Chana Chaat Recipe:

Chana Chaat is the street food in the Indian subcontinent, made up of a mix of chickpeas in a variety of fresh ingredients, spices, and sour chutneys. It is one of the most marvelous, healthy savory dishes that may always be enjoyed as a snack or served before a course. This would be chana chaat filling foods that even gave a slight light or one which gave an energy boost; this is the thing. The lots of protein, fiber, and vitamins made it healthy enough to munch on.

Here, in this article, we take you through an easy yet yummy recipe of Chana Chaat. We also tell you some of the special ingredients that are part of the recipe and we also take up some variation of the same along with nutritional values.

Ingredients for Chana Chaat

The beauty of Chana Chaat is that it can be as variable as one’s taste, meaning you can put in as much or as little of the ingredient as you wish. Basic components of Chana Chaat would include chickpeas, vegetables, and spices. The basic ingredients needed for the proper recipe of Chana Chaat are as follows:

Primary Ingredients:
1 ½ cup cooked chickpeas, either canned or boiled
* 1 medium potato, boiled, and cut into small pieces
* Small onion, thin slices
– 1 medium tomato, small pieces
– 1 cucumber, small pieces
– 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves
– 1-2 green chilies, finely chopped or slit according to your preference to add more spiciness
– ½ tsp chaat masala
– ½ tsp roasted cumin powder
– 1 tsp kala namak / black salt
– 1 tsp salt, or as desired
– 1 tsp red chilli powder
– 1 tsp lemon juice or to taste
As required for the sweetness and sour
Tamarind chutney
Mint chutney according to your taste buds to give freshness
For garnish
Pomegranate seeds
Sev, gram flour noodles in crispy
For Garnish if needed:
Fresh coriander leaves
Pomegranate seeds
Onions/tomatoes, cut in very thin layer
Chaatt masala
crushed papdi
Crunchy crackers variant available
It can also be prepared through the process shown below:

Making Chana Chaat is a very simple and time-consuming process. Using basic ingredients and preparation, you can now enjoy tangy and spicy snacks within 30 minutes. Here’s how you can prepare this refreshing dish:

Step 1: Prepare the Chickpeas
If you are using dried chickpeas, you would need to soak the dry chickpeas in water for 6-8 hours or overnight and then boil till tender. You will be ready in 25-30 minutes or even quicker with a pressure cooker in which you may keep on boil using 2-3 whistles.

Or get pre-canned chickpeas that is available at stores. These are less challenging to work with in that aspect. Simply wash, rinse them and you’ll be ready for the next procedure to your desired dish.

Step 2 Chop the vegetables
When the chickpeas are boiling or when done, prepare all the vegetables. Then peel the boiled potato into little pieces so it can be easy to take little chunks from the potato. Dice the onion, tomato, cucumber, and the green chilies. Chop them to sizes almost the same in order that when mixed into chaat they come out all equal.
Step 3: Mix Ingredients
Mix all the ingredients – boiled chickpeas, diced potatoes, chopped onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, and green chilies. Serve.

Step 4: Add Spices
Add chaat masala, roasted cumin powder, red chili powder, black salt, and regular salt. These are the spice elements for the tangy and spicy taste in Chana Chaat. Adjust spice levels to your liking with more or less red chili powder or salt.

Step 5:  Add the Chutneys
The fun part is the coming-in of the chutneys! Some tamarind chutney is to be poured for the sweetness and tartness and some mint chutney for that refreshing zing. Chutneys have a perfect way of balancing spices with tastes that add them. As much or as little chutney can be taken according to individual preference of tart or sweeter taste in chaat. A little bit of sugar may be added for a sweeter tamarind chutney.

Step 6: Add Lemon Juice Sprinkle some fresh lemon juice on top of the chaat towards the end. It would be refreshing and bring a tang to the citrus to elevate the overall flavor profile of the chaat.

Step 7: Garnish and Serve
Let it mix really well so all ingredients and flavors blend well. Now let’s garnish Chana Chaat. Fresh coriander leaves for garnish, some pomegranate seeds or sev add great texture and colors. If you want, sprinkle a bit more chaat masala or crushed papdi on top for crunchiness.

Chana Chaat is best served fresh and chilled. If you are not going to serve immediately, you can place the mixture in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes till the flavors set.

Variations of Chana Chaat

Although the original Chana Chaat recipe on its own is pretty beautiful, it can be experimented with and altered as per your taste buds’ preference. Here are a few ideas about how to alter this dish:

1. Add Fruits:
Chana Chaat can be very refreshing if fruits like apple, pineapple, or orange are added. The natural sweetness of the fruits gives a little different flavor to the spices being tangy.

2. Chickpeas Sprouted:
This is a bit prepared except for the boiled chickpea in a different way. It is made of sprouted chickpea. Apart from the crunchy texture, there is an increase in nutrition content. The amount of protein and fiber of the dish increases, and the added dimension is provided regarding the taste.
3. Boiled Eggs:
A fantastic inclusion for all who enjoy having as little protein content as possible within their chaats; a hard-boiled egg is one fabulous addition for their chaats. Quarter eggs-hard-boiled. Mix them through your chaats. If that’s just added with the proper spices, gives it such immense rich taste-taste absolutely brilliant.

4. Paneer Chaat
You can even add some raw pieces of paneer, Indian cottage cheese, to Chana Chaat and relish the added creamy feel within bites. The creaminess of paneer sucks up all flavors and spices through chutneys so each one becomes even mouth-watering.
5. Vegan Chana Chaat:
You can simply avoid the paneer, and just ensure all chutneys added are vegan too. And it tastes almost healthy and almost tasty.

6. Crunch Time
Add some crunch elements in the chaat: crispy papdi, fried onions, or even crushed tortilla chips for instance. And that would be enough to bring on that crunchy taste into it.

Nutritional Benefits of Chana Chaat

Chana Chaat is not tasty, but it has an extremely long list of ingredients that are good for the body in so many ways. Some of the ingredients are as follows:

1. High Protein:
Chana Chaat has a lot of plant-based protein. It is one of the stuff used among others- chickpeas, so a perfect recipe for vegetarians and vegans looking for more protein.

2. High in Fiber:
Chickpeas and potatoes contain a huge amount of fiber that helps in digestion and the general health of the guts. This keeps you fuller for longer times, an excellent snack option for keeping you at bay by weight.

3. Nutrient Dense:
The vegetables and fruits, tomatoes, cucumbers, and pomegranates, utilized in Chana Chaat are highly packed with a variety of vitamins and minerals, vitamin C, potassium, and folate. This will enhance the health value for the one consuming it.

4. Low Calorie count:
Chana Chaat is low in calorie count especially if fried elements like sev have been omitted or utilized in small quantities. It is nearly guilt-free as a snack.
5. Antioxidants:
Fresh additions with mint and pomegranate give a very good antioxidant profile. These boost the immunity along with preventing inflammatory conditions.

Chana Chaat is one of the healthy dishes where all the fine flavors of salty, soury, and piquant all come together in one plate. It serves very well to any time and is suitable enough as a snack or as a starter and prepared differently according to the taste of the tongue buds. Be it some fast food or a protein snack or a very light meal, Chana Chaat has got everything.

No wonder it is the most popular all over the world. It is very easy to make, comes in a number of variations, and has great health benefits. All the ingredients prepare, read this recipe, and make this dish beautiful and colorful for your lovable ones.

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