Black Chana Chaat prepared using overnight soaked and cooked chana

Black Channa Chaat. It is a chapati and a tasty recipe to try on. It’s not only tasty but it’s so easy to prepare. Those who love chapati Chaat’s which is usually prepared using boiled potatoes and making fried tikki’s out of it or say Samosa chaat, and then pouring off the Chaat chutney’s especially coriander chutney whisked yogurt and other spices on the top would surely not mind replacing it with healthy Chana’s. It’s a great option to enjoy chaat using chanas which is considered good for health as it is protein-rich and has many other nutrients in it. Also, it is so convenient to control the spices and other ingredients as per taste.

As this recipe is very similar to the potato 🥔 chaats, almost the same ingredients used to prepare this recipe and it doesn’t taste much different but I think it’s a great option for those who wanted to replace potatoes and use chana instead which makes it a healthy combination chaat, spicy and htasty too 🙂

Black Channa or chickpea Black chickpea or Kala chana is popularly known as a source of protein. It can be added to your daily diet to control diabetes and blood sugar levels naturally. Most people consume boiled every morning as it offers numerous nutrients.

Ingredients required to prepare Black Channa Chaat are :

Black Chana/chickpeas boiled 2 and a 1/2 cups
Water to boil the black chana’s/Chickpeas
Oil 2 tablespoons
Red whole chili 🌶 1
Green chili 2 chopped
Cumin seeds 1/2 teaspoon
Hing (Asafetida) 1/2 teaspoon
Black salt 1/2 teaspoon
Salt regular as per taste
Red chili flakes 1/2 teaspoon
Cumin seeds powder 1 teaspoon
Coriander seeds powder 1 teaspoon
Mango powder 1/2 teaspoon
Lime juice used 1 full medium
Some chopped coriander leaves
Some chopped mint leaves 🍃

To serve the chat we need these few things on the top:
Tamarind chutney (sweet)
Whisked yogurt slightly sweet
Coriander and mint chutney
Sprinkle Red chili flakes
Aloo bhujia (any) (fried potato crisps)
Sprinkle chaat masala powder
Chopped coriander leaves to garnish
Mint leaves to garnish
Some chopped onions 🧅 to sprinkle on the top

The right way to soak Chana or Chickpeas.

Before cooking the chana we need to soak them in water overnight which should be a little above the level of the Chana’s.

And for boiling the soaked chana overnight we need to fill water a little above to the level of the chanas. Like for example if you are cooking 2 and a 1/2 cup of Chana in a pressure cooker we need 3 and a 1/2 cups of water into it and by putting the lid on cooked until 10 whistles or as required. This way it cooks well and becomes soft.

How to prepare the whisked yogurt for the Chaat.

To prepare whisked sweet yogurt just simply whisk the yogurt with some sugar in it.

Preparing tamarind chutney for the Chaat.

To prepare tamarind chutney we need tamarind pulp which is being cooked and boiled with some sugar and mixed with cornstarch and cooked until sticky. Then strained to remove any hard tamarind pulp or lumps. Smooth and silky chutney tastes awesome.

Directions to prepare Black Chana Chaat.

First of all, we need to soak the Chanas overnight to get softened. Clean and wash the Chanas under running water nicely so that all the impurities like dust and dirt go away. Then pour sufficient water into it so that all get completely dipped inside. Keep them soaked overnight for best results.

Once overnight soaked drain out the water and transfer them into the pressure cooker by pouring clean water into it about 1 inch above the level from the changes. Now put the lid on and cook until 10 whistles.

Once done cooking the Chanas drain the water and allow it to cool. To check press one Chana in between your fingertips, if it breaks easily soft and tender then these are now ready for preparing Chaat.

Frying the chanas/Chickpeas

Into a frying pan heat some oil and put 1/2 some teaspoon of cumin seeds, 1 red chili 🌶 , Green chili’s chopped 2 and quickly sauté. Then add boiled chana/chickpeas 2 and 1/2 cups and stir. Stir and cook for 1 minute. Now add the spices like Aesophidita (Hing) 1/2 teaspoon, red chili flakes 1/2 teaspoon, cumin powder 1 teaspoon, coriander powder 1 teaspoon, black salt 1/2 teaspoon, some regular salt as per taste, mix with the spices, and stir and fry these for 3 minutes. Mango powder 1/2 teaspoon and some chopped coriander leaves, some chopped mint leaves, and then squeeze out one lime juice and mix all nicely and stir and cook 2 more minutes.

Black chana's are cooked and mixed with spices. Ready to be used.

Preparing the Chaat

Into a plate or a bowl put some cooked and spiced chanas/Chickpeas. Then pour some sweet tamarind chutney all over as required then pour some whisked slightly sweet yogurt, drizzle some green coriander and mint chutney, some coriander leaves chopped, some mint leaves 🍃, sprinkle some Chaat masala and red chili flakes, and finely top it with some aloo bhujia (fried potato crisps) and raw red onions finely chopped. Serve and enjoy this Chatpati Chaat with your family and friends 🙂

Step by Step method to prepare Black Chana Chaat along with the images below:

Wash and clean black chana nicely under running water to remove any dust or dirt.

Add sufficient water into it to soak these chana’s in the water overnight.

Cover and soak overnight

The chanas soaks almost all the water

Drain out the excess water

Transfer in a pressure cooker and fill water little above to chanas. Like for example if you are cooking 2 and a 1/2 cup of Chana in a pressure cooker we need 3 and a 1/2 cup of water by putting the lid on and then cook until 10 whistles. This way it cooks well and gets softer nicely.

Add 1/2 teaspoon of Baking Powder and mix.

Pressure cook until 10 whistles or cook according to your cooker as every cooker cooks slightly differently. Important is, the chana’s has to be soft.