Best Chole Bhature/Chola Bhatura

Chole Bhature is a beloved dish from North India that makes a delicious meal. Spiced chickpeas (chole) served with a deep fried bread (bhature) this dish is just chefs kiss. There are many different ways this dish can be made, Thai method is my favorite. This recipe is my grandmothers recipe and I whenever I visit her home I ask her to make this for me. It’s a dry chole sabzi with a soft and flaky bhature. She usse minimal ingredients to make it but it comes out SO GOOD and all the flavors are on point! Make this for your loved ones and you’ll be the star for it.

Happy Cooking!

Servings: 5-6 servings

Prep & Resting Time: 2-3 hours

Cooking Time: 1-1.5 hours

Total Time: 4-5 hours

Ingredients: 

Chole:

• 1 1/2 cups dried chickpeas

• 12-15 small baby potatoes or 5 larger ones cut into smaller pieces

• 3 bay leaves 

• 4-5 cloves of garlic 

• 2 inch Ginger cut into slices 

• 1/2 medium red onion

• 1.5 tsp Salt

• 2-3 tbsp tea leaves 

• 3 tbsp Ghee 

• 1/2 tbsp methi/fenugreek seeds

• 1/2 tbsp ajwain/carrom seeds

• 1-1.5 tsp Amchur powder

• 1.5-2 tsp Red chili powder

• 1 tsp Salt as per taste

• 1/8 tsp sugar

• 3 tsp Chole Masala

• 1-1.5 tbsp lemon juice

Bhatura:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour/maida

• 2 tbsp semolina/sooji

• 2 tsp sugar

• 1/2-1 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/8 tsp baking soda

• 2.5 tbsp veg oil

• 1/2 cup yogurt 

• 3-5 tbsp milk

• Oil to deep fry

Suggested Serving:

• Green chili cut into slices

• Lemon wedges

• Onion slices or pickled onions

• Ginger slices

• Yogurt

• Mango/chili pickle

Directions: 

When making this dish I like to soak the chickpeas overnight. The first thing the next day I will do is make put the chole to boil and then make the dough and let it rest. Once the chole is cooled after boiling, ill make the chole sabzi. Then once the dough has rested I will roll & fry them when ready to serve!

1. Chole:

   1. In a large bowl soak the chickpeas in a lot of water. Let the chickpeas soak for 6-8 hours to overnight. Once soaked drain the chickpeas.

   2. Take a cheesecloth and place the tea leaves in it. Close it and form a tight little bag.

   3. In a pressure cooker or in an instant pot, add the soaked chickpeas, bay leaves, onion, garlic, ginger, potatoes, salt, and the tea bag. Add a lot of water till it has covered all the ingredients and a little more.

   4. Pressure cook them in the cooker or in the instant pot till cooked through. I cooked it for 12 mins in bean/grain mode and let it release naturally.

   5. Once the chickpeas are cooked and pressure has been released drain the chickpeas with the potatoes well. Keep the bay leaves, ginger slices, and tea bag aside. Get rid of the onion and garlic.

   6. Cut the ginger slices into smaller pieces.

   7. Add methi seeds and ajwain seeds to a motor pestle or grinder and break them down/grind them till finely coarse. You don’t want it to be a powder but you don’t want big pieces.

   8. In a pan ideally, a wok or kadhai put the pan on medium heat.

   9. Add ghee to the pan and let it heat up.

   10. Once the ghee is warm add the ground ajwain and methi seeds, bay leaves, and chopped ginger. Saute and cook for 2-4 mins on low-medium heat.

   11. Add the spice powders-amchur powder, red chili powder, chole masala, salt, and sugar. Cook for about 2 minutes on low heat, stirring continuously.

   12. Add the drained chickpeas and potatoes and toss them well in the mixture. Cook for 1-2 minutes til it’s all coated well.

   13. Squeeze the liquid from the tea bag out into the pan along with the lemon juice. Give it a toss and cook for 1-2 mins.

   14. The chole is ready! Serve warm garnished with sliced chili and ginger.

2. Dough:

   1. In a large mixing bowl, add flour, semolina, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Give it a mix.

   2. Add vegetable oil to the bowl and mix till it’s evenly distributed and the flour feels sandy.

   3. Add yogurt and mix gently to form a shaggy mixture. Do not start kneading it yet.

   4. Add 3-4 tbsp of milk and start kneading it into a dough. Add more milk if needed 1 tbsp at a time.

   5. Knead the dough for 5-6 minutes till it’s well combined. Knead it well to help form gluten.

   6. Rub oil around the dough ball and cover the bowl with a damp cloth. Let it rest at room temperature for 2 hours.

   7. Once it’s rested, divide the dough into about 12 rounds and roll each into a circle. Cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for 10-15 mins.

   8. While the dough balls rest, heat oil to fry the bhaturas.

   9. Once the dough balls have rested, you can start rolling them out.

   10. Spread a little oil on a work surface. Take one dough ball and roll it in the palm of your hand and then place it on the greased surface. Press it down a little using your hands and then start rolling it using a rolling pin. Roll it into a circle or oval. You want to roll it out thin but not very thin.

   11. Gently pick it up and deep fry it in hot oil to get them to puff up. Flip the sides to get them both golden brown.

   12. Once fried, transfer them using a spider to a paper towel to soak the excess oil.

   13. Repeat the steps for all the dough balls and our bhaturas are ready!

3. Serving:

   1. Serve hot bhaturas with hot chole. I like to serve it with the suggested servings mentioned above!

Notes/Tips:

• Chole:

  • Make sure the chickpeas are well drained after pressure cooking.

  • The tea leaves add color and it won’t effect the flavor so don’t worry.

  • Don’t overcook the chole or it will become mushy and break and also dry up.

  • If you serve this the next day add a little water just so it doesn’t dry up.

• Dough:

  • If you use eno instead of baking powder, let the dough rest for an hour, not 2.

  • Be sure to knead it well. Kneading the dough is important to get the texture and make it rise.

  • Roll on an oiled surface not flour.

  • Keep the dough covered when you are not working with it.