How to make Chole Bhature- Restaurant style Chole Bhature recipe- Kali Mirch by Smita

Dear readers, for me, there could never be a sight more gratifying than a perfectly puffed Bhaturas. I would go so far and borrow a word from the urban dictionary (don’t go looking for this word in your pocket dictionary)- foodgasmic. Yes, that’s how I feel every time I order that plate of Chole Bhatura and when its brought to my table by the server.

As it approaches my table making its way through the maze of tables and chairs from the kitchen counter to my table, I not for a single moment, let the Bhaturas out of my sight. Even today it evokes the similar excitement in me which it could do almost a decade ago.

Yes, my connection with Chole Bhaturas are as old as my connection with my lady, or possibly a little older. I know Smita is not going to take lightly of this admission on my part, and there are going to be repercussions to this. She will probably make a comeback in her next blog. Watch out for that.

So my romantic association with Chole Bhaturas began in late 2006, when we were posted in Infosys, Mysore campus. Every single morning, I would wake up to the feeling of being posted in one of the India’s finest company, my heart full with joy and my eyes with plenty of dreams. Of so many things that I had in abundance, money was definitely not one of them. Keeping aside some portion for my daily sustenance, a major chunk of my salary of 12000 rupee had to wired back home. So what I had provisioned for myself was just enough to buy me food from one of the 3 food-courts and occasional bottle of rum that me and my colleagues would consume with plain water. I guess you could now understand how bad was the state of dearth of funds for all of us.

Desperate times calls for desperate measures, and I had managed to find couple of dishes that were available in the food-courts at a meager rate of 20 rupees but would satiate my taste buds in every term. While Thali was available in these food-courts, but if you go looking for taste in these thalis, let me say this straight- you are bound to be disappointed.

Coming back to those 2 dishes that I began to romanticize about and had reserved two days over the weekend when I would consume nothing but- Chole Bhature and Veg Fried Rice. Available for 20 rupees these dishes were godsend, something that I would consume early in the day and be full for the rest of it. Chole Bhature would come in a large portion of delicious chole and 3 Bhaturas which were more than enough to keep me full.

I would buy a token from the cash counter and head over to serving area where they would collect your coupons and return back with your order. This was the most brutal part of the process, to see every other order tumble out from the kitchen one after the other while you wait and wait and wait.

Sneakily I would try to get a glimpse of the kitchen through the open window and there it was. Chef would roll out the Bhaturas in perfect oval shape, pull its edges by his hands and then throw it in the hot Oil-filled Kadhai- the scene now playing itself in my mind in slow-motion. Within seconds, the magic would unravel in front of my eyes, Bhaturas would rise in perfect synergy, an unforgettable sight for a foodie. As the Bhaturas would make its way from the Kadhai into my plate, I would pick up my plate and rush towards an empty corner of a food-court- somewhere no one could get a glimpse of me and I wouldn’t have to share this with anyone.

A right sized bite of Bhatura dipped into Chole gravy with couple of well-cooked chole sneaking into that bite makes you wonder- Is this what yogis talk about attaining in their lifetime and you have attained in that very moment- Nirvana.

Chole Bhature is not just a food for me but a feeling.

What we tried to do by this recipe is to get closer to restaurant style Chole Bhature preparations. So now you can follow this recipe and make restaurant style Chole Bhature in your own kitchen without having to worry about the hygiene that may be a put-off for restaurant food.

Make this delicious preparation and share your feedback with us in comment section below.

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How to make Chole Bhature- Restaurant style Chole Bhature recipe- Kali Mirch by Smita

Ingredients

For Bhature:-

• 2 Cups=300gms Plain Flour-Maida
• ¼th Cup=40gms Fine Semolina-Rava
• ½ Cup=125gms Curd
• ½-tsp Sugar
• ½-tsp Salt
• 1-tsp Baking Soda
• 1-tbsp Ghee
• Water as required
• Cooking Oil for frying

