Chana chat – Simple chickpea salad combining the goodness of chickpeas, onions and tomatoes. A light drizzle of tamarind chutney, and sprinkle of chaat masala and ground cumin adds that final touch of flavor. Quick, easy and absolutely delicious Indian street food made at home!
Why I Love This Healthy Salad
Whenever I think about salads, the very first word that comes to my mind is 'healthy'. A great salad can easily turn any meal into a super healthy one.
Finding new salad ideas and creating new ones can keep adding more salads to your diet interesting and fun. This chana chat or chickpea salad is not a new creation, but it's a fabulous addition to your salad recipes.
This is one of the simplest forms of chats, the popular Indian street food. It's one of those instant salads that can be whipped up quickly and easily.
Check out the video below! You'll see how quick and easy it really is!
The best part is you can customize it anyway you want to match your tastebuds. All you need to do is add your favorite cooked vegetables like potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli or spinach. I think this version using canned chickpeas is the easiest way to make this salad.
Most chana chat recipes call for boiled potatoes. I simply skipped them to fit my theme – quick, easy, no-cook and simple. However, if you like potatoes, add them to the salad.
I must admit- this salad is addicting. You might find yourself enjoying it every single day. I love the way each ingredient in this salad complements each other. I bet it's going to be on my favorite list, and it'll stay there forever.
Apart from being a delicious salad, this also makes a healthy snack. Nutritious, vegetarian, gluten free snack, to be exact.
Like all other salads, this also provides you that 'health boost' you need on a super busy day.
Key Ingredients In Chana Chat
- Chana or chickpeas - Canned is the easy way to go.
- Vegetables - Cucumbers, red onions, tomatoes.
- Herbs - Mint and coriander (cilantro) leaves.
- Sev - Crispy chickpea noodles for crunch.
- Tamarind chutney - The quintessential street food chutney.
How To Make Chana Chat
Gather all the ingredients - Use canned or boiled chickpeas as the base ingredients. Chop tomatoes, cucumbers and onions finely. Add green chillies if you love spicy chat. Store bought or homemade sev makes for the crispy topping of noodles. Tamarind chutney is the perfect condiment to balance all the flavors.
Mix and serve - Combine all the ingredients, and add more or less tamarind chutney as you like.
How To Serve Chana Chat
Temperature - Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled. Once refrigerated, toss to refresh the flavors.
Snack or side dish - This salad is a perfect appetizer or light snack, and works beautifully as a side dish with dinner (butter chicken and rice, spiced grilled or baked chicken or fish, vegetable pulao). You can also serve it as part of classic Indian thali.
Party platter - Arrange the elements ( chickpeas, onions, tomatoes, chutneys, herbs, sev) in separate bowls so the guests can customize chat.
Chana Chat | Healthy Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- 2 ,400g canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1½ cups finely chopped cucumbers
- 1 ½ cups finely chopped red onion
- 1 ½ cups finely chopped tomatoes
- 2 tablespoon chopped mint leaves
- 1 green chili, chopped
- 2 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)
- 2 teaspoon chaat masala
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- Juice of half of lemon
- ½ cup sev or crispy chickpea noodles, for topping
- Coriander cilantro leaves, to garnish, optional
Instructions
- Place chickpeas, red onions, tomatoes, cucumbers and green chilies.
- Add ground cumin, chaat masala and lemon juice.
- Drizzle with tamarind chutney.
- Toss well to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
- Garnish with sev and coriander (cilantro) leaves if you like.
- Serve chana chat warm or chilled.
Video
Notes
- Make ahead - This salad can be made in advance. Add lemon juice, chutney and toppings just before serving. This will maintain freshness and crunch.
- Optional ingredients - Roasted peanuts or pomegranate arils for crunch, or a dollop of yogurt for creaminess.
- Variations - Aloo chana chat with potatoes and dahi chana chat with yogurt.
Nutrition
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Looking for other chickpea recipes? Try these:
Like this chana chat? Check out other Indian street food recipes:
Traditionallymodernfood says
Protein rich chat..love it
Amrita says
Protein packed salad....visit my page too
shweta a says
This sounds like a greaaaaaaaaat recipe. I am sure gonna try this
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kushi says
One of my favorite 🙂 Looks so good and healthy!
Anu - My Ginger Garlic Kitchen says
Hi Rose, Hope you are doing great. Mmmmm, I love chaats. And this one here looks super enticing. And love the video too! 🙂
Abida says
I looove chana chat!! I used to make it as a quick and cheap dinner for uni days. Never added ground spices before, thanks!