• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Eid Recipes
  • Recipe Index
  • Dr. Who?
  • Contact

Butter Over Bae logo

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Eid Recipes
  • Recipe Index
  • Dr. Who?
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
    • Twitter
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Eid Recipes
    • Recipe Index
    • Dr. Who?
    • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Breakfast & Brunch

    Published: Apr 24, 2020 · Modified: Nov 20, 2022 by Wajiha

    Cholay ka salan – Spicy Chickpea curry

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    If you’ve ever visited any of my blogposts, you know I am not big on vegetarian food. But this cholay ka salan (chickpea curry) has my heart! Eaten with puris (fried flat breads), this is hands down one of the best things that goes on our weekend Brunch tables. If you are a Pakistani or Indian, you already know that halwa puri is the best Brown brunch ever. If you’ve heard this for the very first time, let me fill you in.

    Chickpea curry is a mildly spiced thick curry made to be eaten in breakfast with naan, parathas or puris. It is also a part of a big Desi Brunch set up which includes:

    • Sooji ka halwa (semolina pudding)
    • Puris (fried flat breads)
    • Aloo ki tarkari (potato curry)

    It’s the BEST vegetarian brunch from the lands of South Asia and if you aren’t sold yet, you can also just try the chickpea curry on its own with a paratha.

    an Indian / Pakistani breakfast buffet with aloo ki tarkari, cholay ka saaan, puri and sooji ka halwa

    Easy steps to make chickpea curry

    Using red lentils as a thickening agent.

    This recipe is super popular, so its befitting that there are tonnnnns of different versions of a chickpea curry online. This recipe is the one that pairs BEST with parathey and puri. Some recipes use corn flour as thickening agent for the curry. I personally don’t enjoy the texture or effect that cornflour brings to this recipe. So, instead I use red lentils to add a little body to the curry. And it goes so well with all the other flavors that it feels like it was always meant to be. So I soak a little red lentils on the side and begin preparing my curry base.

    soaked red lentils

    Making the curry base

    It starts with sliced onions in oil with coriander seeds.

    sliced onions and coriander seeds in oil in a black pot

    Once the onion turn golden brown, add in your usually curry base ingredients. There’s some chopped tomatoes, ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, salt and red chili powder. Saute for about 2 mins just to temper the spices and get rid of any rawness in there.

    • onion sliced fried to a brown color in a pot
    • tomato pieces and turmeric and garlic ginger paste in a pot with some brown onions showing from the bottom

    Cover up the pot at low flame for about 10 mins. This is only to soften the tomatoes slightly and cook the onions. Doesn’t need to be cooked all the way through.

    softened tomato in a red curry base in a black pot

    Once your curry base looks like this, you are ready to move on to the next step.

    Adding lentils

    Adding in the soaked lentils with some water and covering it up. Again, I am using a very small quantity of lentils here, just to give the curry some body. Cover the pot and cook for about 20 mins or so.

    • raw red lentils (masoor dal) in a black pot with a tomato based gravy
    • water and tomato gravy in a black pot

    After 20 mins, your lentils would have cooked all the way to give you a nice curry base.

    dal base for cholay ka saalan

    Adding chickpeas

    Now we add a little tangy element and chickpeas. To add that tangy-ness, you can either use mango powder or tamarind pulp. Both work just fine. I used tamarind pulp water here.

    For chickpeas, ideally this curry is made with the small white chickpeas, but of course I didn’t have any at hand and I used the bigger ones instead.

    cholay ka salan with boiled chickpeas added to it in a blackpot

    Add the boiled chickpeas and mango powder or tamarind pulp in the curry. Let it cook for 5 mins. And its ready. You can adjust how thick or thin you want to keep the gravy.

    Finish it off with sprinkling some garam masala powder and chat masala powder on top with some coriander and serve hot with that gorgeous puris!

    cholay kas salan or chickpea curry in a steal handi

    Alternates, Fixes and remixes

    • Like I mentioned above you can use mango powder instead of tamarind water or pulp
    • If your curry is to thick, you can always add more water to get the desired consistency you want. Adjust the seasoning slightly if you are going to add more water.
    • This curry freezes very well! And also survives for up to 5 days in the fridge.
    • For mild variations, try adding fennel seeds and curry leaves to the onions while frying.
    cholay kas salan or chickpea curry in a steal handi

    Cholay ka salan

    A traditional Pakistani / Indian tangy spicy chickpea curry traditionally eaten with fried flat breads (puris) or parathas,
    4.34 from 21 votes
    Print Pin
    Course: Breakfast & Brunch
    Cuisine: South Asian
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 40 minutes minutes
    Servings: 6 servings
    Calories: 544kcal
    Author: Wajiha

