If you’ve only ever made chole the regular way, this Chikkad Chole recipe is going to surprise you. The gravy clings to every chickpea, the masala is ground fresh, and the ghee tadka at the end brings everything together in a flavorful and aromatic way.
This Chikkad Chole recipe uses a mustard oil base, which makes it so different from all your regular chole recipes. Its uniqueness comes from blending some of the cooked chickpeas, potato, curds, and a few more ingredients, making the base super creamy, tangy, and flavorful.
What I also really like is that it comes together in about 30 minutes, which feels like a steal deal for how good it tastes. You cook the chickpeas in a pressure cooker with whole spices, grind your masala, and the rest is just letting everything simmer together. If you enjoy hearty, gravy-heavy recipes, this chikkad chole has that same homely comfort.
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Ingredients for Chikkad Chole
- Chickpeas: Dried chickpeas soaked overnight. They hold their shape better than canned and absorb the masala well.
- Potato: A small peeled potato cooked with the chickpeas and blended into the masala. This is what gives the gravy its thickness.
- Whole spices: Bay leaf, cinnamon stick, black cardamom and cloves. These go into the pressure cooker with the chickpeas and get discarded after cooking.
- Grinding paste: Green chilli, ginger, garlic, whisked curds and coriander stems ground together with some cooked chickpeas and potato.
- Mustard oil: Gives the chole its distinctive flavour. You can use any neutral oil instead, but the mustard oil makes a real difference.
- Onions and spice powders: Finely chopped onions, coriander powder, kashmiri chilli powder, cumin powder, turmeric, chole masala and amchur.
- Tempering (tadka): Ghee with carom seeds, asafoetida, kasuri methi, julienned ginger and kashmiri chilli powder. Poured over the finished chole and garnished with fresh coriander leaves.
Frequently Asked Questions
The main difference is in the gravy. Regular chole curry usually has a thinner, more liquid gravy, while chikkad chole has a thick, rich gravy. The texture comes from blending some of the cooked chickpeas and potato into the masala rather than adding cream or cashews. The freshly ground paste of curds, ginger, garlic and coriander stems also gives it a more layered flavour compared to regular chole made with just dry spice powders.
You can, but the result won’t be quite the same. Canned chickpeas are already cooked, so they won’t absorb the masala as deeply as dried ones that have been pressure cooked with whole spices. If you’re using canned, drain and rinse them, skip the pressure cooking step, and simmer them in the gravy for a bit longer so they pick up some of the flavour. You’ll still need to cook a small potato separately to blend into the masala for the thick gravy.
Yes, you can cook the chickpeas in a heavy-bottomed pot with a lid. Cover them with enough water along with the whole spices and potato, bring to a boil, then simmer on low for about 45 minutes to an hour until the chickpeas are completely soft. It takes longer than a pressure cooker, but the result is the same. Just make sure you check the water level occasionally and top it up if needed so the chickpeas don’t dry out.
Richa’s Top Tips
- Soaking the chickpeas overnight is important because it helps them cook evenly and get soft all the way through. Under-soaked chickpeas will take longer in the pressure cooker and might still end up with a bite to them.
- Let the pressure cooker de-pressurise on its own rather than forcing the lid open. This allows the chickpeas to continue cooking in the residual heat. Which gives you softer, creamier chickpeas that absorb the masala better.
- Cooking the ground paste with the spice powders on low heat until the oil separates is what builds the depth of flavour in the chole curry. This requires patience, but the resulting flavor is worth the effort. If the mixture starts drying out, add a tablespoon of water at a time rather than dumping it all in at once.
- Using mustard oil instead of a neutral oil makes a noticeable difference to the flavour. If you’re not used to mustard oil, heat it until it just starts smoking before adding anything, which takes the raw edge off.
Storage Tips
- Refrigerator: Store leftover chikkad chole in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. The gravy thickens further as it cools, so add a splash of water when reheating to loosen it up. It honestly tastes even better the next day.
- Freezing: You can freeze the chickpea curry without the tadka for up to a month. Thaw overnight in the fridge. Reheat on the stove, then make a fresh tadka and pour it over before serving. This way the tadka stays aromatic and doesn’t lose its punch.
