Chole Taco (Indian Spiced Chickpea Taco)

We make chole (chickpea stew) quite often. It’s one of my go-to dishes on busy nights. However, it’s not one of my favorites unless it is paired with pillow-y bhature (deep fried flat breads). Then, it becomes one of my guilty pleasures. The other day, when I soaked dried chickpea yet again to prepare stew, I suddenly got this idea to turn it into a taco night. Of course, chickpea on taco is nothing new however chole taco (Indian Spiced Chickpea Taco) didn’t sound convincing. But then just the first bite was enough for a thumbs-up! I just love when such experiments work wonderfully without too much fuss.

For such every day meals, I typically don’t use any special spice mix. Just a few basic home ground spices. But recently, I received a few spice packets from Tata Sampann and decided to give it a go. Chef Sanjeev Kapoor has developed these blends of spices by Tata Sampann. The spices are sourced from the best of the farms and retain the natural spice oils for a blissful sensorial experience. I really liked their packaging. It has multiple pouches, which is a clever idea because opening an entire box of spice mix makes it eventually loose it’s flavor. So, the pouch idea for such a spice mix is quite brilliant.

I have used some of their products and the flavors are quite robust. However, the daal tadka didn’t match my expectations as the taste turned out to be more like sambar then typical tadka daal.

When it comes to sandwiches and taco, it’s important to have a good balance of flavor and texture. The creamy chickpea with a simple cucumber-onion-tomato salad and cool yogurt created a great balance. I also poured some ketchup into the yogurt and it added a hint of sweetness.

Chole Bhature will always be my preferred choice but this chole taco has found its place in my list at the very first bite. It’s a perfect way to uplift a simple meal to a fun meal.

Chole Taco (Indian Spiced Chickpea Taco)

Kankana Saxena

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Ingredients

 

for Chole (chickpea stew)

• 1 cup dried chickpea (soaked overnight)
• 1 medium red onion (finely chopped)
• 1 to mato (finely chopped)
• 4 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
• 1 inch ginger (grated)
• 2 bayleaf
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 green cardamoms
• 1 tablespoon clarified butter/oil
• salt
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• pinch of sugar
• 1½ teaspoon Tata Sampann Punjabi Chhole Masala

other ingredients

• 1 cucumber
• 1 red onion
• 1 to mato
• ½ cup thick yogurt
• crispy taco shells
• fresh lemon
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• handful coriander leaves

Instructions

 

• Using a pressure cooker, boil the soaked chickpeas until they’re tender.
• Add oil or ghee in a saucepan and drop the bay leaves, cardamom, garlic and ginger. Cook for a minute and then scatter the chopped onion into the pan. Sprinkle salt, turmeric and a pinch of sugar. Cook until the onion gets softened. Then, drop the boiled chickpeas and stir. Cook for a few minutes and then add the tomato. Give it a mix and add Tata Sampann Punjabi Chhole Masala. Cook for a few more minutes. Since I used it in taco, I didn’t add any water. If you wish to serve it as stew in an authentic way, add water and boil for a couple more minutes to form a thick gravy. Once the chole is done, keep it aside to be used later.
• For the salad, chop cucumber, red onion and tomato into fine bites. Add lemon juice and finely chopped fresh coriander. Give it a mix and keep it aside.
• Drop the yogurt in a bowl and pour ketchup on top. Give it a swirl to mix it slightly.
• Warm the taco shells as per the instructions on the package. I layered the taco shells in a 180C pre-heated oven for about 5 minutes.
• While serving, drop a few spoons of chole on the warm crispy taco shells, followed by the salad and yogurt. Squeeze some fresh lemon juice on top and serve immediately.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Serves 2 to 4