Dry Chole

1. Wash and drain the chickpeasas well asthe Bengal gram.
2. In a small piece of cleanmuslin cloth, add cinnamon, cardamom, and tea powder.Tie the ends to have a small muslin bag of spices.
3. In a pressure cooker, add white chick peas, Bengal gram, baking soda, salt and 2 ½ cups of water along with the muslin bag of spices.Stir and pressure cook the contents for up to3 whistles.
4. When the steam has escaped, open the lid of the cooker and discard the muslin bag. Set the cooker aside.
5. In a deep pan, heat oil and sautégreen chilies and gingerfor30 seconds.
6. Add garlic paste, onionsin the pan and sauté them as wellforanother 5 minutes, or until the onions are soft and translucent.
7. Stir in the tomato pulp, andlet the contents cooks for 3 minutes on medium flame. Stir occasionally.
8. Season with coriander powder, chole masala, garam masala, and chili powder. Mix them all well and cook on a medium flame for 1 minute. Keepstirring occasionally.
9. When the spice mix is ready, add the chickpeas and Bengal gram in the pan along with all the water and salt and mix well. Cook the dry chole on medium flame for 16 minutes or until the water has reduced. Do not let all the water dry or the cholewould lose its moisture.
10. Garnish with coriander, tomato and onion and serve hot.

Trivia:

• Chickpeas as old as 7500 years BC.
• Chickpeas are known in different parts of the world with different names.