Punjabi Chole a New Flavor Sensation

In my last blog, started yesterday but just published, I wrote about the spices I ordered to use in this new (for me) Indian dish of Punjabi Chole. Finding that something like lichen might be used as a "spice" just totally blew me away. The spice mixture called Chole Masala Powder is outlined in the last blog post, and itself uses dried pomegranate arils, called Anardana, and being another "spice" I didn't own.

But as I have stated before, hearing about something new that is used as a spice or other flavoring agent always urges me to see if I can find it, and that's what happened with this dish. The dish called Punjabi Chole, or Pindi Chole is just "chickpeas / garbanzos made in the Punjab style". The fact that it called for three spices or flavoring agents more than I owned was just a call to hunt them down, and so I did. Some of them arrived directly from India!

Punjabi Chole

The chickpeas in this dish are cooked (from dry chickpeas, soaked overnight) with this lichen called Dagad Phool (Stone Flower) and with dried Indian gooseberries called Amla. Between these two things, the water the chickpeas cook in turns very deeply dark brown, and the chickpeas themselves are in turn a darker color instead of the light yellowish of regular chickpeas. This effect can also be accomplished by cooking the chickpeas with a couple of teabags. For me, that smacked of cheating! I shared a photo of the Dagad Phool in my last blog. Here is a photo of the dried Indian Gooseberries.

Amla or Dried Indian Gooseberries

Seriously though, I just like to find the spices to make a dish as authentically as possible, so I went the route of ordering the spices, waiting for their delivery and only then making the dish. And yesterday was the long-awaited day.

Once the chickpeas are cooked and drained (water is reserved), the sauce is made. This dish is fairly dry, in that there is not a lot of liquid to it. But for cooking purposes, the reserved cooking water is added in small amounts, just to keep things from burning. I saw recipes for this dish made in various ways, and my choice was to add onion in two ways. One way is pureed with some tomatoes. Another is just to fry the onions. I did both instead of either/or. I fried one chopped onion, and also pureed another one with the tomatoes. This resulted in a very surprisingly bright pink mixture! It doesn't stay that way for long.

Cooked Chickpeas, Onion & Tomato in Blender, Onion Tomato Puree

Other things that are added to the sauce are the ubiquitous garlic and ginger paste, along with some of the Chole Masala and Garam Masala. 

Ultimately I cannot say if there is any particular flavor that jumps out in this dish despite the unusual spices added. It makes no difference to me, it was a very delicious dish and it went exceedingly well with the Grilled Pork with Indian Spices for dinner.  

Another spice if you will, is dried pomegranate arils, which I mentioned in my last blog. These go into both the Chole Masala Powder as well as the dish while cooking. I could not find dried pomegranate powder, so with the whole, dried pomegranate arils, I toasted them in a dry skillet, then ground them in a spice blender. These impart a sour note to the dish, and it is recommended that if the dried pomegranate powder is not available, one should add more dried mango powder (amchur) in its place. 

Dried Pomegranate Arils

All well and fine, but the average cook will not have dried mango powder on hand either. Lime juice is the next best thing. While lime juice is also added in this dish as a part of the recipe, more juice would be needed if either the pomegranate or mango powder is not available. 

And yet one more spice mixture that is sometimes called for, generally a finishing spice mixture, sprinkled on a food at the end of cooking, is Chaat (or Chat) Masala. I have this spice mixture already made, so I added a little bit. It does have salt in it, so use it sparingly.

Chaat Masala

Makes about ⅓ cup

Chaat Masala

1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
5 whole cloves
2½ teaspoons dried mango powder (amchur)
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
1 teaspoon dried ground chili powder
¼ teaspoon asafoetida
¼ teaspoon citric acid
2 teaspoons black salt

In a very hot, dry skillet, lightly toast the cumin seeds, peppercorns and cloves. Once very fragrant, add the asafoetida, to counter the strong odor. Pour out onto a plate to cool. Once cooled, place the cooled spices into a spice grinder and process to powder. Turn out to a bowl and add in the remaining ingredients and stir well. Store the mixture in a tightly sealed container in a cool, dark place.

Punjabi Chole (Chickpeas Punjab Style)

Punjabi Chole

Makes 4 to 6 servings

½ pound dry chickpeas (1 cup + 2 tablespoons), soaked overnight
3 cups water
½ teaspoon salt
2 pieces Stone Flower Lichen (Dagad Phool), optional
2 pieces dried Indian Gooseberry (Amla), optional 
----------
½ teaspoon asafoetida, optional
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 medium/small onion, finely chopped
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced finely
1-inch piece fresh ginger, minced finely 
1 medium/small onion, in chunks
2 medium/small tomatoes, in chunks
----------
2 tablespoons Chole Masala Powder
2 teaspoons Garam Masala Powder
2 teaspoons dry pomegranate aril powder, optional
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 fresh green chile
8 to 10 fresh mint leaves coarsely chopped
½ cup fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
½ teaspoon black salt, or regular salt, if needed
½ teaspoon Chaat Masala, above, optional
Juice of ½ lime, or more if needed

Set the soaked chickpeas in a saucepan with the water and next 3 ingredients if available. If the lichen and gooseberries are not available, add in 2 black tea teabags. Cook the chickpeas for 1¼ to 1½ hours, until tender. Drain the chickpeas, reserving the cooking water aside.

