This Kala Chana Salad, a popular Indian Chana Chaat made with Black Chickpea is a healthy appetizer rich in savory flavors of onion, tomato, spices and lemon juice. This Black Chana Salad recipe gathers in no time and is a high protein salad fused with tangy and spicy flavors and can be had as a light breakfast or an evening meal.
A popular Mumbai Street Food, Kala Chana Chaat is a total comfort snack that can be made quickly with pre-boiled black chickpeas. As an Indian, I love the bold and crunchy flavors that comes from a chaat and I would never say No to this Nutrition-packed salad.
This Chana Salad is made with onion and tomato and can be easily customized with options to include subtle flavored Cucumber, carrots, replacing crunchy onions with caramelized onions or tangy curd/dahi and Raw mango (Ambi). This depends how you love your salad. The same recipe can be used to make Kabuli Chana Salad (White Chickpea). You may like one of the popular salad recipe from my blog: Apple Cucumber Mint Salad.
Why You Would Love This Recipe?
- Vegan and Gluten Free
- Oil Free Salad
- No Sugar
- Weight-Loss Friendly
- Low Carb & High Protein
- Flavorful, Crunchy and Healthy Salad
- Omit onions to make it Vrat Salad
- The Best Chana Salad Ever!
Ingredients
This recipe needs super easy ingredients that can be procured from a local store and most of it would be in your pantry. Read the Recipe Card for the measurements.
For The Black Chana Salad
- Black Chickpea: or Kale Chane / Desi Chane as we commonly call it are highly rich in proteins and calcium. You may also use the same recipe (without any changes) to make White Chickpea Salad.
- Onion: Crunchy raw onions add the depth to this flavorful salad. If you are on fast, you may omit the onions and this energy-rich chana salad would be great for a fasting day.One may use white onions as well.
- Tomato: The Vitamin C rich fresh raw tomatoes add the perfect juiciness to this crunchy salad.
- Lemon juice: Without the tangy fresh lemons, any salad seems boring. Adjust according to your taste. You may add Dry mango powder (amchur) as well.
- Spices: I have added salt, black pepper, green chilies and Red chilly powder. Feel free to reduce the heat by skipping chilies.
- Garnish: Freshly chopped coriander leaves work best in this recipe.
Variations
- Sprout Bean or Chana Salad: This recipe can also be made using sprouted chana or beans. They taste amazing with raw onion and tomato.
- Add another Protein: You may top this salad with raw chunks of Paneer (Indian cottage cheese) to add more protein. But then it won’t be a vegan salad. The other proteins can be Moong Dal or Rajma beans.
- Add another green: If you love greens, add a bunch of fresh Kale or spinach leaves to this salad.
- Add another tangy flavor: The tamarind chutney (saunth) can be added to have perfect balance of flavors in this salad. But then this salad won’t be sugar free.
- Add Fruit: Topping the Chaat with Anar (pomegranate) is totally Indian style and trust me, you would really love it.
- Dahi Chana Chaat: One of the popular adds on any chaat is Dahi (Curd). Whether it’s a gole gappa chaat or papdi, dahi brings the taste of chaat to another level!
- Aloo Chana Chaat: Those who are fan of boiled potatoes, can add chopped or mashed potatoes to this salad.
What To Serve With This Salad?
Black Chickpea salad is a tiny snack and can be had as is. For having it as a meal, you may team it with breads, pasta or soups.
Other Recipes of Boiled Black Chickpea
- Kala Chana Cutlets
- Kala Chana Curry
- Black Chickpea Soup
Detailed Recipe
How To Make The Kala Chana Salad
- Gather all the ingredients, wash them and chop onion and tomato.
- This recipe uses boiled kale chana. I had boiled the black chickpea a night before. Generally, whenever I make kala chana curry, I store a large bowl from it to make this salad.
- For boiling Kala Chana, soak them for 4-8 hrs in water. Drain the water and add the Kala chana to a pressure cooker. Add salt and water to soak them one inch deep. Give two whistles on full flame and simmer for 15 min. Once the cooker cools off, Take out the kala chana and the water can be used to knead the dough. It’s rich in calcium and we have it as a warm kala chana soup as well.
- Take a large bowl and add kala chana, chopped onions, green chilies, tomatoes. Sprinkle salt, black pepper and red chilly powder. Give it a good mix. Add lemon juice and top it with green coriander leaves.
