Dilli-style Chole

Arun grew up in Delhi and loves all food Delhi! He absolutely loves the chole you get there because it is cooked to the point of dissolving! The chole is also dark brown, almost black, so he calls it kale chole, It took me a while to figure out that he wasn't referring to kala channa, just dyed kabuli channa! The secret to the fabulous taste is making the dry masala fresh.

Serves greedy 2 or normal 3!
Ingredients
1 cup dry kabuli channa (chickpeas) or 1 can cooked chickpeas
1/2 tsp soda bi-carb
1 tea bag

2 medium-sized onions, finely diced
1" piece ginger, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, finely diced
2 green chillies, slit length wise
2 tomatoes, finely diced
2 medium potatoes
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
salt to taste
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp ghee

For the masala powder:
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1/2 tbsp anardana (pomegranate seeds), skip if not available
1/2” piece dalchini (cinnamon)
2-3 cloves
2-3 black peppercorns
2 badi elaichi (black cardamom)
1 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
1 tejpatta or bay leaf
1 whole dry red chilli (skip if you want to turn down the heat)

Method
Soak the chickpeas in 3 cups water to which you've added the soda bi-carb. Leave overnight, or if you are short of time, soak in hot water for 4 hours. Rinse thoroughly, add 2 to 3 cups water (about an inch of water above the chole level), the tea bag, and pressure cook - once steam has built up, reduce heat and cook for 30 minutes. Remember, you want this (the chole) to be super cooked and super soft. Discard the tea bag and keep aside. If you are using cooked chickpeas, you can fast forward to the next step.

Meanwhile, in a heavy wok or kadhai - the traditional iron one works very well - heat all the ingredients for the dry masala. When the kadhai is smoking and everything is dark brown, remove from heat. When cool, grind to a fine powder and keep aside.

Boil potatoes, peel and keep aside.
In the same kadhai, heat 2 tbsp oil. Add onions and saute on medium heat until they start to turn a light brown. Add the ginger and garlic and saute for a minute. Now add the tomatoes, salt, turmeric and chilli powder and continue to saute until the mixture has blended well and turns brown (if you want a milder taste, skip the red chilli). This will take at least 10 -15 minutes on low heat. If the mixture sticks to the kadhai, I add a little of the cooked chole water - a spoon at a time - to get it all going again. Now add the dry masala powder - there is a little guess work here - I suggest you add the powder a little at a time, check the taste, and then add more if you like. Sometimes, the masala can be a little intense and hit the back of your throat. After a minute, add the cooked chole with the cooking liquid - adjust the amount of liquid to your liking. Crumble the cooked potato in - I just use my hands to roughly break it up. You can save a few slices for garnish. Mix and simmer for 4-5 minutes. The final consistency of the chole depends on you - I like it to be a little liquidy for easy mixing with rice. Add the ghee and mix. This step is optional but the taste is well worth the indulgence! Garnish with the green chillies and potato. Serve with basmati rice, rotis or puris.