Serving Ideas
Chikkad chole has a thick, rich gravy that pairs well with breads, rice and even a few sides to round out the meal.
- With bread: The classic pairing is with bhature. But this chole also goes really well with a warm lachha paratha or a garlic cheese stuffed kulcha. The thick gravy scoops up beautifully with any of these.
- With rice: A simple jeera rice or plain steamed basmati lets the chole do all the talking. You can also try it over a bowl of fluffy white rice with a dollop of ghee on top.
- With a side salad: Thinly sliced onions, a slice of lemon, some green chilli is the perfect way to cut through the richness. A kachumber salad with cucumber, tomato and onion works just as well.
- For a chaat twist: Spoon some chikkad chole over a plate of bread chaat. You can also use it as a topping on crispy papdi for a fusion-style snack.
Did You Know?
The word “chikkad” comes from Hindi and loosely translates to thick, sticky or mud-like, which is exactly what the gravy of this chole looks like when it’s done right. Unlike regular chole where the gravy is more liquid and the chickpeas sit in it, chikkad chole is all about the masala coating every single chickpea so there’s barely any loose gravy left in the bowl. This style of chickpea curry is popular in North India, especially in Punjab and Delhi, where roadside vendors slow-cook it for hours in large pots until the gravy reduces and thickens naturally. The home version uses blended chickpeas and potato to get that same thick consistency in a fraction of the time.
If you’ve been making chole the same way every time, this chikkad chole recipe is a really good reason to switch things up. The thick, tangy gravy, freshly ground masala and that final ghee tadka make it feel like a completely different dish. Plus, it all comes together in about 30 minutes.
Try it with bhature, kulcha or just plain rice and see how quickly it becomes a regular in your kitchen. If you make it, tag me on Instagram @my_foodstory so I can see your version!
Watch Chikkad Chole Recipe Video
Chikkad Chole
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup chick peas soaked overnight
- 1 small potato peeled, approx 40 gms
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ inch cinnamon stick
- 1 black cardamom
- 4 cloves whole
- 3 cups water divided
For grinding
- 1 green chilli
- ½ inch ginger
- 8 cloves garlic
- ¼ + ⅛ cups curds whisked
- 8-10 coriander stems
For gravy
- 3 tablespoons mustard oil refer note 1
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds jeera
- ¼ teaspoon asafoetida hing
- 1 cup finely chopped onions
- ¾ cup water divided
Spice powders
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 2 teaspoons kashmiri chilli powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 tablespoon chole masala
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon amchur powder
For tempering
- 2 teaspoons ghee
- ¼ teaspoon carom seeds ajwain
- ⅛ teaspoon asafoetida hing
- ½ teaspoon kasuri methi
- 1 inch ginger julienned
- ½ teaspoon kashmiri chilli powder
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped coriander leaves
Instructions
Cooking chick peas
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Heat a pressure cooker, add soaked chick peas, potato, bay leaf, cinnamon sticks, black cardamom, cloves, 2 cups of water, close the lid and pressure cook on high. After the 1st whistle, cook on low for 20 minutes till the chick peas are cooked well. Let it de-pressurise by itself. Open the lid, discard all the whole spices, set aside cooked potato and ½ cup of cooked chick peas.
Grinding paste
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Add all the ingredients listed for grinding to a mixer along with the cooked potato and ½ cup of chick peas and grind until smooth.
Chikkad chole gravy
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Heat mustard oil in a kadai, add cumin seeds, hing and once they crackle, add the ground paste along with all the spice powders, mix well and cook covered on low for 3-4 minutes till oil separates from the masala. You may add 2-3 tablespoons of water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if the mixture gets too dry while cooking.
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Add cooked chick peas along with the cooked water, ½ cup of water and cook on low for 10 minutes till the chick peas absorb the masalas.
Tempering
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Heat ghee in another pan or kadai, add carom seeds, hing, kasuri methi, ginger and saute for 4-5 seconds. Take off the heat, add kashmiri chilli powder, mix well and pour the tempering on the cooked gravy and mix well. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.
Video
Notes
- Mustard oil gives the authentic taste to the gravy which may be replaced with any neutral flavoured cooking oil
Nutrition
This article was researched and written by Harita Odedra.
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