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Imli chole is another variation of Chickpea curry usually made either for the main course with some hot Naan or Roti, or to add to Indian Chaat snack options. It is sweet, sour and tangy.
Imli Chole (sweet and Sour Chickpeas/Garbanzo Bean/Chana Curry)
Ingredients
- 15 oz can garbanzo beans/chickpeas drained and washed or 1 cup dry chickpeas washed and soaked overnight
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon asofetida, (hing – omit to make gluten-free)
- 1 teaspoon ginger paste or a Tablespoon chopped ginger
- 2 teaspoon garlic paste or 2 Tablespoons chopped garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes or more for a spicier version
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cloves powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon raw sugar
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of tamarind concentrate or 2 teaspoon of tamarind pulp, (less or more according to taste to adjust the sourness)
- 1.5-2 cups water
- 1/2 tsp chaat masala or amchur for garnish
Instructions
- In a pressure cooker or a deep pan, add the oil and keep it on medium heat.
- Add in the onions and the asofetida(hing) and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. (you can puree the onions after this and cook the puree for another 6-7 minutes and proceed with the next steps. This will help make a thicker curry)
- Add in the spices, ginger garlic paste, red chili flakes and mix well. Cook for another 3 minutes
- Add in the washed chickpeas, salt, sugar, tamarind concentrate and water and mix well.
- Pressure cook the beans for 10 minutes if using canned beans, and 20 minutes once the pressure has reached ( 3 to 4 whistles), if using dry beans that were soaked. (cook longer if you want softer beans).
- If cooking in a deep pan, add another half cup water, cover and cook on low-medium heat until chickpeas are tender. about 30 minutes.
- Wait for the pressure in the pressure cooker to release naturally before opening. Check and adjust salt and spice according to taste. Mash the beans a little bit. Sprinkle chaat masala or Amchur(dry mango) powder.
- Serve hot with Naan or Rotis, or as topping for chaat snacks.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is so good, as with every one of your recipes! The amchur at the end was essential and we boiled it for awhile without the lid to thicken the sauce too. This with the tikkis was a huge treat – we felt like amazing chefs to pull that meal together. And Punjabi mother approved. Thanks !!
🙂
I like this,, and I generally really like spicy. But the crushed red pepper swamped the sweet/sour aspect. And I didn’t use the full amount of red pepper.
oh sorry to hear that! Heat is a very personal taste!
yes, but still very good
Really nice change to use tamarind rather than tomatoes to add acidity. I loved the rich flavour of this.
awesome! There are so many different types of chickpea curries from various regional indian cuisines. i’ve probably touched just 20% of options so far.