Chole Bhature

Don't Make These Mistakes

The oil must be hot enough that the bhatura floats and puffs within seconds. Cooler oil gives flat, greasy bread.

Roll the bhature evenly. A thin patch will burst and the bread will not inflate.

Tinned chickpeas can be used, but you will lose the dark colour — add half a teaspoon of strong brewed tea to compensate.

Cooking Chole Bhature

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1. Drain the chickpeas and pressure cook them for 25 minutes, or boil 90 minutes, with the tea bags tied in muslin, the whole spices and a teaspoon of salt. Remove the tea bags and reserve the dark cooking liquid.

   Mark done Start 25 min timer

2. For the bhature, mix the flour, semolina, yeast, sugar and salt. Add the yoghurt and oil, then enough warm water to make a soft, smooth dough. Knead 8 minutes, cover, and prove 2 hours.

   Mark done

3. While the dough proves, heat the ghee for the chole and fry the onions for 12 minutes until deep brown.

   Mark done Start 12 min timer

4. Add the ginger-garlic paste and green chillies for 2 minutes, then the chana masala, chilli powder, cumin and turmeric for 30 seconds.

   Mark done Start 2 min timer

5. Pour in the tomato purée and cook 12 to 15 minutes until it darkens and the ghee separates.

   Mark done Start 12 min timer

6. Add the chickpeas with 500 ml of their cooking liquid, the salt and the amchur. Simmer 25 minutes, mashing some of the chickpeas to thicken, until the gravy clings.

   Mark done

7. Divide the bhature dough into 10 pieces and roll each into a 15 cm oval, about 3 mm thick. Do not use extra flour — oil your surface instead.

   Mark done

8. Heat the frying oil to 190°C / 375°F. Slide in one bhatura and press it gently under the surface with a slotted spoon; it will balloon in 10 seconds.

   Mark done

9. Flip and fry 20 seconds more until pale gold. Drain and serve immediately with the hot chole, raw onion and pickle.

   Mark done

Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.

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Why It Works

Cooking the chickpeas with a tea bag and dried amla stains them the dark brown that distinguishes chole from an ordinary chana masala — it is tannin, not spice, doing the colouring. The bhature dough uses yoghurt and semolina alongside yeast, which gives enough structure to trap steam and inflate the bread instantly in hot oil.

Storage and Reheating

Chole keeps 4 days refrigerated and improves. Bhature must be fried and eaten within minutes; the dough keeps 2 days chilled.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• Dried chilli flakes can stand in for the green chillies. Heat varies a great deal between chillies and between jars, so start with a small pinch and add more to taste.
• If you only have ground ginger, a quarter-teaspoon for each tablespoon of fresh is the ratio usually given; it tastes warmer and less bright than the fresh root.
• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.

What to Serve Alongside

• Sliced onion with lemon and green chilli
• A sweet or salted lassi
• Mango pickle

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Chapati (Roti), Idiyappam, Kerala Appam.

Common Questions About Chole Bhature

Chole Bhature Nutrition

No nutrition figures are given for this recipe: they cannot be worked out reliably from its ingredient list (some ingredient lines cannot be read). Why some recipes have none.

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