Amritsari Chole & Keema Bowl
Use 1 Amritsari Chole potli only while pressure-cooking the chickpeas. Remove it before combining the chickpeas with the cooked keema.
Ingredients
For the Chole
- Dried kabuli chana — 1 cup / 200 g
- Water — 4 cups
- Salt — 1 tsp
- Amritsari Chole — 1 potli
For the Keema
- Mutton or lamb mince — 400 g
- Ghee or oil — 1½ tbsp
- Onion — 1 medium, finely chopped
- Ginger-garlic paste — 1 tbsp
- Tomato — 1 medium, finely chopped
- Green chilli — 1, chopped
- Coriander powder — 1½ tsp
- Kashmiri chilli powder — ½ tsp
- Turmeric — ¼ tsp
- Salt — ¾ tsp
- Water — ¼ cup
For Assembly
- Steamed basmati rice — 3 cups cooked
- Red onion — 1 small, sliced
- Fresh coriander — 3 tbsp
- Lemon wedges — 4
- Plain curd — 1 cup
Cooking Instructions
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1Soak the chickpeas overnight.
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2Pressure-cook with water and the Amritsari Chole potli until tender. Remove the potli and drain, reserving a little cooking liquid.
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3Heat ghee or oil in a kadai.
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4Add onion and cook until deep golden.
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5Add ginger-garlic paste and green chilli and cook for 1 minute.
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6Add tomato, coriander powder, chilli powder and turmeric.
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7Cook until the tomato breaks down and the fat begins separating.
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8Add the mince and salt. Increase the heat and cook, breaking up clumps with a spatula.
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9Bhuno for 8–10 minutes until the mince begins browning and any released liquid has largely evaporated.
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10Add ¼ cup water, cover and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes or until the mince is tender and fully cooked.
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11Add the cooked chickpeas and ¼–½ cup reserved cooking liquid.
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12Simmer uncovered for 5–7 minutes so the flavours come together without turning the dish into a loose curry.
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13Divide rice between bowls and spoon over the chole-keema mixture.
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14Finish with coriander, sliced onion and lemon.
Brown the mince before adding much liquid. If the pan is crowded and watery from the start, the meat steams and the finished bowl loses the savoury depth that balances the chickpeas.
🍽️ Perfect Serving Pairings
My Take On Amritsari Chole & Keema Bowl
Chickpeas and spiced minced meat make a substantial one-bowl meal with strong Punjabi flavour. The Amritsari Chole potli is used only for the chickpeas, where its tea, amla, anardana and whole-spice profile makes sense; the keema is seasoned separately so the two components retain distinct identities.
The Secret: Brown the mince before adding much liquid. If the pan is crowded and watery from the start, the meat steams and the finished bowl loses the savoury depth that balances the chickpeas.