Wipe out the saucepan and heat over medium low. Add the asafoetida powder and toast lightly, then add the oil and the chopped onion, frying until the onion is nicely golden brown. While the onion is cooking, place the second onion and the tomatoes into a blender and puree. Now add the minced ginger and garlic into the pot and cook for 2 - 3 minutes. Add in the onion & tomato puree and stir, then add in the Chole Masala, Garam Masala, dried pomegranate powder and turmeric. Stir in well. Poke little slits in the green chili with the tip of a knife and add in the whole chili. Now return the cooked chickpeas to the pan and cook for 8 to 10 minutes over low heat, to meld flavors. 

Tomato puree added, dry spices to add, then added to the pot, finished mixture

Add in the mint leaves and cilantro, the salt and Chaat Masala if using, and squeeze in the lime juice. Remove the chili and discard. Stir and serve.




My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Garbanzo Beans in a New Guise

I am mostly finished with the Guatemalan cookbook / memoir I have been making, though I am continuing with my effort to eventually make all the recipes I have amassed. I have 80 recipes in this book of mine. Some are recipes I copied from somewhere, either a private recipe of a family member or from a very old cookbook someone had loaned to me. These have been changed over time when I have made them, to reflect my own way of doing things. In one single instance, I clipped a newspaper recipe and embellished to my taste. In many instances, I watched someone make a dish and I went on to do something similarly on my own, with there being no written recipe involved, even from my source. Many of the foods I learned to make while in Guatemala were created from someone's description of what to do, but including absolutely no amounts, timing or any such aid to creating a dish. Sometimes, even the person giving me the ideas had never even made the dish involved!

Garbanzos en Dulce

This last instance is how I came to make Garbanzos en Dulce. Garbanzos en Dulce translates to Garbanzos in a dessert form, or in syrup. I learned so many ways that sweet and savory foods crossed paths while in Guatemala. Sweet spices are used in savory applications. Savory foods are used in a sweet application. If we think of a pumpkin pie, we realize that while pumpkin is a savory food, it makes a most excellent dessert. In this case, garbanzos, while so often associated with hummus, or added onto salads at a salad bar, are not necessarily the first thing we think of in the context of a dessert. Yet, in Guatemala, they do, with excellent result. This dessert is generally served during Holy Week, but that never stopped me from making something I like when I want it.
 

Garbanzos en Dulce, served

Coming to the page in the cookbook, while proofreading, it occurred to me that the main reason I have not recreated this dessert since returning to the US more than 30 years back, is that in Guatemala I had access to dried garbanzo beans, which had to be cooked, then peeled and then made into the dessert. For anyone who has cooked beans, we know that it takes a while for the cooking process. To ensure the beans would peel easily once cooked, in Guatemala, some wood ash was added to the cooking water. Once cooked through, the skins slipped off easily. The dish is really wonderful, but makes a much better presentation and texture if the garbanzos are peeled. Once all this was finally done, it came time to cook the beans into a dessert. Most every Guatemalan recipe seems to ensure the maximum amount of kitchen time possible! 

However, in this day and age, garbanzo beans are available in cans. And not only that but with the choice of regular salted beans or unsalted. It occurred to me as I was proofreading that page in the cookbook that I needn't start from dried garbanzo beans. I have cans in the pantry! All I would have to do is peel and make them into dessert. I ran to the kitchen to try it out. 

Bowl of Garbanzos in Syrup

This still leaves the peeling part. I know that not all cans of garbanzos are created equal. I have read online how many people have had great difficulty peeling garbanzos, even from a can. I have read that hummus comes out with far better texture if the beans are peeled. I have not bothered with this step for hummus, just yet. For this dessert, I wanted it to be right. I was all prepared to use the baking soda method to get the beans to release their skins, but when I opened a can of "Kuner's brand of unsalted garbanzo beans, they peeled very easily indeed. As easily, in fact, as peeling blanched almonds. I was thrilled. 

It does take a little time to peel all the garbanzos, even only from one can. For me, it was not a really big deal-breaker in this case, to spend an extra 15 minutes or so peeling the beans. It must be done carefully, as the dish really presents best if the beans are whole and not all crushed. The only thing left to do was to place the drained and peeled beans into a saucepan with water, sugar and some true cinnamon stick to cook for about half hour and voila! Nearly instant dessert. I understand if this is a little too outre for some people, but if you love garbanzo beans, you just might be surprised!

True Cinnamon and Cassia Cinnamon

It is important for correct flavor of this dish to use true cinnamon for the flavoring. True cinnamon, versus the cassia we are generally faced with in the US, has a very different flavor, and even color than cassia. True cinnamon sticks are thin quills, generally rolled together and very easily crumbled if needed, where cassia sticks are thick, single quills, difficult to break.  True (soft stick) cinnamon quills are generally found in any Mexican grocery or in the international foods aisle in many grocery stores.

Garbanzos en Dulce

Serves 3 or 4

1 can (15 - 16 ounces) garbanzo beans, preferable unsalted
1½ teaspoons baking soda, if needed
1 cup water for cooking
½ to ¾ cup sugar
3 to 4-inches true (soft stick) cinnamon

Drain and rinse the garbanzos. Test peeling them. If they peel easily, skip this step and go on to making the dessert. If they do not peel easily, then first stir the baking soda into the drained and rinsed beans. Pour them into a skillet and heat them through, stirring constantly. Once hot, return them to the colander set over a bowl of cool water and rinse them well, rubbing them gently to loosen the skins. Gently make sure all the skins are loose and removed, changing the water various times during this process.

skin loosened; the bowl of beans peeled; Kuner's brand; gently boiling in sugar water; boiled to syrup

Once the beans are peeled, place the drained and well rinsed beans into a saucepan with the water, sugar and the cinnamon. Bring to a boil and continue at a medium boil for about 30 or so minutes, until the liquid has become syrupy. Cool and serve.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.