Name: Chole Without Onion Garlic And Tomatoes
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 520 min
Ingredients: 1 cup dried chickpea/ chole; Water to soak and cook; 1 bay leaf; Salt; 1.5 teaspoon amla powder (see notes); 1.5 tablespoons ghee ((coconut oil if vegan)); Pinch of of hing / asafoetida; ⅓ cup desiccated coconut (dry coconut); 2 tablespoons almond flour (or ground peanuts); 2 teaspoons garam masala (see notes); 2 teaspoon red chili powder; ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder; 1 teaspoon coriander powder; ½ teaspoon dried ginger powder (sauth); 1 teaspoon amchoor powder; 1 teaspoon kasoori methi; Salt to taste; ½ cup water

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Please don’t swipe away! Yes, you read it right!! This delicious Punjabi chole recipe is recreated without using any onion, garlic, or tomatoes. Is it hard to believe? Then try it yourself!!! Chickpea is pressure cooked and then tossed in this rich magic gravy that is hard to resist. Made with simple Indian ingredients.

Being a vegetarian I have grown up eating chickpea more often than I think. My mom made her famous chana masala with hot puris. Other days chole was tossed in a bowl full of chickpea salad. She says beans keep you full for a longer time and you gotta have them at least 4-5 times a week. I completely agree with her. That is the reason you will find a lot of recipes using a variety of beans on my blog!

Jain Chole without onion and garlic

This Jain chickpea curry is as delicious as the authentic Punjabi chole. As our Jain festival Paryushan is going on, I got a lot of messages requesting interesting healthy meal ideas and recipes. In these 8 days of Paryushan Mahaparva, we consume limited food with lots of restrictions. We are not allowed to eat fresh vegetables and fruits. Root vegetables are a big no. We are allowed to consume dried beans, lentils, milk, yogurt, spices, desiccated coconut, a few types of flours.

You can read more about this festival and the rules here. Keeping the above in mind, I often make this Chole recipe without onion, garlic, or tomatoes in Paryushan. And even on Jain tithis like Aatham, Chaudas. You will seriously not miss these ingredients.

Ingredients to make Chole without onion garlic or tomatoes

Instead of tomatoes, garlic, and onion, I have used desiccated coconut and almond flour to create the masala.
Amchoor ( dry mango powder) and dried amla powder compensate for the tangy flavor of tomatoes. If you don’t have these I have easy substitutes mentioned below for you.
Other masalas include the basic spices from the Indian spice box, dried ginger powder, kasoori methi, and garam masala or chole masala without onion and garlic.
I use ghee to make this chickpea curry. If you are Vegan just swap ghee with cooking coconut oil.

The lovely dark brown color Chole

Instead of using tea bags, I have added amla powder to the chickpea after it was boiled. Amla imparts a stunning dark brown color to the chole which looks like authentic Punjabi black chole.

Instructions to make chole in an Instant Pot pressure cooker

I cook chickpea from scratch in a pressure cooker or an Instant Pot. If I am in a hurry and forgot to soak the beans then I simply dump the chole with water in my Instant Pot and let it cook without any second thoughts.

Cooking chole/chickpea without soaking

When I am pressed on time, I directly cook chickpea in my instant pot. That means no soak and no wait. This method is such a savior during Paryushan or any Jain Tithi as well especially when you can’t soak anything the previous night. The water to chickpea ratio is more in this method as compared to soaked beans. It even has an increased cooking time. The entire process takes approx. 50 minutes. But the good news is the prep time is just 2 minutes. There is zero monitoring later on.

No soak method

Recipe –

1 cup chickpea

3 cups water

Rinse chickpea a couple of times with water. Add it to the instant pot with 3 cups of freshwater.

Put on the lid and press manual High Pressure for 35 minutes. Once the IP beeps, let the pressure come down naturally.

Go ahead with the recipe as mentioned below.

Useful tips to make the best Jain chole

Cook chole in a pressure cooker until soft.

I highly recommend using amla powder for the dark brown chole color.

Always make chole a few hours before serving so that the masala marinates well and the flavor deepens.

If you are Jain, make sure the garam masala you are using doesn’t have onion and garlic powder.

Possible Substitutes to use

Swap amla powder with 1.5 tablespoons of tamarind paste.
Almond flour and coconut create an amazing masala, you can use ground peanuts if almond flour is unavailable. If you do not consume nuts swap with an equal amount of roasted besan.
Freshly squeezed lemon juice works well in place of amchoor powder.

How to eat Jain Chole?

I like serving chole with laccha paratha , rotis or steamed rice.
You can even pair it with naan or kulcha.

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If you love beans then do try these recipes –

Vegan Stew

Chickpea Vegetable Korma

Oats Chickpea Veggie Pancakes

Palak Rajma Masala

Paryushan recipes to try –

Rajasthani Dal Dhokli

Lapsi – cracked wheat sweet

Leftover rice dal vadas

Instant Pot Moth Bean

Green Moong Dal

Saffron Rice Kheer

Rajasthani Khoba Roti

Chole without onion & garlic recipe

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4.3 from 17 votes

Chole Without Onion Garlic And Tomatoes

This Punjabi chole recipe is made without using any onion, garlic, or tomatoes. It is a Jain recipe made in coconut & almond gravy.

Course lunch/ dinner

Cuisine Indian - Punjabi

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Soaking time 8 hours

Total Time 8 hours 40 minutes

Adjustable Servings -4

Calories 258kcal

Author Khushboo

Ingredients

1 cup dried chickpea/ chole
Water to soak and cook
1 bay leaf
Salt
1.5 teaspoon amla powder see notes
1.5 tablespoons ghee (coconut oil if vegan)
Pinch of of hing / asafoetida
⅓ cup desiccated coconut dry coconut
2 tablespoons almond flour or ground peanuts
2 teaspoons garam masala see notes
2 teaspoon red chili powder
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
½ teaspoon dried ginger powder sauth
1 teaspoon amchoor powder
1 teaspoon kasoori methi
Salt to taste
½ cup water

Instructions

Rinse chickpea a couple of times in a colander under cold water.
Add it to a big pot with 2 cups of water.
Bring it to a rolling boil and let it boil for good 5 minutes. Switch off the flame, cover it with lid, and let it soak for 8 hours.
Chole/ chickpeas will double its size after 8 hours.
Discard the water and add chickpeas to an Instant pot or stovetop pressure cooker.
Add in freshwater just to the level of chickpea.
Add salt, bay leaf, and stir.
Close the Instant Pot with the lid with a black knob on SEALING POSITION.
Press manual 14 minutes High pressure.
Once the pot beeps, let it cool down naturally. (NPR)
When the silver pin drops down, gently open the lid.
Carefully smash a chickpea with a spoon or between your finger to check it’s done.
Add in the amla powder and give it a stir.
Meanwhile, prepare the gravy masala for the chole.
In a pan heat 1.5 tablespoon ghee.
Once warm add a pinch of hing.
On a low heat, add in dry coconut, almond meal, and cook for 30 seconds.
Now add all the masalas except kasoori methi.
Follow it immediately with a half a cup of water.
Cook the masala on medium heat for 2-3 minutes.
The masala should be thick because the pot of chole will already have some water.
Add couple spoons more water if needed.
Once the masala is cooked add that to the pot and stir well.
Smash few chickpeas with the back of the spoon.
Press saute, on the Instant Pot, and cook the chole covered for 5-6 minutes.
Stir occasionally in between.
Give it a taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Add in kasoori methi and cancel saute mode.
Chole will thicken considerably as it cools.
You may add more water if the chole is thick.
At this point, the chole will be light brown.
Chole will get the deep brown color as it cools say in 2-3 hours.