Pakistan – Chole Bhature

by Dahiza Umar

WHAT IS CHOLE BHATURE?

Chole Bhatura is a kind of street food can be served in the morning as the breakfast or as lunch even with the evening tea. It is so famous dish through out the Pakistan form Punjabi cuisine. It consist of two components like the main dish is ”CHOLE”, the chickpea gravy masala dish is served with the ”BHATURE”, a sort of bread same as puri but having some additional ingredients. As a true Punjabi cuisine it is served with lassi, a kind of drink prepared with yogurt, milk and sugar is very famous in Punjab.

CHOLE, is known as channy in urdu means white chickpea and bhature is a bread served with chole. It is so easy to made you can cook this amazingly delicious simple dish as home torelish the taste of this dish so everyone can enjoy this dish and appreciate your cooking skills. Many traditional spices is used to make chole curry, its aroma is so palatable so anyone cannot deny to take a bite of it, which is served with hot and soft bhatura prepared freshly, come directly form the cooking pot. Actually bhatura is a bread that is deep fried as puri served with halwa.

In Punjab, many hawkers and stalls are found on the every corner of Lahore, main city of Punjab Pakistan they served the full platter having bhatura, chole, salad and pickle with a glass of lassi to enjoy your day.

PUNJABI CUISINE

Punjab is a province of Pakistan, they are known by their food that is made by adding alot of ghee/ butter to make it melt in mouth texture and fresh spices is used directly from the farm. The use of Desi ghee in every dish they made make is delectable and loved by everyone, the use of fresh milk drenched from cow to make Lasi and home made yogurt is very popular their.

HISTORY OF THE DISH

When it some to the history of this dish, it is said that when all three region lived together, this dish is made by indian fellows, all the Pakistani and Indian stayed together they have same region of Punjab so the dish is evolve from the Punjab of Indian subcontinent and having same taste and spices with same flavors this dish is famous as in India and Pakistan.

COMPONENT OF THE DISH

The whole platter is served in the market when go out to have it having these components they served as a Bhatura platter:

• Chole curry
• Bhature
• Salad
• Raita
• Pickle
• Lasi

INGREDIENTS OF CHOLE

• 1 kg chickpea ( soaked 2 hours before )
• 2 large onions
• 2 tomatoes
• 2 tbsp garlic paste
• 2 tbsp ginger paste
• 3 tbsp green chili paste
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp red pepper
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tbsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• 1 cup oil / butter

METHOD OF MAKING CHOLE

• Take a large cooking pot and add oil into it, when oil is hot add onions and sauted it.
• When onions become translucent add garlic ginger paste with tomatoes and give a fry for 5 minutes until water of tomatoes releases than add all the dry spices.
• Now when the mixture become soft after 10 minutes add 2 glass of water bring it a boil and boil chickpea soaked before.
• Let it cook for half hour and keep stirring it after 5 to minutes so it may not burnt form the bottom.
• See if the chickpea is cooked and soft, water is evaporated and gravy is prepared.
• served it with bhatura.

INGREDIENTS OF BHATURA:

• 1 kg plain floor
• 1 tbsp salt
• 4 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 cup boiled white lentils
• oil for frying

METHOD OF COOKING

• Take floor and add all the ingredients into it.
• Now knead the floor mixture with water.
• Take a small ball of the knead dough and add boiled lentils into it, roll it to make a flat bread and depp fried it
• When golden brown served it with chole
• enjoy!