For Chole Masala:-

• 1 Cup=200gms Garbanzo beans- soaked overnight
• 2 Large=200gms Onions-finely chopped
• 4 Large=400gms Tomatoes-finely chopped
• 3 Green Chilies
• 1½ inch Ginger root
• 2 Bay Leaf
• 1½ inch Cinnamon stick
• 2 Black Cardamom
• 4 Green Cardamom
• 4 Cloves
• Cooking Oil
• 2-tsp Tea Leaf
• ¼th tsp Turmeric Powder
• ½-tsp Kashmiri red chili powder
• ½-tsp Garam Masala Powder
• 1-tsp Coriander Seeds powder
• 1-tsp roasted cumin seeds powder
• 2-tsp Chole Masala
• 2-tsp Dried pomegranate seed powder
• 1-tsp Sugar
• ¼th-tsp Baking Soda
• Salt to taste

For Tadka:-

• 1-tbsp Ghee
• ½-tsp Kashmiri red Chili Powder
• 2 Green Chilies-slit
• 1-inch Ginger root- Juliennes

Instructions

For Bhature:-

1. Soak Semolina in ¼th-1/2 cup warm water. Semolina will make Bhature a little crisp.
2. We will pass Plain flour and Salt mixture through a sieve. This helps remove any kind of impurities.
3. Now add 1-tbsp Ghee and mix well using both your palms. Final consistency of the mixture must be like breadcrumbs.
4. Add Baking Soda and Sugar and mix well. Adding Sugar helps Bhatura remain puffed longer. Add soaked semolina and sour curd to the mixture. Mix well.
5. Knead Bhatura dough with ¼th cup warm water. Make a little stiff dough as we will be resting this dough for 4 hours and it becomes soft after resting. I have used 1½ tbsp water for kneading this stiff dough. Apply some Oil on your palms and knead again with strech and pull method.
6. Final dough must be a bit stiff but pliable. Apply some Oil to the dough and keep it covered in a damp muslin cloth for 4 hours.
7. For frying Baturas- After 4 hours, Knead lightly and form a cylindrical log. Pull out a ball shaped dough and roll each ball to remove cracks. Apply some Oil on each ball. Keep remaining dough covered in a damp cloth.
8. Apply Oil in rolling board and rolling pin. With a rolling pin, roll each ball into oval shaped baturas, edges must be thick.
9. Heat Oil in a pan for deep frying. Oil must be sufficiently hot when we put rolled bhaturas in pan. While frying gently press Bhaturas so that it will rise. Change sides and fry from both sides. Remove when it becomes evenly brown in color.

For Chole Masala:-

1. Tie tea leaf in a muslin cloth to make a tea bag. Transfer soaked Chole in a Pressure cooker. Add 3 Cups water, whole spices (Ingredient 15-19), baking soda, some salt and tea bag. Pressure cook for 5 mins on high and 10-12 mins on low. Reserve stock after pressure cooking.
2. Meanwhile, we will make a coarse masala paste of Green Chilies and Ginger root. Do not use water while grinding.
3. Heat 3-tbsp Cooking Oil in a pan. Add chopped Onions and fry until it becomes brown in color. We have cooked Onions for 10 mins on medium. Add coarsely ground green masala, turmeric powder and fry for 1-2 mins.
4. Add Dried pomegranate seed powder and cook for 1-2 mins. Now, add chopped tomatoes and some salt for faster softening of tomatoes. Mix well. Cover and Cook on low heat.
5. We have cooked tomatoes for 18 mins on low heat and it has become mushy. Now add dry spice powders- Kashmiri Red Chili Powder, Cumin Seeds Powder, Coriander Seeds Powder, Garam Masala Powder and Sugar. Mix well. Cook this masala for 4-5 mins. Add water when masala gets dry.
6. Add boiled Chole and Chole Masala Powder and mix well. Add reserved stock and 1-2 cups of water and allow the chole masala to come to boil.Cover and cook on low heat for 5 mins.
7. We will prepare a Tadka for Chole Masala. Add 1-tbsp Ghee, Ginger Juilennes and slit Green Chilies. Fry for a min.Put this Tadka on Chole Masala. Remove from heat and cover until served

Tip# Add Ghee to Plain Flour mixture

Tip# Adding Sugar helps Bhatura remain puffed for longer

Tip# Always prefer sour curd. Lactic acid in curd reacts with baking soda and release CO2 which helps in rising of Bhatura dough

Tip# Oil must be sufficiently hot

Tip# Gently press with ladle for even steam distribution

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