Indian Chickpeas curry(Chole masala)

Finally the recipe is here for much awaited and yummlicious dish -Chole masala or punjabi chole.
I prepared this curry for potluck which was hosted by one of our friend.It turned out so well that everybody asked me to pen down this recipe.
So here it goes.

Ingredinets:
2 cups chick peas or kabuli chana (soaked overnight in water)
1 medium sized chopped red onion
2 tomatoes
3-4 cloves of garlic(the big ones not the Indian garlic)
1 inch ginger
3 green chillies
1 stick of cinnamon(optional)
1 whole big cardamom(optional)
2-3 cloves,
2 tsp chana masala(Everest, MDH, MTR etc. will do)
1/2 tsp. garam masala
2 tsp. coriander powder
1 tsp. red chilli powder
1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
salt to taste
3 tbsp oil
a pinch asafoetida 
1 tsp Lemon juice
Cilantro leaves(for garnish)

Method:
Soak the chickpeas overnight in warm water in a big bowl as it will turn double in size. .
Add salt to it and pressure cook for 15-20 mins until 2-3 whistles on medium heat. Turn off the heat and let it cool on the stove.
or 
You can use canned chick peas as they are already boiled and ready to use.
In that case use two tin of chick peas atleast.
For gravy:
Make puree of tomatoes with garlic, ginger and green chillies.
Heat oil in a deep pan and add cumin seeds, asafoetida, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and let it splutter.
Now add chopped onion to the oil and fry it till it turns golden/pink in color.
Add the tomato garlic puree to this pan and add chilli powder, chana masala, coriander powder, turmeric powder and cook it on low heat with the lid on till the oil seperates from the mixture.
Add salt and chickpeas to this gravy and let it cook more for around 5-10 mins with lid ON on low heat.
Once it is done add lemon juice and garam masala.
Garnish with sliced onions and cilantro leaves and serve hot with poori, bhatura,rice or naan bread.
For best results make it a night before you want to have it so that chick peas soak the masala properly and taste divine.


Note:
-If you don't have dry spices like cinnamon ,cardamom you can simply skip them as adding garam masala and chana masala will serve the purpose too. 
-For getting dark color as we see in restaurants, you can put tea bags while pressure cooking the chickpeas.
-If you find difficulty with boiling chickpeas then you can add a pinch of baking soda i.e. soda bicarbonate while boiling it in pressure cooker.