Chole made using tea?

Question

My Indian friend told me that chole was made using tea, is this for real?

Answer 1

It's used in some recipes to give chole a darker color.  Here is one of the recipes from bawarchi.com.

Amritsari Chole (Chickpeas Curry)

Ingredients

With Chole

1 1/2 cup chole

1 Tea Bag

2 black cardamoms

Salt to taste

Dry Masala

3 pieces clove

1 piece cinnammon

6-8 black pepper balls

1 tspoon cumin seeds

1 tspoon coriander seeds

Other Masala

2 green chillies - slit

1 tspoon tamarind paste (I didn't have tomatoes at home, and actually enjoyed the sweet and sour taste of the tamarind)

1 piece ginger - finely chopped

1 onion - finely chopped

1 tspoon cumin seeds

1 tspoon garam masala

2 pieces Bay Leaves

2 tbspoon oil

Salt to taste

Bunch of cilantro leaves- chopped for garnishing

Method:

Soak the chole overnight and boil it with a tea bag, salt and black cardamom. Discard the teabag and keep the water for the curry.

In a thick bottomed pan, heat oil and temper it with cumin seeds and red chilli. Add bayleaves, green chillies, and ginger and saute it. Then add the onion and fry till they start turning brown. Then add the tamarind paste, cooked chole, the other dry masala and cook it all together for about 8-10 minutes.

Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro and serve warm.

Answer 2

Yes, tea adds a rich color and a subtle flavor to the dish

http://www.surfindia.com/recipes/punjabi...

Answer 3

yes, this be true