This recipe for Chole Biryani happened totally by chance; thanks to Nikita Jhanglani for the last moment inspiration.
No Onion, No Garlic Chole Biryani
The theme for the 107th Foodie Monday Blog Hop is a party dish. However, we are bang in the middle of the festival season and I was already thinking of Onam recipes. Given that I have a particularly gruelling week ahead at work, I was not equipped to make a party dish. So, I had decided not to participate in this week’s blog hop and was just about to send a message to fellow bloggers, when a pic of Chole Biryani pops up on WhatsApp. It was Nikita and her mom who made this No Onion, No Garlic Chole Biryani as their contribution to the Ganapati Celebrations in their apartment complex.
Indeed, as Paul Coelho said, “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
And on went the light in my head! I love one-pot meals and they make a great addition to any party, especially potluck parties; and this No Onion, No Garlic Chole Biryani can be enjoyed by one and all.
Nikita did send me her recipe. I used that as a base along with my own recipes for Pindi Chole and Ambarsari Chole to come up with my own version of this absolutely delightful dish!
Trust me everyone will love the taste and it is just so easy to make.
- Thank you, Nikita. I always knew there was a reason we got along so well! 😀
- If you like biryanis, do take a look at this round up of biryani and pulao recipes.
How to Make No Onion, No Garlic Chole Biryani
No Onion, No Garlic Chole Biryani
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Chole, Chickpeas (200gms)
- 2 Cups Basmati Rice
- 1/4 Cup Dahi, Yogurt
- 2 Cups Peeled, Diced Potatoes (1/2" cubes)
- 1/2 Cup Finely Chopped Fresh Coriander For Garnish
- 10 Cloves
- 2" Cinnamon
- 2 tsp Strong Tea Leaves
- 3 Bay Leaves
- 6 Green Cardamom
- 2 Black Cardamom
- 2 tbsp Ghee or Oil (I used Ghee; Vegans can use oil)
- 1 tsp Ajwain or Carom Seeds
- 2 tsp Slivers of Ginger
- 3-4 Green Chillies, Slit
- 1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
- 1.5 tsp Roasted Cumin Powder
- 1.5 tsp Coriander Powder
- 1.5 tsp Amchur, Raw Mango Powder
- 2 tsp Kasoori Methi Powder (See Notes)
- 2 tsp Anardana Powder, Pomegranate Seeds Powder (See Notes)
- 1 tsp Black Salt
- 2 tsp Thick Tamarind Pulp
- 3-4 tbsp Oil
- 1 tbsp Ghee (Vegans use oil)
- Salt to Taste
Instructions
- Soak the Chole in 3 Cups Water for 6 to 8 hours.
- In a small white cloth, tie-up all ingredients listed under For Potli to Boil Chickpeas.
- Place this potli/packet in the middle of the chickpeas.
- Cover and boil for about 45 minutes till done.
Or
Pressure cook the chickpeas 4 whistles. - Discard the potli.
- Drain and reserve the water in which the chickpeas were cooked.
- Soak the Basmati in 4 cups water for about 15 minutes.
- Drain all the water.
- Leave the soaked rice in the colander till it is time to use.
- In a pan large enough to hold the chole, on a medium flame, heat 1 tbsp oil or ghee.
- Add the ajwain, ginger, and green chillies.
- Stir-fry till the raw smell of the ginger disappears.
- Add the dry masalas and mix well.
- Immediately add the cooked chole.
- Mix well.
- Add the black salt, salt, and tamarind paste.
- Mix well.
- Add a little of the reserved water.
- Over medium flame, cook for about 5 minutes till most of the water evaporates.
- Turn off the heat.
- Beat the dahi well so that there are no lumps.
- Add the dahi to the chole and mix well.
- Set aside.
- In a large wok or kadhai, heat 3 tbsp oil. Use a large wok/kadhai as we will cook rice in it later.
- Add the potato pieces and over medium flame, stir-fry till golden brown.
- Remove the potato pieces and set aside.
- In the wok used to fry the potatoes, add the rice and stir-fry for 5 minutes.
- Add 3.25 cups water, 1/2 tsp salt, and mix well.
- Over low-to-medium flame, cook covered till the rice is done. Mix at regular intervals.
- When the rice is cooked, add the chole.
- Mix well.
- Cook covered for 5 minutes.
- Add salt, if required, and mix well.
- Just before serving, add the fried potatoes and mix well.
- Garnish with fresh coriander.
- Serve with Cucumber Raita or Boondi Raita and Papad.
Notes
- To make Kasoori Methi powder, over medium flame, dry roast 3 tsp of kasoori methi till it becomes crisp. Remove into a plate to cool. Crush into a powder with your fingers.
- To make Anardana/Pomegranate seeds powder, dry roast 2 tsp anardana. Let it cool and then grind to a powder.
- I used readymade tamarind paste.
- You can a complete shortcut and use readymade Chole Masala powder. The result is just as delicious!
- You can also add some fried tomato chunks if you wish.
Spicy Chole Biryani | The Perfect One Dish Meal
Do you want to see other Party Dishes recipes my fellow Foodie Monday Blog Hop bloggers have shared? Hop over to our Facebook page by clicking on the logo.
So lovely!
full of flavor Aruna, so yum looking 🙂
want this now!! so yum!
Chhole biryani looks delicious. Best part is its without onion garlic. Perfect for this festive season.
Thank you 🙂
Lovely onion garlic free share Aruna..perfect for the ongoing festive season.
Thank you, Poonam. Welcome back 🙂
Love Chole Pulao or Biriyani… so full of flavours.?..I make a Pakistani style Chole Pulao with saunf…have it in my blog…do try that out sometime.
Absolutely, Saswati. I will look it up!
A delicious looking biryani without onion and garlic! Super duper. My mother in law and sister in law are ISKCON followers so we have to cook with onion and garlic when I’m in Mumbai. I’m bookmarking this recipe to try out when I visit Mumbai.
Do let me know when you are in Mumbai and we can meet up as well. 🙂
Looks so Flavorful and yum!!! Fantastic share Aruna.
full of flavor Aruna, so yum looking 🙂