Chhole Bhature

Native region : Punjab, North India (Indian subcontinent at the time of origin)

Image credit : MapsOfIndia | The location of Punjab in India today.

Punjab is known in the entire India for its exquisite, heavy, rich and festive cuisine. From the dances of Punjab (Bhangra and Gidda), to the traditional colorful attire and the flavorful food – it’s all about “living life to the fullest”. I believe it could be the official motto of the state of Punjab!

Here is one of the dishes that originated in Punjab.

Chhole Bhature

Image Credit : VegRecipesofIndia

Chhola Bhatura is a dish comprising of chhole (cooked, spiced up chickpeas) and Bhatura (a round, inflated hollow bread). The water content in the Chhole depends. It can be dry as shown above, or be more juicy and watery. Normally, chhole bhature tend to have more water content than chhole kulche.

Bhatura

Bhatura can be quite bigger than the picture above, in fact, it often is. The dough made specially for the bhatura is fermented to make it fluffy and add a certain flavor to it. Then, it is made into round thin and flat shape before being fried - upon which it automatically inflates with air and becomes fluffy.

Image Credit : ClowHound Youtube Channel | That's how big a bhatura can easily get.

Chhole

Like the Paav Bhaji, there comes a special powder (masala mixture) to add to the dish to give it a specific flavor. You can find the chhole bhature recipe easily online, and they might slightly differ as people keep experimenting on it. But, the results are quite the same, more or less. 

• Onion
• Tomato
• Garlic-Ginger Paste
• Turmeric
• Red chili powder
• Amchur powder (powder made from dry mangoes)
• Cumin seeds
• Chhole masala (the special powder mixture talked about above)
• Cinamon
• Black pepper
• Green chili
• Soaked and boiled chickpeas (soak overnight so that they are soft and then boil them)
• Salt, to taste
• Oil

Now, to follow the recipe, heat the oil and saute the garlic ginger paste, the onions and the tomatoes one after the other in succession. Once that is done, add the turmeric powder, the red chili powder and the special chhole masala.Mix well over the stove for a minute and then add chopped green chili and the boiled chickpeas. Also add salt and some water to mix the spices well and blend some of the chickpeas into a thick base. Both the salt and the water content is up to you to decide.

Cook for a while and then it is ready!
You can garnish with coriander/mint and freshly cut onion to serve.

Image Credit : TastyAppetite.net | A thick-paste within the chhole has been achieved by adding some water - to mak the flavors more profound.

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