Chana chaat
Reviewed by Dr Namrata Bagaria, MBBS, MPH (Harvard)Last reviewed
This is the snack to keep in the fridge if you are trying to stop eating namkeen with tea. It takes ten minutes, needs no cooking if you have tinned or already-boiled chana, and it is filling in a way that fried things are not.
A bowl carries about as much protein as two eggs, with a good deal of fibre alongside.
Ingredients
- 2 cups boiled or tinned chickpeas (kabuli chana), drained
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 tomato, chopped
- 1 small cucumber, chopped
- 1 green chilli, chopped, optional
- Juice of one lemon
- 1 tsp roasted cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp chaat masala
- Salt and black pepper
- Plenty of chopped coriander
- 1 tbsp pomegranate seeds, optional
Method
- 1
If using dried chana, soak overnight and pressure cook until soft. Tinned is entirely fine and much faster; rinse it well.
- 2
Tip the chana into a bowl with the onion, tomato and cucumber.
- 3
Add the lemon juice, cumin, chaat masala, salt and pepper, and mix.
- 4
Taste and adjust; it wants to be sharp rather than shy.
- 5
Scatter with coriander and pomegranate, and chill for half an hour if you can before eating.
Good to know
- Better after an hour in the fridge, so make it in the morning for the evening.
- A spoon of curd stirred in makes it creamier and adds a little more protein.
- Chaat masala is quite salty, so go easy on additional salt if blood pressure matters.
- Kala chana works just as well and is higher in fibre still.