Kala Chana Chaat is a tangy and tasty snack made from cooked black chickpeas mixed with onions, green chilies, tomatoes, ground spices, black salt, lemon juice and coriander leaves. This recipe is supremely easy to make. Just prep up the ingredients and mix everything together in a bowl.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Snacks
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 1 cup dried black chickpeas ((kala chana) or 2.5 to 3 cup cooked black chickpeas)
  • 1 medium onion (- finely chopped)
  • 1 large tomato (- finely chopped)
  • 1 green mango (- small-sized and unripe, peeled and finely chopped (optional) - the one I added was a little ripe)
  • 1 to 2 green chilies (- finely chopped or minced)
  • 1 teaspoon red chili powder (or cayenne pepper)
  • 1 teaspoon chaat masala
  • 1 teaspoon roasted cumin powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried mango powder ((amchur powder))
  • 2 to 3 teaspoon lemon juice (or add as required)
  • ½ teaspoon black salt (or regular salt - add more if required)
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves (- for garnish)

Method

Cooking black chickpeas

  1. Rinse a few times in fresh water and then soak the dried black chickpeas overnight or for 8 to 9 hours in enough water.
  2. Later drain the water and rinse the chickpeas again a few times. Drain all the water.
  3. In a 3 litre stovetop pressure cooker, add the soaked chickpeas with enough water covering 1 to 1.5 inches above the chickpeas.
  4. Pressure cook for 6 to 7 minutes or till the chickpeas are cooked tender.
  5. Once the pressure settles down naturally, then only open the lid of the cooker. Check the doneness and if the chickpeas look undercooked then again pressure cook for some more minutes. Add water if needed while pressure cooking again.
  6. Once cooked till softened, drain all the water from cooked chickpeas using a strainer or colander. Set the cooked black chickpeas aside.

Making kala chana chaat

  1. Rinse and then finely chop the onions, tomatoes, green chillies, mango and coriander leaves. If you prefer, you can peel the unripe mango.
  2. In a large bowl, add all the ingredients including the cooked black chickpeas.
  3. Mix thoroughly.
  4. Taste and if required, add more of the ground spice powders, lemon juice and salt.
  5. Garnish with some chopped coriander leaves. Serve Kala Chana Chaat warm.
  6. You can also refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours and serve it cold.
  7. Before serving, garnish with some coriander leaves and lemon wedges.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.