High on nutrition and taste both, chickpeas are used all over the world to create wonderful items like hummus. But there is so much more! We bring to you four amazing Chhole dishes that you must try in your kitchen!
Chhole-chawal and chhole-bhature!
Heavenly dishes that can lift your mood any time of the day! Chhole (chickpeas), popular in the north part of our country, are high in nutrition and can be used in dishes that a lot of people are not aware of.
Let’s look at four such dishes that take chhole to another level altogether!
Chhole Patties with Yogurt Sauce
This is a yummy combination of yogurt and chhole. Boil and drain the chhole first. For the sauce, take one cup yogurt and add shredded cucumber to it without the seeds. Now add 2 tbsp chopped onions, 1 tbsp cilantro and a pinch of salt to the yogurt. Now comes the delicious patty. First, put breadcrumbs in a fry pan and roast them for around 5 minutes. In a bowl, whisk 2 eggs with 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp garam masala and salt to taste. In another bowl, mash the chhole and then add the breadcrumbs and the egg mixture. Form round patties of this mixture and brown them on both sides in a pan with olive oil. Serve with the yogurt sauce and enjoy a day in heaven!
Smoky Fried Chhole
This tastes amazing with drinks at parties. Boil the chhole and drain all water. Make sure they are properly dried. Heat 1 cup of olive oil in a pan. Add 1 tbsp of lemon zest and some thyme to it along with chhole. Fry them in batches. After frying the chhole, fry some garlic in the same oil and drain. Toss the chhole with garlic and smoked paprika with salt to taste. Serve while they are crunchy and enhance the flavor of your drinks!
Chhole with Spinach and Paneer
Relish it with chapati or rice or just eat it like a salad, this dish is unique in every way. Sauté spinach in some oil with a pinch of salt and set aside. Take 2 tbsp extra virgin oil and fry one finely chopped onion. Put 3 crushed garlic cloves in the onions and add 1 tsp roasted cumin seeds, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp garam masala and toss them. Mix salt and pepper. Now add the chhole along with 2 finely chopped tomatoes. Put ¼ cup of water in this pan. Cook for 2 minutes and then add paneer (cottage cheese) chunks to it. Let this cook for another 2 minutes after adding the spinach. Healthy and delectable! What else do you want?
Chhole, Avacado and Feta Salad
Boil and drain chhole. Set them aside. Cut 2 avocados and chop 1/3 cup of cilantro. Put all these in a bowl and add 1/3 cup of crumbled feta cheese. Stir while mixing juice of one lime, 1 chopped spring onion, pepper and salt. Try this healthy bowl of chhole salad and get addicted!
Now you know what to cook apart from chhole-chawal! Experiment and share with us more such amazing chhole recipes.
