Chana Chaat (Tangy Chickpea Salad)
Chana Chaat is a medley of sweet, spicy and tangy flavours from the streets of South Asia where it is considered a ‘quick on the go’ snack.
Chaat is one of my favourite dishes as it can be put together very quickly and works well as lunch, snack or a side dish. It also allows creative play with a wide variety of ingredients, so if you don’t have an item on hand it is easy to substitute with another.
Main Course
Ingredients
Date and Tamarind Chutney
1.5 cups of Pitted Dates
1/2 cup of Tamarind
to taste Jaggery
2 tsp of Red Chilli powder
2 tsp of Cumin powder
Salt, add to taste
Chaat
4 cups of Chickpeas
1 tsp of Bicarbonate of Soda
1/2 to 1 Red Onion, finely chopped (depends on the size of the onion)
1 medium Carrot, diced
3 Mini cucumbers, diced
4 tbsp of Coriander, chopped
1 cup of Pomegranate seeds
1 1/4 tsp of Cumin powder
1 1/4 tsp of Chilli powder
1 1/4 tsp of Black salt
Salt, add to taste
1 1/4 tsp of Dried Mango Powder (Amchur Powder)
1/2 Lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 1/4 cup of Date and Tamarind Chutney
Optional
2 Green chillies, finely chopped (optional)
Instructions
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Heat 2.5 cups of water in a saucepan on medium heat; add the dates and allow it to cook in the water until soft and tender.
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Discard the water in the tamarind bowl, remove any tamarind seeds and add to the saucepan. Cook for another 10-15 minutes until the tamarind and date mixture start to boil.
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Turn off the heat and cool the mixture then puree to your preferred consistency. For this recipe I like a medium consistency, not watery but not very thick either. Step 4 Strain the chutney mixture through a fine sieve to remove any residue. Step 5 Store the Date and Tamarind Chutney in an air tight container and refrigerate until ready to serve. This chutney will last a long time, so you can make big batches and store in the fridge.
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Strain the chutney mixture through a fine sieve to remove any residue.
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Store the Date and Tamarind Chutney in an air tight container and refrigerate until ready to serve. This chutney will last a long time, so you can make big batches and store in the fridge.
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Soak the chickpeas overnight in water and add 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (Bicarb soda is good for tenderizing chickpeas and pre-soaking makes it more digestible).
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Once they are soaked, drain the water and pressure cook them for 12-14 minutes, drain and keep aside to cool. Alternately they can be boiled until tender.
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Take a large bowl and add the following to it: cooled chickpeas, onions, cucumbers, carrots, green chillies, salt and all the dry spices. Mix all the ingredients very well with a spoon.
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Add the Date and Tamarind Chutney and lemon juice and mix well.
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Cover and place the bowl in the fridge for 2-4 hours. This allows the flavours from the spices and the chutney to be absorbed into the chickpeas. If there is no time, then it can be served right away.
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When ready garnish with pomegranate seeds, coriander and mint leaves.
Date and Tamarind Chutney
Chaat
Notes
I don’t usually like to mix fruit with my meals but in this case the Pomegranate blends so well with the medley of flavours, adds a juicy bite to the dish and since it is just a few seeds, I feel it is a justified exception. Chana Chaat is a nutritious dish that contains Proteins, Carbohydrates and High Fibre from chickpeas. The Quercetin and Bioflavonoids from the onion help scavenge the free radicals and the Vitamin A from carrots is essential for eye health. In addition, the Cucumbers help flush out toxins and keep the body hydrated..