    Ingredients

    • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
    • 1 medium onion halved and then cut in slices
    • 3 to 4 medium tomatoes chopped
    • 1 tsp Whole coriander seeds saabit dhaniya
    • 1 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste
    • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
    • 1 tsp red chili powder
    • 1 1/2 tsp salt or taste
    • 1 tbsp tamarind pulp or tamarind water or according to taste
    • 2 cups boiled small white chickpeas
    • 1/4 cup red lentils masoor ki daal soaked in water for 20 mins
    • Coriander for garnish
    • garam masala powder for garnish
    • Chat masala powder for garnish

    Instructions

    • Add oil in a pot on medium flame.
    • Add sliced onions and whole coriander seeds. Saute till the onion turns golden brown.
    • Add in chopped tomatoes, salt, turmeric, red chili powder and garlic ginger paste. Allow the tomatoes, reduce the flame to low and cover the lid to soften up tomatoes for 5 mins.
    • Add in red lentils along with 2 cups of water. Cover the lid more than half way through and let the lentils cook at medium flame. (Don’t cover the lid completely as the lentils will boil and spill over). Cook for about 15 to 20 mins.
    • Check to see if lentils have cooked completely. Add tamarind water and pulp along with boiled chickpeas.
    • Allow the chickpeas to cook in the gravy for 5 mins.
    • Add another cup of water and sprinkle some garam masala powder, chat masala and coriander on top and serve with puri, paratha or naan.
    • You can adjust how thick you want to keep the gravy once its ready, adjust seasoning accordingly.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1servingCalories: 544kcalCarbohydrates: 26gProtein: 7gFat: 48gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 42gSodium: 750mgFiber: 7gSugar: 7g
    Can’t wait to see your remakes! Tag meon IG with your pictures @butteroverbae
    « Tikka flavored Chicken Nuggets
    No-bake vanilla custard Biscoff bars »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Talha says

      March 05, 2023 at 3:25 am

      Hmm mine did not turn out as I expected. I thought the tumeric was a little over powering. I plan to skip the tumeric next time. Also I assume your tomatoes there are smaller than the ones in the US. I felt like I was putting too much. I was surprised to see the lack of garam masala and black pepper along with the tomatoes. At the end the garam masala as garnish was interfering with the taste. Also I didn’t think the oil was enough.

      Regardless, I can say these were the most flavorful channa I have made in a long time. Can’t wait to make it with the above mentioned tweaks.

      Thanks for posting.

      Reply
      • Wajiha says

        March 21, 2023 at 9:54 pm

        The sizes of tomatoes can vary you are right, I should add it in grams too. Thankyou for pointing that out

        Reply
    2. Amna Arshad says

      November 21, 2022 at 6:09 pm

      Looks Delicious!!

      Reply
      • Wajiha says

        November 21, 2022 at 8:27 pm

        thankyou

        Reply

    Questions? Thoughts? Leave them below Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Hey there! I am Wajiha, the blogger and cook behind Butter over Bae.
    My friends had an intervention for me, to stop me from spamming them with all my kitchen experiments and food pictures. But, instead, I made this! And now I put up my food spam for the world!

    My blog is literally all my food obsessions in one: Pakistani/Indian food, Pan-Asian recipes, and desserts! I’d loveeeee to show you around and tell you more. Grab a cup guys and click below

    Who this lady? →

    Eid Recipes

    • Rice Kheer dessert served in multiple small bowls
      Rice Kheer – Rice Pudding
    • final shot of the assembled shahi pulao
      Shahi Chicken Pulao
    • gulab jamuns, a sweet fried milk ball dessert shown garnished with nuts in a silver platter
      Gulab Jamun with milk powder
    • closeup view of grilled mutton chops.
      Mutton Chaap Fry – Spicy Goat Ribs
    • beef handi kabab in a cast iron platter with paratha and yogurt dip on the side
      Easy Beef Handi Kabab
    • white mutton biryani made with goat meat in a black plate
      Homemade White Mutton Biryani

    Popular Recipes

    • paper towel with lots of crispy golden brown onion slices on it against a grey background
      How to make crispy fried onions and store them
    • Qeema macaroni
      Keema macaroni
    • Lahori Chargha Recipe
    • khageena or spicy scrambled eggs in a pan
      Khageena – Pakistani spicy scrambled eggs
    • 2 chicken tikka pieces sitting on a bed of rice in a black plate
      Easy Chicken Tikka Recipe
    • a plate of chicken pieces and colored rice with some onion and cucumber sliced on the side
      Pakistani chicken biryani, Karachi special

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    Privacy Policy
    Terms & Conditions

    Contact

    • Instagram
    • Facebook
    • TikTok
    • Pinterest

    All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images or recipes without prior permission.

    Copyright © 2023 Butter Over Bae