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13 Sep Satwik Chole / Punjabi Chole

Punjabi Chole, a delicious dish hailing from Punjab has now found its place and has become popular in all the cuisines all over India. This dish is special because this is a no onion & no garlic recipe and hence we can very well call it Satwik Chole. Punjabi Chole equally famous in South, East and West India as it is in North. Each family owns it’s own recipe in making this lip-smacking dish. But its almost never made without onion and garlic. Few in my family do not consume onion and garlic and so miss out on this delicious dish. To help them, I have cooked this without these 2 ingredients. In short this  no onion & no garlic recipe Satwik Chole is special and unique. Satwik diet is a very popular food philosophy in India. It places great emphasis on fruits, nuts, seeds, whole grains, pulses, vegetables, non-meat proteins, etc. It is believed to keep a balance in our body making us calm, positive and healthy and keeps our mind alert. Foods like meat, onion, garlic are believed to have sedative effect on our mind and body and hence are avoided in Satwik diet. What attracts this dish when it is served in restaurants is its deep brown colour. The secret ingredient in Tea leaves. Some restaurants add tea bags and some add boiled and strained tea decoction. Here I have added 2 teaspoon tea leaves in my tea infuser and kept it with chole while cooking in the pressure cooker. It brought out the best deep brown colour. And the Chole masala is freshly made to get the restaurant style flavour. This Satwik Chole tastes best with Bhatura, plain paratha, jeera rice or even plain rice.