one pot chole rice.
My grand mom made the best Chole in the world. It was a hand me down recipe from her mother who was according to me was an un hailed, un acclaimed legendary cook worth atleast a couple of Michelin Stars. Not only did she cook like her hands were blessed by the gods, but she also remembered amongst the dozens of grand and great grand children, who thronged at her home each summer, what each of us loved to eat. Our stomachs and souls were in heaven when at her home. Every morning, no matter how early we woke up, we would find her tinkering in the kitchen, singing bhajans to her beloved Krishna. I asked her one day if she has any recipes written down – and she looked at me like I was asking her if Krishna liked dance music. Every single recipe, and there were thousands in her repertoire, was stored in her head. And not once was there a variation in what we ate. Each and every time over the years the dishes tasted the same – tasty, heartwarming and soul stirring.
My nani, handed me this recipe of Chole, very casually over dinner one day. I scrambled up and wrote it down. Over the years, I have also perfected this recipe with trials and error. And while it still does not taste like how she or her mom made it, it stills holds good on it’s own.
one pot chole rice
I was in Mahabaleshwar, and the mood for Chole hit like a storm. Let’s be precise, the mood to eat grand mom’s Chole hit like a storm. These one pot recipes have been going viral on the internet – and let’s face it, they make so much sense. Since all the spices and dishes are cooked and simmered together, the flavours stay within the dish, and every essence and aroma gets enhanced. Also let’s not forget that it’s super easy, non messy and there are such fewer dishes to wash.
So I decided to experiment with Chole and rice in one dish. My friend Nishi and me waited with hungry eyes and hopeful hearts as it cooked. While making the initial mix and before the cover of the pressure cooker was put on, the smells that wafted from the pan were incredible. As a result we kept hanging around in the kitchen, waiting for the Chole to cook, so that we could taste it immediately.
one pot chole rice
As soon as the pressure cooker would allow us to open it, we spooned small little bites into our very eager mouths. Voila! it was perfect. Just what we wanted. It hit the right notes of spices, flavours, heat and comfort food. There was no delay in lunch that day! 😛
This has to made in a pressure cooker, as the recipe calls for uncooked but pre soaked chick peas. I also used brown rice, which takes time to cook. This balances the cooking time. Had we used the normal white rice, it would have reduced to a mush, in the time the chole cooked.
The time variations in pressure cooker change as you move from sea level to higher altitude levels. At sea level two whistles are good. Higher altitude calls from three whistles (at low flame). I made a masala kadhi with this dish. (recipe in the following blog). I used the basic recipe for kadhi, but made my own concoction along the way. Some of my friends who had the one pot chole, liked it more with plain yoghurt. If you are not a fan of a blend of too many spices, yoghurt is your answer.
Serve with green chillies and onion slices.
one pot chole rice
I hope you get a glimpse of your childhood, or some loving memory gets jogged as you make and eat this dish. I always sit back with big grins and think of my grand mom, who is somewhere up there laughing and smiling back at all of us.
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 4 people | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | Passive Time |
| 20 - 35 minutes | 12 hours |
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Easy but hearty meal. Brown rice, chick peas and secret Indian spices, blended together as a one pot dish.
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- 1 Cup Raw, dried chick peas soaked over night
- 3/4 Cup Red or Brown rice soaked for an hour
- 3 Tbspn Anardana seeds (dried pomegranate seeds - available in any indian grocery store, or speciality store outside india)
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 1/2 Tbspn Cumin Seeds (jeera)
- 1 Tbspn Whole Corriander Seeds (akhaa dhania)
- 1 Clove (lavang)
- 1/2 Inch piece Cinammon (dalchini)
- 1 Pinch Caraway Seeds (ajwain)
- 2 Tspn Black Pepper
- 1 Pinch Asafoetida (hing)
- 1 Pinch Turmeric (haldi)
- 1 Pinch red chilly powder
- 1 onion chopped roughly
- 2 Green Chillies chopped roughly
- 1 inch Ginger chopped roughly
- 8 Cloves garlic chopped roughly
- 3 Tbspn Tamarind Pulp (imli)
- 2 Tbspn Kokum Pulp (indian berry - garcinia)
- 1 Tbspn Ghee
- 1/2 Tspn Cumin (jeera)
- 1/4 Tspn Caraway (ajwain)
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 Large Whole Kashmiri Chilly
- 1/2 Tspn Asafoetida (hing)
- Mix the turmeric, red chilly powder and hing and keep aside.
- Dry roast the anardana, bay leaf, kashmiri mirchi, cumin, corriander, black pepper, clove, cinnamon and caraway on a girlde or pan, over low heat.
- Just as it changes colour and the aromas waft up, add the mix of turmeric, red chilly powder and hing.
- Take it off the fire imediately, else the turmeric blend will burn.
- Once it cools down, grind into a fine powder.
- You should get appx 3 tbspns of the spice blend.
- Make a paste of the onions, garlic, ginger and green chillies.
- Make a pulp of the soaked tamarind and kokum.
- Strain and keep aside.
- Wash both the soaked chole and rice. Mix and keep aside.
- Set a pressure cooker on medium heat.
- Pour ghee.
- When it heats add the cumin seeds till it splutters. Add the caraway, then add the bay leaf, whole red chilli and hing.
- Immediately add the onion paste.
- Once it dries up a bit, add the chickpeas and rice.
- Add 3 heaped tablespoons of the spice blend.
- Mix well.
- Add the tamarind and kokum water.
- Add 1 1/2 Cups water and salt and mix again.
- Shut the pressure cooker and let it cook.
- Remember - low flame. 2 whistles for sea level locations. 3 whistles for hills and 4 whistles for mountain areas.
- Once the cooking is done, take it off the fire and let the steam subside.
- As soon as you can open the pressure cooker lid, add the sliced onions and tomatoes and shut the lid again.
- The steam will cook the tomatoes and let loose the juice into the chole chawal.
- This dish starts getting dry as soon as it cools down. If you like it with a little gravy, add a little salted water and cook to simmer once just before serving. Garnish with corriander.
- Serve with yoghurt or a raita. Optionally with green chillies, raw onion slices and a wedge of lime.
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