Chhola Dab^al For AlifBe ~ 16

Chhola /Charaan i.e Kabuli Chana curry is a very popular dish in Sindhi cuisine and it is often had with rice, roti as well as with sliced bread and Pao (laadi paav) too.
Sindhi style Chole (Chhole in Roman Sindhi) are made in basic onion tomato gravy style, though many cook it in just tomato gravy.
No tea leaves are used (to give color) and also, traditionally, no chole masala (spice mix) is added. The curry gets its flavors from whole spices like Kamaal patt (Tej Patta), vadho photo (Black Cardamom) etc while tomatoes  and tamarind (optional) provide tanginess. Few crushed chana render thickness to the gravy and the garam masala powder pushes the flavors a few notches up!
In Sindhi populated areas, Chaap chhola (Patties with Chole) and Chhola Dab^al are two of the most famous street foods and while  patties chole are generally had as an evening snack, Chhola dab^al on the other hand is had for breakfast.

Chhola is a curry made using Garbanzo beans (chickpeas) while dab^al in Sindhi refers to bread ( sliced bread, pao etc). It is also known as dab^al Roti or Dab^roti in Sindhi. Simply put, Chhola Dab^al is bread topped with chickpeas curry and garnished with chutney, sliced onions and sev (Nylon sev).

Gupta ji Chole waala, opposite Satramdas hospital in Ulhasnagar was famous for his Chhola dab^al as well as falooda. His cart had a stove with a large aluminum container, filled with dense spicy garbanzo curry, arranged on the outer sides of the container. The centre of the container was intermittently filled with soupy gravy and a portion of dense curry (with beans) was then mixed with it and allowed to simmer for a while. Few chunks of pao were then immersed in the simmering curry, scooped out and placed in a takeaway container, topped with some gravy and beans, chunks of cooked potato, chutney and spice mix (a trade secret), some coriander leaves and nylon sev for the garnish. The hearty breakfast was often had on lazy winter Sunday mornings and it used to be my (late) mother’s favorite. Somehow I never developed a liking for it!

If you have been tracking the AlifBe series, you may have got a hint by now.
Yes, we are at the 16th  letter of Sindhi Alphabet and it is ڇ or ‘Chh’ as in Chhattisgarh, in Roman Sindhi while छ in Devanagari.
And no marks for guessing that the Sindhi dish starting with ڇ  is Chhola Dab^al  !
To check step by step pics of assembling Chhola Dabhal, please watch this video!

Dab^al or bread was had by Sindhis even in the pre partition era. You can find a reference, in the book We the Sindhis, of  a certain Ghanno (name of the vendor) Pakorai (one who sells pakore or fritters) in Jhuremalani Ghitti (street) in Sindh (Now in Pakistan) before partition, who was immensely popular for his Beehu (lotus stem) and ras mein dabroti or the bread in gravy.

Also every Sindhi must be aware of the song ‘Dal Chola Dab^al’ from the movie Abana, the Sindhi movie released in the year 1958 in which the veteran actress Late Sadhana Shivdasani played a second lead role.
So you see, Sindhis have been relishing this street food much before  the Vada pav, Bombay Sandwich and Pavbhaji became the popular snacks featuring the bread.
The recipe of Chhola Dab^al is as follows:

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Chhola Dab^al For AlifBe ~ 16

Rating  5.0 from 1 reviews

Chickpeas curry topped over laadi pao and garnished with chutney, onion slices and sev.

Ingredients

• 200 gm Kabuli chana
• 2 large onions, finely chopped
• 3 tomatoes, grated
• 2 green chillies
• 3 cloves of garlic and 1 inch piece of ginger, pounded
• 1+1 Tej patta *
• 1+1 Black Cardamom*
• 1 inch piece of Cinnamon
• ½ tsp Turmeric powder
• ½ tsp red chilli powder (or according to taste)
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp Garam masala ( or you can use Chole masala)
• Oil 2 tbsp
• Salt
• Two small potatoes, cut in chunks (Optional)

To assemble Chola Dabhal (1 small serving)

• 1 Pao ( laadi pav)
• A cup of Chole curry
• 2 tsp Green chutney (Mint coriander)
• Handful of Nylon sev
• Fresh coriander leaves to garnish
• Some lemon juice or 1 tsp of tamarind water
• Some slices of onion

Method

1. Pick, rinse Kabuli chana few times, with water and soak overnight.
2. Drain and add soaked chana to a pressure cooker and pour water to submerge chana completely. Add salt, 1 tejpatta* and a black cardamom * and close the lid of pressure cooker.
3. Put it on the flame.
4. Cook for two whistles and put off the gas.
5. When pressure subsides, drain boiled chana and reserve the water. Do not throw away the water.
6. Now in the pressure cooker, pour 2 tbsp of oil and add 1 tejpatta *, cinnamon and a black cardamom*. Add pounded ginger garlic. Cook for a minute and then add finely chopped onions.
7. On medium to low flame keep cooking onions till nice brown. Do not increase the flame.
8. Add turmeric powder and chilli powder and chopped green chillies.
9. Immediately add drained boiled chana (Please note: Pre boiling chana is an optional step. I boil it if I am not sure about how fresh the stock is. You can skip pre boiling and use raw soaked chana at this stage).
10. Add grated tomatoes and some salt (remember there is salt in reserved water too), coriander powder and keep cooking on high flame, mixing intermittently till oil separates out.
11. Add the reserved water (if you have boiled chana) or hot water ( if you are using raw soaked chana) and make sure that the chole are completely submerged in water.
12. If using potatoes, add it at this stage. Mash some chana to thicken the gravy.
13. Add some chopped coriander leaves, garam masala powder and close the lid.
14. After a whistle, put the flame on minimum and let chole cook under pressure for 12-15 minutes.
15. To make Chhola Dabhal, tear off Pao in big chunks in a serving plate or bowl and pour Chhole (the curry), garnish with some chutney, onion slices, lemon juice or tamarind water and nylon sev.
16. Serve/eat immediately!

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