6. The Black Chickpea salad is ready. Enjoy it!
Storage Suggestions
- If you are not making salad the same day, store the room temperature already boiled Black chickpea in refrigerator for making salad the following day.
- The left over salad would be good for a day in refrigerator and not beyond that. Recommended to consume same day as the boiled chickpea are also a day old. Salads taste best when made and eaten fresh.
Expert Tips
- The boiled chana water can be used to knead the dough. It’s rich in calcium and we have it as a warm kala chana soup as well.
- This salad would be good for 1 day storage in refrigerator.
- The salad is mild spicy but being an Indian we love the heat in salad and other appetizers. My version of spicy may not be same as yours. Start with less chilly and gradually add more as per your taste.
- You may garnish it with pomegranate, boiled potatoes chunks or raw paneer.
Stories From Kitchen
Kala Chana is very close to my heart. We used to wait for Navratri Puja in family for having Halwa, Chana and Puri and trust me no prasad has ever tasted like that! Made in Desi ghee and when offered to Mata rine, it really is a prasad. I would have loads of chana mixed with Suji halwa and the legacy goes on. My kid also waits for the Navmi Puja to have this decadent treat!
FAQ
A high-protein, high fiber, low cholesterol food, Kala Chana is a great food for weight-loss. Keeps you full for longer.
Soak the kala chana (black chickpeas) overnight or for a minimum of 4 hours.
A 100g serving of roasted chana provides about 18.64g of protein.
That depends on your preference. It can be had as boiled like this chana chaat or in a curry or a dry subji.
You may also like:
More Healthy Salad Recipes:
- Roast Pumpkin And Spinach Salad {Vegan, Gluten Free}
- Mediterranean Chickpea Salad {Creamy, Vegetarian}
- Veg Salad Recipes for Weight Loss {Healthy and Low Calorie}
- Kala Chana Salad | Kala Chana Chaat {Vegan Gluten Free}
- Veg Greek Salad Recipe | Easy Weight-Loss Salad with Feta
- Mashed Potatoes Salad with Moong sprouts | How to make Low-Calorie Salads
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Kala Chana Salad | Kala Chana Chaat {Vegan Gluten free}
Equipment
- 1 Large Bowl
- 1 Chopping board
Ingredients
- 2 cup Boiled Black Chickpea can boil a day before
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 large tomato chopped
- 1 small green chilly chopped (optional)
- 2 tsp lemon juice can use raw mango grated or Dry mango powder
- 1 tsp Red Chilly Powder optional
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- salt as per taste
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients, wash them and chop onion and tomato.
- This recipe uses boiled kale chana. I had boiled the black chickpea a night before. Generally, whenever I make kala chana curry, I store a large bowl from it to make this salad. For boiling Kala Chana, soak them for 4-8 hrs in water. Drain the water and add the Kala chana to a pressure cooker. Add salt and water to soak them one inch deep. Give two whistles on full flame and simmer for 15 min. Once the cooker cools off, Take out the kala chana and the water can be used to knead the dough. It's rich in calcium and we have it as a warm kala chana soup as well
- Take a large bowl and add kala chana, chopped onions, green chilies, tomatoes. Sprinkle salt, black pepper and red chilly powder. Give it a good mix. Add lemon juice and top it with green coriander leaves.
- The Black Chickpea salad is ready. Enjoy it!
Notes
- The boiled chana water can be used to knead the dough. It’s rich in calcium and we have it as a warm kala chana soup as well.
- If you are not making salad the same day, store the room temperature already boiled Black chickpea in refrigerator for making salad the following day.
- This salad would be good for 1 day storage in refrigerator.
- The salad is mild spicy but being an Indian we love the heat in salad and other appetizers. My version of spicy may not be same as yours. Start with less chilly and gradually add more as per your taste.
- You may garnish it with pomegranate, boiled potatoes chunks or raw paneer.
Nutrition Facts Serving size: 1 bowl Servings: 4 Amount per serving Calories 150 % Daily Value* Total Fat 2.2g 3% Saturated Fat 0.3g 1% Cholesterol 0mg 0% Sodium 202mg 9% Total Carbohydrate 26g 9% Dietary Fiber 7.2g 26% Total Sugars 5.6g Protein 20.8g Vitamin D 0mcg 0% Calcium 51mg 4% Iron 3mg 15% Potassium 325mg 7% *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calorie a day is used for general nutrition advice.
It’s a wonderful post and recipe. so detailed..thanks
Thank you Aditi for the kind words!