Easy Samosa Chaat

Rinse and soak dried chickpeas in enough water for 8-10 hours or overnight. In the morning drain the water and rinse the chickpeas with fresh running water.

Transfer the rinsed chickpeas to a pressure cooker. Then add salt, tea bags, whole spices - bay leaf, cinnamon stick, black cardamom, black peppercorns, and cloves. Also, add about 4-5 cups of water and stir well. Note: the tea bags are only added for deep color, they don't really make any difference in the taste. Alternatively, you can boil chole in Instant Pot. PRESSURE COOK and cook on HIGH pressure for 30 minutes.

Once the instant pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally for 20 minutes. Open the lid, and chole is ready. Cover the pressure cooker with the lid and pressure cook chickpeas for 4-5 whistles on low heat. Let the pressure come off completely before opening the lid. After cooking, you would be able to press the chickpeas easily with your fingers once cooked. Discard the tea bags and keep the chickpeas aside.

Heat oil/ghee in a pan over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and saute them until they are fragrant.Once the seeds start to sizzle, add bay leaf, asafetida, and ginger-garlic paste. Sauté for 1 minute, then add onion paste and sauté it for 4-5 minutes on medium heat.

When the onion is translucent, add the turmeric powder, roasted cumin powder, coriander powder, red chili powder, dry mango powder black salt, and chole masala. Mix everything well. Stir continuously and saute for about 1 minute or until the spices start oozing with oil.

Next, add tomato puree and stir well to combine. Let the puree cook for 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water and mix everything well. Cook for 2 minutes.

After that, add Kasuri methi, green chili, sliced tomatoes, sliced onions, and ginger julienne. Mix it well. Add water and mix everything.

Cover the pan with a lid and let the masala cook for 5-6 minutes or until the tomatoes are cooked and the raw smell goes off. Uncover the pan, and add the cooked tomato masala to the boiled chickpeas along with 1/2 cup of water.

Mix everything well. Then add salt to taste and garam masala powder and mix. Check for seasoning, and add more salt if required. Also, you can adjust the amount of water and spices at this point. Let it cook for 10-12 minutes. Add chopped cilantro and mix. Cook for 2 more minutes. Chole is ready. Keep it covered and gather all the chaat ingredients.

To make one plate of samosa chaat, place 2 hot and crisp samosas on a serving plate and roughly break them. Pour about 2-3 ladlefuls of hot chole on top of the samosas. Break 1/2 samosa and place it on top. Top with some more chole. Drizzle plain yogurt, tamarind chutney, and cilantro chutney.

Garnish them with cilantro, onion, sev, and pomegranate arils. Sprinkle some chaat masala powder, red chili powder, and some more sev. Serve immediately!