Chhole Chaat or Chickpea Salad recipe with video instructions. Chhole Chaat is a simple, quick and delicious salad made with boiled chickpeas and a handful of ingredients. Spicy, tangy and super delicious, perfect for weeknight dinners and Summer lunches. Chhole Chaat is vegan, plant-based and gluten-free. It can be adapted to a Jain diet.
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I literally spent the second half of the 90s eating this salad and hiding it from my parents.
My school did not have a playground, which wasn't much of an issue for someone like me who hated outdoor activities. Give me a book any day. But the school authorities didn't think like me and felt we needed to play sports. Arrrghhh. Yes, so they leased out grounds at a walkable distance from the school and we were mandated to participate in all the games for our age group.
I especially disliked the sports week which culminated into a Sports Day that included parents and relatives coming to watch the finals. The only highlight of the sports week was this Chhole Chaat. I know, I took a long time to reach the point. So on the way from the school to the ground was the children's park and this old man sat outside it with a big cane basket. He shouted "Bhel Bhel" as we walked by and how could we not sample it. He used the black chana mostly and not these white Kabuli Chana or Chickpeas. He would put the chana in a disposable bowl made of dried leaves along with onions, tomatoes, some black colored spices (I now assume this was the chaat masala, black salt, and cumin powder), and a generous squeeze of lime. It was the best salad/snack I had ever eaten - spicy, tangy, and just plain delicious. More so, cause we ate it secretly. Our parents would forbid us to eat from street vendors due to concerns of hygiene, but I believe it just helped us build our immunity.
This Chhole Chaat is trying to replicate that delicious "Bhel" or chaat that I ate in the 90s. The only difference is I used Kabuli chana or chhole or white chickpeas as against the black chana that the street vendor used. But it is still equally delicious.
This Chhole Chaat makes for a perfect weeknight dinner when you want something healthy and yet do not want to slog over the stove for hours. In fact, this does not require the stove at all if you have preboiled chickpeas. I usually soak dried chickpeas and boil them over the weekend as a part of my meal prep for the week. This Chhole Chaat also carries well in a lunch box and makes for a good cold lunch on a hot Summer afternoon. I eat it as an evening after-work snack at times too.
Suggestions to fit other diets:
- To adapt the recipe to suit a Jain diet, skip the onions and onions. Capsicum, cucumber and/or sweet corn can be added instead.
If you like this recipe, do not forget to share it with your friends and family!
Video Recipe
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Chhole Chaat Recipe | Chickpea Salad
Chhole Chaat is a simple, quick and delicious salad made with boiled chickpeas and a handful of ingredients. Chhole Chaat is vegan, plant-based and gluten-free. It can be adapted to a Jain diet.
Recipe Type: Salad
Cuisine: North Indian
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 0 minutes
Total time: 15 minutes
Yield: Serves 2
Ingredients:
4 cups Chickpeas, boiled
1 large Onion, finely chopped
1 Potato, boiled and chopped
1 Tomato, finely chopped
1 Green Chilli, finely chopped
2 Tbsp Coriander leaves, chopped
1-2 tsp Cumin Powder
1 tsp Chaat Masala
0.5 Lime
Black salt to taste
Salt to taste
Method:
1. Add the chickpeas, onion, tomato, potato, green chilli and coriander leaves to a large bowl. If you don't want a spicy salad, skip the chillies. Alternately, it can be replaced with red chilli powder or paprika.
2. Add black salt, salt, cumin powder, chaat masala and lime juice to taste.
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