Kala Chana Chaat | Black Chickpea Salad

Kala Chana Chaat, is a nutrition packed Black Chickpea Salad made with black chickpeas, crunchy onions, tomatoes, avocado and spices. This refreshing salad has fresh and tangy flavors, and can be enjoyed as a great protein rich breakfast or snack. Vegan & gluten free.

It takes just 10 minutes to prepare this delicious salad with pre-cooked chickpeas. This salad is perfect to make with leftover chickpeas. Whenever I make Kala Chana Curry or Sookha Kala Chana, I cook some extra chickpeas, so I can then make this salad.

What is kala chana (black chickpeas)?

Kala chana is an Indian black chickpea, also called Bengal gram. They are smaller in size, have a rough exterior and a nuttier flavor than light brown chickpeas. However they can be used in the same way as the lighter chickpeas.

Black Chickpeas are a powerhouse of nutrients. They are rich in protein, fiber, vitamins and have a low glycemic index which helps to regulate blood sugar. They are an important part of the vegetarian diet of many Indians.

In the US, black chickpeas are available at Indian grocery stores or on Amazon. You can also substitute them with white chickpeas (garbanzo beans) in this recipe.

What is Chaat?

Chaat is basically a savory snack, served as hors d’oeuvre or snacks from stalls or food carts in India. Chaat is usually crunchy, spicy, tangy all at the same time. There is usually a base, spices, chutneys and garnishes added to a chaat.

How to make Black Chickpea Salad?

This salad is very easy to make with the basic ingredients you might have at home. The only main ingredient is black chickpea, which I use pre-boiled in this recipe. I like to boil them in the instant pot or pressure cooker. See the recipe notes for details on how to boil black chickpeas.

Gather all the ingredients and chop the green chili, onions, tomatoes and avocados.

Mix in the onions, tomatoes, green chili’s and spices. Green chili and red chili powder are completely optional, so feel free to skip them to make this salad non spicy.

Now add the avocado, mint, cilantro and lemon juice.

Tips to make perfect Kala chana salad

√ You can add veggies of your choice in this salad. Some people like to add boiled potatoes, cucumbers or if mango is in season, add some chopped raw mangoes to make it more tangy.

√ Adjust spices to your taste.  Skip green chili and red chili powder to make it non spicy, especially for kids.

√ This salad can be made with boiled white chickpeas, green chickpeas or sprouts too.

Why you will love this Black Chickpea Salad?

√ This is a no oil, no sugar recipe

√ It is high in protein and fiber

√ Black chickpeas are low in carbs

√ Vegan & Gluten free recipe

Blast from the past: 

• Posted one year ago: Crispy Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts
• Posted 6 months ago: Potato Curry in Yogurt Sauce (Dahi vale Aloo)
• Posted 3 months ago: Lemon Rice

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Kala Chana Chaat Recipe (Black Chickpea Salad)

A nutrition packed Black Chickpea Salad made with black chickpeas, crunchy onions, tomatoes, avocado and spices. This refreshing salad has fresh and tangy flavors, and can be enjoyed as a great protein rich breakfast or snack. 

Course Appetizer, Salad, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine Indian

Keyword black chickpea salad, kala chana chaat

Diet Gluten-free, Nut-free, Vegan

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 1

Calories 107kcal

Author Meeta Arora

Ingredients

• 1 cup Kala Chana (Black Chickpea) boiled
• 1/4 cup Red Onion diced
• 1/4 cup Tomato diced
• 1 green chili optional
• 1/4 cup Avocado chopped
• 1 tbsp Mint leaves
• 1 tbsp Cilantro leaves
• 1 tsp Lemon juice

• 1/4 tsp Black salt (Kala namak)
• 1/4 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder or another mild red chili powder
• 1 tsp Chaat Masala
• 1/2 tsp Dry Mango powder (Amchur)
• Salt to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Add the boiled black chickpeas to a bowl. Add green chili, onions, tomatoes and spices to it. Stir well. 
• Add avocado, mint leaves, cilantro leaves and lemon juice. Stir well. 
• Taste and adjust salt as needed. 

Notes

Variations:

• You can add veggies of your choice in this salad. Some people like to add boiled potatoes, cucumbers or if mango is in season, add some chopped raw mangoes to make it more tangy.
•  This salad can be made with boiled white chickpeas, green chickpeas, kidney beans or sprouts too.

Make it less spicy: Adjust spices to your taste. Skip green chili and red chili powder to make it non spicy. 

How to boil black chickpeas: Wash and soak 1/2 cup black chickpeas in water overnight. Discard the water. Pressure cook with fresh 1.5 cups of water in instant pot for 30 mins or on stovetop pressure cooker for 2 whistles on high and 30 mins on low heat. Let the pressure release naturally. Drain the water and use the black chickpeas in this recipe. 

Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.

Nutrition

Calories: 107kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Sodium: 749mg | Potassium: 328mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 12.7% | Vitamin C: 23.2% | Iron: 1.1%

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