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Chole is a dish that originated in northern Indian subcontinent but now is consumed and relished in major part of the country.It is cooked with spices and herbs with chickpea or chole as the main ingredient.As per my personal beliefs chole has the maximum devotees as a veg supplement and the same can be seen in restaurants and Indian streets where it is adored as breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Peshawari Chole is the usual chole Recipe with a hint of peshawari cooking style. Peshawar is famous for its Namak mandi which is not a salt market but a place known for its delectable food! Known for using minimum spices and sometimes just salt, Namak mandi dishes are char-grilled or made in kadhai and are known for retaining the original flavor of the main ingredient.

Peshawari Chole like any other chole Recipe requires a pre-work of soaking chole for about 6 hours or overnight.If in a hurry you can soak chole in warm water,cover it and keep in sunlight for about two hours.It will be done for instant cooking.

“There is no better feeling in the world than a chole platter on your lap.”
-My personal thought

Let’s try making this recipe step by step with photos and explanation:

Peshawari Chole Step by Step

Ingredients

🍴200gm chickpea (Kabuli chana)
🍴2 onions roughly chopped
🍴2 tomatoes chopped
🍴8-10 cloves garlic
🍴1.5 inch ginger
🍴4 green chillies
🍴1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder
🍴1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
🍴1-1/2 tablespoon coriander powder
🍴1 tablespoon chana masala powder
🍴1 bay leaf
🍴2-3 black pepper corns
🍴1 green and 1 black cardamom
🍴3 cloves
🍴1 cinnamom stick
🍴1 javitri
🍴1/4 teaspoon crushed red chillies
🍴2 teaspoon oil
🍴1/2 tsp curd
🍴1 teabag(optional)
🍴Salt to taste
🍴Fresh coriander finely chopped

Follow simple directions

1.Pick,rinse and soak chickpeas/kabuli chana in plenty of water for 8 hours or over night. By the next day chickpeas will be plump and little bit soft.

2.Pressure cook the chickpeas with little salt. Here you can add 1 tea bag or dried amla to get the dark color and slight tangy taste. I did not add them both though. Once the pressure is released,drain the chana and reserve the stock.

3.Roughly chop onion ginger green chilli and garlic and make a paste in grinder.

4.Same to be done with the tomatoes,make fine puree by grinding Tomatoes.

5.In a bowl add chilli powder,chole masala, coriander powder, turmeric ans salt.Add some water and keep aside.

6.Heat a heavy bottomed kadai and add 2-3 tablespoons oil and whole spices as depicted in picture below.

7.Add ginger garlic paste slit green chillies and saute well for 3-4 minutes.

8.Then add the spices soaked in water mixture to the kadai and mix well.

9.Add the tomato puree and mix well.cook until the oil separates.This is the moment when curd will be added to the gravy.

10.Add boiled chole or chana along with stock and cook it after sprinkling some garam masala.

11.Garnish with coriander and Serve hot with Puri’s bhatura or rice.

Quick tips for best results

🟣Soak the required amount of chhole in a vessel with enough water to cover them, preferably overnight else the chole may not cook properly.

🟣Chhole actually tastes better after a day. The spices are better incorporated into the chickpeas

🟣Soaking the spices in water prior adding to the kadhai or wok actually enhances the taste and texture of the spices and gravy.

🟣I personally prefer cooking chole using onion garlic ginger paste and tomato puree.This makes the gravy look consistent and inviting.

Beets,the deep purple roots are eaten either raw or cooked,alone or combined with other veggies.The green leafy portion of the beets too is edible and can be added to some salads.When combined with other raw veggies like spinach, tomatoes, cucumber can be eaten as winter salad.It serves as a low calorie,high fibre,gluten free vegetarian diet that helps in boosting immunity and sounds nutritious for healthy pregnancy.Spinach has green goodness and beets have earthy flavours that brings colors and comfort to the dining table.

“To remember a successful salad is generally to remember a successful dinner; at all events, the perfect dinner necessarily includes the perfect salad.”

-George Ellwanger

I am so very much fond of salads and my meals are not complete without salad.This salad gives a live aura to your plate.This can go both cooked or raw i.e boiled beets can be used but raw ones are much crunchy and my personal favourite.

Ingredients

2 cups fresh spinach
1 medium sized onion
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 medium sized cucumber
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil(optional)
Salt to taste

Follow simple steps for quick recipe:

🥗Wash and peel beetroot,cucumber,onion.

🥗Dice cucumber,onion and beetroot into medium cubes.

🥗Cut cherry tomatoes into two halves .

🥗Mix the veggies all together.

🥗Add lemon juice to the mix.

🥗Sprinkle freshly ground black pepper and add salt to taste.

🥗Olive oil can be added as dressing to absorb more nutrients.

🥗Finish with adding lemon juice and serve.

It is quite the season of beets and spinach.And a combination of both can be the best aid for healthy eyes.Include this salad in your diet and improve your immune function and health of skin.