Lahori Chikar Chole is quintessential street food from Lahore. It’s a flavorful curry of chickpeas coated in a thick gravy with basic spices.
Lahore is known for its traditional food and rich food culture. Chickar chole are a popular breakfast dish from Lahore that is served as Desi Nashta with halwa, puri, kulcha or naan.
There are a lot of recipes and different version of Chikar Chole, but what is consistent in every recipe is the texture of the curry, its thick, mushy and packed with flavour.
What is Chikar Chole
Chikar Chole is a Punjabi chickpea curry. The word Chikar (pronounced chik-kar) is a Punjabi word for mushy and chole means chickpeas. The dish name literally translates to Mushy Chickpeas based on the texture and consistency of the curry.
It is a popular street food dish and is often called chikar channay, chana masala or cholay depending on the region.
It is a healthy, hearty, flavor packed dish that is high in proteins, is vegan and gluten-free.
The recipe is fairly easy to make, does not require a lot of ingredients but you’ll definitely get that street-food style taste at home.
Lahori Chikar Chole Recipe
This recipe for chikar chole is very close to the street food version you get in Lahore. It’s very straight forward, simple and comes together really quickly.
For the recipe the preferred choice is using pre-soaked chickpeas however to speed-up the process canned chickpeas are a good choice too.
Follow the recipe and tipe below to get that authentic taste, color and texture of chikar chole.
Ingredients
To make Chikar Chole you need a few simple pantry staple ingredients. Detailed instructions and measurements are in the recipe card below.
- Chickpeas – Dried chickpeas soaked overnight. You can also use canned chickpeas to save time.
- Onion, Ginger and Garlic – to make the curry base
- Spice Powders – Chilli powder, Turmeric, Coriander Powder, Garam masala powder, Salt, Cumin powder, crushed black pepper, amchur (dried mango powder)
- Ghee/Oil – Ghee or oil, I used a mix of both but you can use any vegetable oil.
- Secret Ingredients– boiled potato, baking soda, green cardamom, chicken powder or chicken stock cube.
How to make Chikar Chole
- Soak the chickpeas overnight or for at least 4-6 hours. Tip the chickpeas into a large saucepan and pour in enough water. Bring to a boil and cook until chickpeas are soft but not too mushy. Check the doneness by pressing between fingers. Don’t discard the water.
- If using canned chickpeas, add the drained canned chickpeas in the pan and pour in water, cook until soft.
- In a large pot heat the ghee and oil and add the onions and cook until golden (don’t brown the onions). Add the ginger and garlic paste and saute till fragrant.
- Add all the spices except black pepper and cumin powder and mix well. Give a splash of water to mix it well.
- Blitz the boiled potato and 1/4 cup chickpeas. set aside
- Next, add the boiled chickpeas to the pot and mix well. Add the chickpea water, green cardamom, slit green chillies and chicken powder. Bring it to a boil, and lower the heat and simmer for 15 mins.
- Now add the potato and chickpea mix for a creamier, mushy texture. The gravy shouldn’t be too thick or too thin.
- Add the black pepper and cumin powder, mix and cook for another 5 minutes. Lastly add a pinch of baking soda, mix, cover and let simmer on low heat for 2-3 minutes.
- Before serving add 2Tbsp of hot ghee/oil on the top, don’t mix. Take out in a serving bowl.
- Serve with puri, naan or kulcha.
Tips to make Authentic Chikar Chole
- Use Raw Chickpeas– for the authentic taste and texture use the raw Chickpeas, which are easily available in Pakistani/Indian grocery stores or online. You can also use canned Chickpeas.
- Soak the Chickpeas– Chickpeas are tough and requires longer cooking time, so pre-soak overnight or for at least 4-6 hours.
- Forgot to soak Chickpeas – Soak in warm water for at 3-4 hours.
- Slightly overboil Chickpeas– Once boiled chickpeas should be very soft when pressed between the fingers.
- To Make Curry Thick and Mushy – Adding boiled potato and mashed chickpeas to the curry make it thick and mushy.
- Secret Ingredients – The secret ingredients help elevate the flavour to give that authentic street food style taste.
- Serving Suggestion – Serve with puri, naan or kulcha.
- Make it Vegan – skip ghee and vegetable oil.
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Lahori Chikar Chole [Mushy Chickpea Curry]
Ingredients
- 1 Cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight (2 400gm tins chickpeas)
- Water as required
- 1/4 cup Ghee and Oil
- 1 large Onion, grated
- 1 tbsp Ginger paste
- 1 tbsp Garlic paste
- 1 tsp Red Chili powder
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
- 1 tsp Coriander Powder
- 1/2 tsp Garam Masala Powder
- 1 tsp Amchur powder
- 1 tsp Black pepper crushed
- 1 tsp Cumin Powder
- 1 tbsp Chicken Powder or Chicken Stock Cube (optional)
- 1/2 tsp Salt or as required
- 2 green cardamom
- 2 Green Chilies, slit
- 1 medium Potato, boiled
- 1/4 tsp Baking soda
Instructions
- Soak the chickpeas overnight or for at least 4-6 hours. Tip the chickpeas into a large saucepan and pour in enough water. Bring to a boil and cook until chickpeas are soft but not too mushy. Check the doneness by pressing between fingers. Don't discard the water.
- If using canned chickpeas, add the drained canned chickpeas in the pan and pour in water, cook until soft.
- In a large pot heat the ghee and oil and add the onions and cook until golden (don’t brown the onions). Add the ginger and garlic paste and saute till fragrant.
- Add all the spices except black pepper and cumin powder and mix well. Give a splash of water to mix it well.
- Blitz the boiled potato and 1/4 cup chickpeas. set aside
- Next, add the boiled chickpeas to the pot and mix well. Add the chickpea water, green cardamom, slit green chillies and chicken powder. Bring it to a boil, and lower the heat. Simmer for 15 mins.
- Now add the potato and chickpea mix for a creamier, mushy texture. The gravy shouldn’t be too thick or too thin. If it's too thick, add boiled water for desired consistency.
- Add the black pepper and cumin powder, mix and cook for another 5 minutes. Taste check and adjust seasoning if needed. Lastly add a pinch of baking soda, mix, cover and let simmer on low heat for 2-3 minutes.
- Before serving add 2Tbsp of hot ghee/oil on the top, don’t mix. Take out in a serving bowl.
- Serve with puri, naan or kulcha.
Notes
- Use Raw Chickpeas– for the authentic taste and texture use the raw Chickpeas, which are easily available in Pakistani/Indian grocery stores or online. You can also use canned Chickpeas.
- Soak the Chickpeas– Chickpeas are tough and requires longer cooking time, so pre-soak overnight or for at least 4-6 hours.
- Forgot to soak Chickpeas – Soak in warm water for at 3-4 hours.
- Slightly overboil Chickpeas– Once boiled chickpeas should be very soft when pressed between the fingers.
- To Make Curry Thick and Mushy – Adding boiled potato and mashed chickpeas to the curry make it thick and mushy.
- Secret Ingredients – The secret ingredients help elevate the flavour to give that authentic street food style taste.
- Serving Suggestion – Serve with puri, naan or kulcha.
- Make it Vegan – skip ghee and vegetable oil.
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