Street-style Chole Samosa Chaat is a hearty, tangy, and spicy snack that represents all the best parts of Indian cuisine! It's layered with chickpea curry, crispy samosa, chutneys, yogurt, spices, pomegranates, and sev to hit all the flavor profiles and textures in one dish. It's perfectly balanced and absolutely comforting.
Soak the chickpeas in twice the amount of water for 4-6 hours maximum or overnight.
Turn the Instant Pot on the sauté mode and heat neutral oil. Once hot, add the cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, and mustard seeds. Once the cumin and mustard seeds begin popping, add the diced onion and whole chili peppers and fry until the onions turn light brown. Mix the turmeric, coriander powder, garam masala, chili powder, chana masala, salt to taste, ginger, and garlic well into the mixture. Add the tomato paste in last and simmer until the oil separates on the sides and the mixture has darkened in color.
Slowly add the 2 tablespoon of water into the mixture until a gravy forms. Continue to mix the gravy until the oil starts to separate on the sides.
Wash the chickpeas a few times and drain it. Pour the chickpeas into the gravy and toss it until the chickpeas are well coated. Pour in the 3 cups of water.
Cover the chole with the Instant Pot lid and set it to the bean/chili mode. Cook for 45 minutes.
Uncover the Instant Pot. With a potato masher, mash the chickpeas 5-6 times to thicken up the gravy. Allow the chickpeas to rest with the lid slightly uncovered for 5-10 minutes.
Samosa Chaat
Spread out one cup of Chole across the bottom of a bowl. Whisk the dahi with a fork or whisk until it's smooth. Spoon the dahi in a circular motion around the Chole, beginning at the center and working outwards.
Smash the samosa and place it on top of the dahi. Then, drizzle both the cilantro-mint chutney and the imli chutney. Sprinkle the chaat masala, cumin powder, and red chili powder.
Garnish the chaat with pomegranate arils, diced red onion, sev, and cilantro.
Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Used canned chickpeas instead of soaking dried chickpeas overnight and cut down on cook time.
Chole can also be made on the stovetop. Complete the same steps above in a large pot, and simmer the chole for one hour covered. Be sure to stir to stir every now and then and check for a thickened curry and soft chickpeas.