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One look at the Palak Chole on Indira’s website and I had been craving for it ever since. I was looking at it during my lunch time, and that appetizing did not help matters in any way, it made my stomach rumble even moreJ.

 

Luckily I had soaked some garbanzo beans to make a dry fry for the dinner. Garbanzo beans are my favorite amongst beans and love it in combination with any greens.

I did not have Palak(Spinach), so went ahead and used Methi (Fenugreek). We do not get fresh Methi leaves during summer here so I used frozen Methi leaves for this.

 

Our little one likes Paneer and also cooked Chickpeas, so I used that also in the curry. This goes very well with Rotis and or Yogurt Rice.

Chana masala (also known as Chole) is a North Indian/Punjabi dish which consists of chickpeas. It is fairly dry and spicy with a sour taste and pairs well with Rotis/ Phulkas, Baturas or even Rice. This tastes good when it is cooked ahead of time at least 4-5 hours or even more before serving.

You can find the regular version of Chana Masala/Chole here.

 

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Ingredients: up1/1.1.5

  • 2 cups chickpeas/ garbanzo beans(dry or canned)
  •  ¾ cup chopped onions
  • 1 medium tomato
  • 2 cups of packed cleaned methi leaves (Fenugreek) fresh/frozen (If frozen use about 2 cubes)
  • 3-4 cloves
  • 1 inch cinnamon stick
  • 1 cup paneer cubes
  • Chilli powder as per taste
  • 2-3 tsp chole masala (any brand)
  • 2-3 garlic pods grated
  • 1 inch ginger grated
  • Salt to taste
  • Oil

 

Method:

 

  • I have used Indira’s method for thickening the gravy. Take a handful of cooked beans and blend it in a mixer. Keep it aside.
  • Grate the ginger and garlic and keep aside.
  •  If using the dry variety, make sure to soak the beans overnight or for about 8-10 hours in enough water.
  •  Pressure cook the garbanzo beans using sufficient water. Retain the water.
  • Now take a heavy bottom pan, add the oil. Next add the ginger and garlic and sauté until the garlic turns light brown.
  • Add the cloves and cinnamon and stir for a while. Now add the onions and stir until it turns transparent.
  • Add the chopped tomatoes, salt and cook until the raw smell of tomato is gone. Add more oil at this time.
  • Add the chopped methi leaves, beans paste and stir it well. The aroma of it is just heavenly.
  • Add chilli powder, chana masala powder, and mix well. Add more oil at this time if dry.
  • Add the cooked beans, paneer cubes along with the some of the water and continue to cook covered. Simmer for a while until the gravy blends with the beans.

 

Goes well with Rotis/Chapatis and or Rice.

 

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30 Replies to “Methi Paneer Chole”

  1. Nice recipe. Good to know that your kid liked it.. 🙂
    Supriya, my posts are not reflecting in foodworld for the past 2 times. 🙁 Don’t know why..
    Reg, Little italy, its been there for the past 4 years, I guess..

  2. Methi and chole sounds fabulous. I use watercress sometimes with my chana masala because I can’t always find methi here. Beautiful pictures, RC.

  3. This is a great combination! sounds like a restaurant menu;-) I have fresh methi growing in my backyard this year & they smell good. Now i have a new recipe .. yaaa.

  4. RC,

    this is truly a delicious dish. I just microwaved it and one of my co-workers who loves Indian food, wanted to taste it. She loved it too!!

    10/10.

  5. Fantastic..this is my honey’s new favorite! So easy and delicious!
    BTW If you have a good trick to clean Methi leaves, let me know..

  6. Thanks Maria. I roughly chop the stems towards the end, pluck the leaves and then drop them in a big bowl filled with water. Of course, depending on the grit requires 2-3 washes.Not easy, I know 🙂

  7. Thank you for this recipe. I made this today and it turned out great! Used kasoori methi since I didn’t have fresh methi and also added a bit of evaporated milk at the end (mainly coz I wanted to use it up)

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