Chole Palak

We had a few friends coming over for dinner and like I mentioned earlier, pulses have always been my forte. But this time I wanted something different. My husband loves palak. He kept asking for a palak dish for quite some time. I thought, okay let’s fulfill his wish and this is what was on the menu that day..! :)

Ingredients

Chole – 3 cups, boiled

Palak – 4 cups, cleaned and cut

Onions – 2 ½ - 3 cups, diced in to cubes or chopped

Tomatoes – 3 cups, diced in to cubes

Chilies – 3 to 4, slit vertically

Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp.

Cilantro – ½ cup

Mint leaves – ½ cup, full leaves

Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp.

Chili powder – ½ tsp.

Garam masala – 1 ½ to 2 tsp.

Dhanya and Jeera powder – ¼ tsp.

Chat masala – 1 tsp. (I used it as a substitute to amchoor powder)

Chana Masala – 1 tsp.

Cumin seeds/ Jeera – ½ tsp.

Oil – 2 to 3 tbsp.

Salt – To taste

Water – 1 ½ - 2 cups

Serves 4 to 5

Method

1. Take a saucepan, put it on flame and add oil. Once the oil gets heated, add cumin seeds, upon spluttering put chilies, onions, tomatoes and palak (in that order) and sauté until the rawness goes. Onions should become a little translucent and tomatoes should become soft and mushy.

2. Turn off the heat. Let the mixture cool.

3. Grind the onion tomato mixture along with the coriander and mint leaves into a fine paste.

4. Put the pan on heat, add a little oil and pour in the paste. Cook until the gravy loses all its water and sticks together. Keep stirring at regular intervals.

5. Once the gravy is ready, add turmeric powder, chili powder, ginger garlic paste and cook for another 5 minutes.

6. Now add boiled chana, salt, chat masala and garam masala. Mix well and add water. Let it come to a boil and cook until you get your desired consistency.

Note – The more you cook, more flavors get in to chana. Be sure not to burn your dish though. J

7. Turn off the flame and serve hot with roti/ rice.