The Kala Chana Chaat recipe is healthy, protein-packed, refreshing, and tangy, made with black chickpeas, onion, tomatoes, and a few Indian spices.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 490 minutes
  • Cook time: 30 minutes
  • Total time: 520 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Salad
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 1 cup black chickpeas (kala chana) (dried)
  • 1/2 cup red onion (diced)
  • 1/2 cup tomato (de-seeded and diced)
  • 1/2 cup cucumber (diced)
  • 1-2 green chili (finely chopped, optional)
  • 2 tablespoons mint leaves
  • 2 tablespoons coriander leaves
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Spices

  • 1/2 teaspoon kashmiri red chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon roasted cumin powder (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon chaat masala
  • 1/2 teaspoon black salt (kala namak)
  • 1 teaspoon dry mango powder (amchur)

Method

Soaking Black Chickpeas

  1. Wash and soak black chickpeas overnight or for at least 6 hours in 3 cups of water. The chickpeas will double in size when they are soaked.

Cook Black Chickpeas

  1. In Traditional Stovetop Pressure Cooker: Pressure cook the rinsed and soaked black chickpeas, salt with 2.5 cups water for 8 whistles on medium-low heat. Let the pressure release naturally. Instant Pot Pressure Cooker: I generally cook the black chickpeas in an Instant Pot as it is very easy, and cooks perfectly every time. Pressure cook rinsed and soaked black chickpeas, salt with 2.5 cups water on High Pressure for 30 minutes on BEAN/CHILI mode and let the pressure release naturally. Note: 1 cup of dried black chickpeas yields 2.5 cups of boiled black chickpeas.

Assembling the Salad

  1. In a large mixing bowl, add all the salad ingredients like boiled kala chana (brown chickpeas), veggies, herbs, spices and lemon juice. Toss gently to combine.
  2. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

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.