Indian chickpea salad- a protein-rich quick and easy salad loaded with vegetables, flavored with Indian spices, and a tangy lime dressing. Also known as chana salad or chickpea masala salad, this simple salad is so filling and satisfying that it can be enjoyed as a meal too.
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Chickpea is one of my favorite things to eat. I love it in every form. I can even relish boiled chickpeas with just some salt and pepper.
That's the reason you will find so many chickpea recipes from around the world on my blog like Moroccan spiced sweet potato and chickpea soup, chickpea stuffed butternut squash, and Greek Chickpea soup.
Today, I am sharing the recipe for a protein-packed simple Chickpea salad from India.
This refreshing Indian chickpea salad is so filling and satisfying that it can be enjoyed as a complete meal.
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What goes in Indian Chickpea Salad?
To make Chickpea masala salad the following ingredients will be required:
- Chickpeas: Though, home cooked chickpeas are the best for salad or any Indian recipe, you can also use canned chickpeas.
- Boiled potato cubes: Adding potatoes is optional. You can also use sweet potatoes instead of potatoes.
- Vegetables: Mostly onion, tomato, and cucumber are used in this salad. Other vegetables like radish, carrot, and bell pepper can be used too.
- Lime juice: Lime zest can also be added for more flavor.
- Green chili pepper: Use a hot variety. Jalapeno can be added too. If your heat tolerance is low, remove the seeds or use a less spicy variety.
- Fresh herbs: Cilantro and mint leaves are the most commonly used herbs in Indian salads but you can add any herb of choice.
- Seasonings : Roasted cumin powder, chaat masala, red chili powder, salt, and ground black pepper.
How to make Chana salad?
This is a very simple chickpea salad recipe. Just follow the steps below:
- Boil the chickpeas. If you have never cooked chickpeas at home before, refer the instructions given in this post below.
- Boil potatoes, peel and evenly chop them.
- Finely chop all the vegetables, herbs, and green chilies.
- Put all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and toss.
- Check and adjust the seasoning. Enjoy!
How to boil chickpeas at home?
- Wash the dried chickpeas and soak in water for atleast 7 hours or overnight.
- After 7 hours, put the chickpeas in a pressure cooker with water around 1 inch above the level of chickpeas. Cook for 5-6 whistles or until the chickpeas are cooked without losing shape. Allow the pressure to get released completely and then open the lid of the pressure cooker. If there is any extra water left, either discard it or use in any stew later.
- Allow the chickpeas to reach the room temperature and then use in the salad.
Step by step photo instructions
Are chana chaat and Indian chickpea salad the same?
Though quite similar chana chaat and chana salad or Indian chickpea salad are not the same.
In chana salad, only some vegetables and a simple dressing made with lime juice and spices are added whereas in chana chaat instead of dressing different chutneys and more ingredients like crushed papdis and sev are also added.
Also, chana chaat is not a salad but a street food that's enjoyed as an appetizer.
Recipe tips and tricks
- Instead of chickpeas, whole bengal gram (black chickpeas/ kala chana) can also be used.
- Don't overcook the chickpeas otherwise they will turn mushy. The chickpeas should retain their shape but also get easily pressed between two fingers.
- If using canned chickpeas, discard the liquid and rinse the chickpeas before adding to the salad.
- To fasten the process of soaking chickpeas, soak them in boiling hot water.
- If you are using Persian or English cucumber to make this salad, peeling it is not required. However, if you are using Indian cucumber peel it as it's skin is hard. If the seeds of the Indian cucumber are hard too, remove them before adding to the salad.
- You can also add chopped raw mangoes for some tanginess or avocado for creaminess.
- Use the leftover chickpea salad in your wraps or buddha bowl.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, for a crunchy salad roasted chana can be used instead of boiled chickpeas. Roasted chana can be easily found in any Indian grocery store. It's better if you remove the skin of roasted chana.
Since onion is used in this salad, it's not recommended to store this salad for more than 24 hours. You can boil the chickpeas in advance and store them in the fridge for 3 days and in the freezer for 3 months.
Chaat masala is a sour and savory blend of spices which is used in chaat, Indian salads, and a lot of Indian appetizers.
More Indian Chickpea recipes
Looking for more Indian chickpea recipes to try? Don't miss to check the following recipes:
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Recipe
Indian chickpea salad
Equipment
- mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups boiled/ canned chickpeas
- 1 cup boiled potato cubes
- 1 small red onion finely chopped
- 1 small tomato finely chopped
- 1 small cucumber finely chopped
- 1-2 green chili pepper finely chopped
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice adjust to taste
- 2 teaspoons roasted cumin seeds powder
- 1 teaspoon chaat masala
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder adjust to taste
- Ground black pepper to taste
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Put all the ingredients in a large bowl.
- Toss.
- Check and adjust the seasoning. Enjoy!
Notes
- If using canned chickpeas, rinse them with water and pat dry with a clean kitchen towel before using them in the salad.
- If you are using a variety of cucumber with hard skin and seeds like Indian cucumber, peel it and remove the seeds.
- More detailed recipe tips and tricks are given in the post above. Please follow them to make this recipe.
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