🍛 Chole bhature
Chole bhature pairs a spicy chickpea curry, simmered with onion, tomato and garam masala, with bhature — large, puffy breads of flour and yogurt dough deep-fried until they balloon. The curry is tangy and thick, the bread crisp outside and soft within. It is served hot with sliced onion, green chilli and pickle, often as a hearty breakfast or brunch.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 × 400 g cans chickpeas, drained (or 250 g dried, soaked and boiled)
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 3 tomatoes, puréed
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste, 2 green chillies
- 2 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp chilli powder
- For the bhature: 300 g plain flour, 120 g yogurt, ½ tsp baking soda, salt
- Vegetable oil for frying and 2 tbsp for the curry
Method
- Mix the flour, yogurt, baking soda, a pinch of salt and enough water to make a soft dough; knead, cover and rest for 2 hours.
- Heat 2 tbsp oil, crackle the cumin seeds, then fry the onion until deep golden. Add ginger-garlic paste and chillies.
- Add the tomato purée, chilli powder and garam masala and cook until the oil separates.
- Add the chickpeas and 300 ml water, mash a few, and simmer for 20 minutes until thick.
- Divide the dough into 8 balls, roll into ovals and deep-fry one at a time in hot oil, pressing gently until they puff. Serve at once with the chole.
How to make it lighter
- Have one bhatura instead of two — the fried bread carries most of the fat.
- Serve the chole with a dry-roasted flatbread or rice instead of bhature on lighter days.
- Drain the bhature well on paper towels and fill half the plate with onion and cucumber salad.
History
Chole bhature is closely associated with Punjab and with Delhi, where it became a street-food and restaurant staple in the 20th century. Today it is eaten across North India and in Indian restaurants worldwide.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →