's cooked with just chickpeas, water and the spices.
If you want to save cooking time or use a stove top pressure cooker, then yes. If you don’t mind adding an additional 10 to 15 minutes of cook time and you are using the Instant Pot for your chole, they you don’t need to. I recommend soaking them overnight for the best results and to help with your digestion of the beans.
There is not much to meal prep for this recipe. The big thing you need to do is make sure you soak the chickpeas overnight. You can also slice up the veggies like the onion, ginger, and garlic the night before. You can also puree your tomatoes the night before making this too.
Just make sure you store the ingredients in an airtight container in the refrigerator and use them the next day.
Or if you like to take a step ahead, you can prep the onion tomato sauce with the spices and keep them ready and then when you are ready to make the chickpeas, just soak them the night before and throw them in the next morning.
Yes! This is completely gluten free recipe, which means you can bring this to parties or get togethers and not worry if people have sensitivity to gluten.
Yes, this is vegan as long as you make it with oil instead of ghee. It is still vegetarian if you make it with ghee, but it is no longer vegan.
Made it? Show us! Upload a photo to Instagram and tag us @dbellyrulesdmind!
Print
Best Punjabi Chole Recipe
- Total Time: 24 hours 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
- Diet: VeganDiet
Description
The best Punjabi chole recipe you can find is right here! Straight from my grandmother’s kitchen to yours, you will not find a more authentic tasting recipe. Though it tastes just like the traditional version, we use a modern twist and make my Punjabi chole in the Instant Pot. One taste of this perfectly cooked chickpea dish and you won’t want to eat this any other way.
Ingredients
For Chole
- dried chickpeas 2 cups (soaked overnight)
- water 2 cups
- ghee / oil 4 tbsp
- red onions, finely diced 2 large
- ginger paste 1 tsp
- garlic paste 1 tsp
- fresh tomato puree 2 cups
- ginger juliennes 1 tsp
- salt to taste
Spice Blend
Optional ingredients to enhance flavor
- bay leaves 2
- cinnamon stick 1
- black cardamom pod 2
- green cardamom pods 2
- cloves 4
- black pepper corns 6
- pomegranate powder 1 tbsp
- kasuri methi 1 tbsp
- black tea bags (unflavored) 4
Garnish
- 6 Ginger juliennes
- 1 Green chili
- 3 Pink onion rings
- cilantro
Instructions
This is super easy and cooks in less than 30 minutes. Here is what you need to do for both the Instant Pot and a stove top pressure cooker (yes, the steps are the same!) :
Start by soaking your chickpeas overnight. Soaking the peas is important in aiding in digestion and helps remove some of the extra starchiness.
As you are ready to make the recipe, turn on Saute mode on the Instant Pot or medium-high heat on the stove top and add the ghee or oil. Once the ghee or oil is hot, add the options ingredients (except for the pomegranate powder and tea bags). These ingredients add extra flavor, but you can skip them if you don’t have them on hand. But trust me, adding them makes it that much better!
Next, add the ginger garlic paste and stir until fragrant. Then add the onions and sauté until golden brown.
When the onions are ready, add the tomato puree and sauté again until the oil starts separating from the sauce Next, add the channa or chole masala spice blend, salt, pomegranate powder and cook for another minute.
Finally, add the drained chickpeas, water, and the tea bags.
Once they are added, close the lid, seal the vent, and pressure cook for 25 minutes on high pressure followed by a natural pressure release.When the pin drops, carefully open the lid and use a spoon to remove the tea bags.
When the tea bags are out of the pot, use a potato masher to mash some of the chickpeas. This will help thicken the sauce some and makes it a bit creamier too. Once you have crushed a few peas, you are ready to serve.
Garnish with ginger juliennes, pink onion rings, and a green chilli. Serve the chole with Bhatura (fried bread) or rice. You could also pair it with pickled
- Prep Time: 24 hours
- Additional Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Cuisine: Indian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 1184
- Sugar: 25
- Sodium: 340
- Fat: 60
- Saturated Fat: 11
- Unsaturated Fat: 43
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 143
- Fiber: 20
- Protein: 25
- Cholesterol: 8
Ericka says
Let’s just say this recipe found me! This was posted on a vegan facebook group today and I was eager to try it. I ran to Patel Brothers in my city and got everything I needed! This recipe was easy to follow and smelled amazing while preparing. We all loved the flavors and I used the optional ingredients. Thanks for posting! This will be on repeat in my house!!
Anvita says
Hi Erica, we are so glad to hear your feedback ? hope you try our other recipes from our blog xoxo
vasant says
thank you for sharing this information with us. I was really very confuse between chhole and chana Masala. and the difference between them is too narrow. thank you again
sara says
Can i use canned chickpeas?
Soniya Saluja says
Hi Sara, yes you can use canned chickpeas. Pressure cook for 5 minutes.
San says
2 large onions would come to how many cups of chopped onions ?
Soniya Saluja says
1 large pyrex glass cup
San says
Not sure what does 1 large Pyrex cup measure to. Is 1 large onion equivalent to 3 cups of onion. This is the standard measurement I found on googling what does a large onion mean
San says
Hi Soniya, do you mean a 4 cup Pyrex bowl by one large Pyrex cup ? There are so many measures of large Pyrex cup.
Valorie says
Can you make this just by stovetop? I don't have any pressure cookers but would love to make this. 🙂 Please advise. Thanks!
Soniya Saluja says
Hi Valerie, yes you can make this on stove top. You can use canned chickpeas wash and rinse it before use.
Century Foods says
Thanks For sharing your best recipe for chole. I look forward to using it.
katy says
Can you use garam masala instead of the chana or chole masala spice blend? Is it the same thing? Thanks!
Soniya Saluja says
Yes you can use garam masala if you don’t have chole or Chana masala.
katy says
Thank you! I made it with 1 Tbsp of garam masala instead of chole or chana masala and added most of the additional ingredients, and it turned out great! We'll definitely be making this recipe again.
Anj says
If I want to make just 1 cup of chickpeas, do I half all the ingredients, but cook for the same amount of time?
Glenn says
Hi. Your last step in the pressure cooker says to do a natural pressure release. But, the whole point of a pressure cooker is it is sealed and wont release the steam. After 5 minutes, I just did a fast release. The instructions for natural release say to let it sit for a period of time, then fast release it. Approximately how long shoult it sit before we fully release and open it?
Wendy says
Girls, I've been following you for a while and your recipes are always divine. I'm passionate about Indian cuisine, actually all Asian cuisine. This recipe is totally new to me and I'll replicate it soon. I'm Spanish, but I'm in Chile for a short period of time now, so I cook because it's my passion. It's very difficult to find Asian products here, so I'm waiting for my daughter to arrive from Dubai so she can bring me the endless list of Asian products😂😂😂 that I've asked her for. I'll tell you how it turned out. Take care of yourselves. Kisses 😘😘😘
Soniya Saluja says
Hi Wendy , we are so glad to hear that !
Glenn says
Also, a few other comments.
You mention removing the tea bags, but shouldn't we also remove the cinnamon stick, bay leaves and cardamom pods, and maybe the cloves, if we can find them?
You list ginger juliennes twice - once for the chole, and once for garnish. But, you never mention in the recipe when to add them for the chole. I assume the same time as the onions?
Adding the garlic paste and the ginger paste is blended together. You say to "add the ginger garlic past", when it should mention them separately. I almost missed the garlic paste.
As a side note - came out delicious! We really enjoyed it and will be making this often.