chana paneer

Chole Paneer is a  spicy, delicious curry of white chickpeas and paneer from the Punjabi cuisine. This chole paneer recipe is made with onions, tomatoes, spices and herbs tastes best with roti, naan or paratha.

Chana Paneer | Chole Paneer

chickpeas

water (-

water (- for pressure cooking chickpeas)

tej patta ((Indian bay leaf))

cinnamon

black cardamoms

ginger paste

salt

oil (- any neutral oil)

onions (or 1 medium-sized)

tomatoes (2 medium to large)

Paneer ((Indian cottage cheese))

green chillies (- slit)

Coriander Powder

cumin powder

red chilli powder

amchur powder ((dry mango powder))

½ teaspoon kasuri methi ((dry fenugreek leaves))

½ teaspoon Garam Masala

turmeric powder

water (or add as required)

salt (as required)

coriander leaves

½ inch ginger (- julienne)

Rinse 1 cup dried white chickpeas in fresh water a couple of times.

Soak the dried white chickpeas in enough water overnight or for 7 to 8 hours. Later drain all the water and rinse the soaked chickpeas in water and set aside.

Take the chickpeas along with the salt, black cardamoms, cinnamon, dried amla pieces (substitute one black tea bag in place of amla), tej patta and ginger paste in the stovetop pressure cooker. Add 3 cups water and stir.

Cover tightly with the lid and pressure cook the chickpeas for 10 to 12 whistles or 12 to 15 minutes on medium to medium-high heat.

Let the pressure fall completely in the cooker on its own and then only open the lid.

The chickpeas should be cooked well. There should not be any bite in the chickpeas. They should have a soft melt in the mouth texture. 

Discard the softened amla pieces or tea bag and keep the cooked chickpeas along with the stock aside.

Cooking chickpeas

In another pan or kadai, heat oil and add the chopped onions.

Stir and saute on a low to medium heat stirring often, till the onions are translucent or light golden.

Then add ginger-garlic paste. Stir and sauté for a few seconds or till the raw aroma of ginger-garlic goes away.

Add chopped tomatoes. Stir the tomatoes. Sauté the tomatoes, till they soften and become mushy.

Add the spice powders - coriander powder, cumin powder, red chilli powder, garam masala and turmeric powder.

Stir and saute for a minute.

Sautéing onions, tomatoes and spices

Add the cooked chickpeas along with its spices. Stir well.

Then add 2 or 3 slit green chilies. Stir.

Add 1 cup of the stock or stock+water.

Season with salt as required. Do keep in mind, that 1 teaspoon of salt was added to the stock.

On a medium heat, bring the gravy to a simmer.

The gravy should thicken slightly. Mash a few chickpeas with the back of the spoon. This helps in thickening the gravy.

Now add paneer cubes , crushed kasuri methi and amchur powder. Dry mango powder or amchur can be added according to one&#039;s taste.

Stir and switch off the heat. Otherwise the paneer can become hard or chewy.

Add the chopped coriander leaves and some ginger julienne. You can also garnish with the coriander leaves and ginger julienne instead of adding them.

Stir finally and serve the paneer chole with roti, poori, parathas or naan. Also serve some onion slices and lemon wedges as a side accompaniment.

Store any leftovers in a covered container for 1 day in the refrigerator.

Making chole paneer

A side dish of chickpeas and paneer simmered in a spicy and aromatic onion tomato masala. Serve it over basmati rice or with roti.

Chana Paneer

chickpeas ((chana

water (cook chana)

turmeric ((haldi))

(1 medium) yellow onions (finely chopped or pureed)

(2 medium) tomatoes (fine chopped or pureed)

cumin seeds ((optional))

ginger garlic paste ((or ½ tsp each grated))

garam masala (or

red chili powder ((Kashmiri

green chili

sea salt ((adjust

½ teaspoon kasuri methi (crushed, dried fenugreek leaves)

coriander leaves (- to garnish)

Wash and soak chickpeas overnight. Pressure cook them with water and turmeric, until you hear 3 whistles. If using a Instant pot pressure cook for 16 mins on high pressure. When the pressure drops, open the lid.

Chickpeas should be soft enough, when you press down in between your fingers, they should get mashed.

Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds, when they sizzle, add the ginger garlic and sauce for a minute until aromatic.

Add onions and  green chili. Saute on a medium heat until they turn golden. Stir in the tomatoes and cook until the raw flavor is gone for 4 to 5 mins. Stir in the chili powder, garam masala and salt.

Saute until the masala smells aromatic. Add the cooked chana and the stock. Mix well and add more water if required to bring to a consistency. Bring to a rolling boil and simmer for 8 to 10 mins.

Add paneer and kasuri methi. Stir and cook just for a minute. Taste test and adjust salt or garam masala if you want. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve chana paneer with roti or rice and a salad.

I see a green chili listed in the ingredients but I'm not seeing where it gets used. Looks delicious - can't wait to try this.

Hi Swasti,

Can I replace tomato purée  with anything? 

Thank you 
Dilani

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Chana Paneer | Chole Paneer

Chana Paneer

Top 2 chana paneer recipes from across the web

The most viewed chana paneer recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

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Chana Paneer | Chole Paneer

Chana Paneer

The most viewed chana paneer recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine