The art of making perfect "Chickpea Masala"

I come from a Punjabi family but the food prepared in my parents household is not your typical spicy Punjabi food.When i got married to my husband,i was introduced to the typical Punjabi khana .i.e. Dal makhani,Cholle masala,sarson da saag. Not that i wasen't aware of the cuisine earlier(my mum makes awesome sarson da saag) but it prompted me to explore the cuisine in depth and modify it according to our sedentary lifestyle needs.

So, here's presenting the cholle masala recipe which is bound to result in compliments whenever you make it.......(trust me its tried and tested).

The recipe is divided into three parts:

• Cooking the chickpeas
• Preparation of the Tadka
• Mixing the two together 

Main ingredients required
1 1/2 cup of soaked chickpeas( put two teabags in the water with chickpeas)
1/2 cup chana dal
3 cups of water
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon of butter
2 medium onions(pureed)
1 1/2 medium tomatoes(pureed)
2 teaspoons of ginger garlic paste
2 teaspoons of cumin seeds
2 sticks of dalchini(cinnamon)
4-5 small curry leaves or 2-3 big curry leaves
2 teaspoons turmeric powder
1 1/2 teaspoons of coriander powder
2 teaspoons of garam masala powder
2 small green chillies(chopped,avoid if you want a milder taste)
1 teaspoon of kasoori methi powder( it adds a distinct flavour to the dish)
1/2 lemon squeezed
few coriander leaves( chopped)
1 medium onion(chopped)
1/2 tomato(chopped)

Cooking the chickpeas

Put the soaked chickpeas chana dal and water  in the pressure cooker.Add salt to taste to the water.Next set the flame to medium and let it cook for 20-25 minutes.

Preparation of the Tadka

Meanwhile put oil in the flat bottomed pan and let it get hot for 2 minutes. Now add cumin seeds,when the cumin seeds start to splutter add the dalchini and curry leaves. Mix the whole spices for 1-2 minutes. Now add the pureed onions to the mixture.Fry the onions for 7-8 minutes or till you get a golden brown colour and the water dries up. Make sure u keep stirring the mixture with the spatula to avoid the onions  getting burnt.Now add the ginger garlic paste and fry the mixture for 2-3 minutes.Next add the tomatoes to the mixture and keep stirring the mixture till it gets reduced to one third.Add the spices and chillies to the mixture. Lastly add the kasoori methi. The Tadka is ready to be put into the dal.

Mixing the two together

Add the tadka to the dal and stir for 2-3 minutes on a medium flame. Next add a teaspoon of butter in the dal. Serve with adding the lemon juice, corriander leaves,tomatoes and chopped onions.