Chana Chaat

Chana Chaat is a classic Pakistani and Indian street food made from chickpeas, onions, tomatoes and spiced with chaat masala. It’s spicy, tangy, and crunchy – a burst of flavors in every bite. It’s super easy to make, a perfect tea-time and party snack.

Chana Chaat (also known as chole chaat) is a type of chaat prevalent in Pakistan and India. It’s especially popular during Ramadan when it is served during Iftar with aloo pakoras and keema samosas. Every household has their own way of making chana chaat. The recipe I’m sharing below is a quick and easy chana chaat using pantry staples. It can be ready in less than 15 minutes by using canned or pre-boiled chickpeas.

What is Chaat?

Chaat describes an entire category of savory snacks from India and Pakistan. Commonly eaten as a street food snack, there’s an array of chaat varieties across both countries. Some of the more common ones are fruit chaat, chana chaat (the recipe of which I’m sharing ahead), aloo chana chaat (same as chana chaat, but with the addition of potatoes), samosa chaat, dahi baray chaat, and many more.

Ingredients differ from chaat to chaat, but one thing that’s common across all of them is the use of chaat masala – a spicy tangy spice blend. Plus the burst of flavors – the mix of ingredients in every chaat makes it the right balance of spice, texture, crunch, tanginess and sweetness.

Why this recipe works

Quick to Make: This is a quick and easy recipe using pantry ingredients. Plus if you use canned chickpeas, there’s no cooking involved either. Just mix and serve.

Protein-Packed Chickpeas: The main ingredient in this recipe are chickpeas, which are protein dense making this chaat not only delicious but also satisfying and nutritious. Think of it as the South Asian version of a spicy chickpea salad. Great to enjoy as a healthy snack or to take to lunch.

Customizable: Chana chaat is a versatile dish. You can adjust the spiciness and tanginess. Or substitute the ingredients to suit your personal preferences, or what you have available.

Ingredients

Here is a list of ingredients to make this easy chaat recipe.

• Chickpeas / Chana: The base of the chana chaat is chickpeas. Use canned chickpeas or soak and boil dried chickpeas till soft. I’ll usually boil chickpeas in bulk in Ramadan then freeze and use as needed. Otherwise, I’ll use canned chickpeas.
• Tomatoes: Fresh roma, truss or plum tomatoes can be used. No canned. Cut into thin dice.
• Onions: Any type of onion can be used. I prefer to use red onions for color and crunch. If the onions are too strong, soak in water to reduce their harshness.
• Chaat Masala: This spicy and tangy spice blend is essential for chaat. Can be bought from Pakistani and Indian grocery stores, or can be made at home (recipe for chaat masala here).
• Lemon Juice: Essential to give chaat it’s necessary tanginess! Can be substituted with tamarind chutney, or tamarind paste.
• Chili: Adjust to taste, or skip if you don’t like spice.
• Cilantro / Coriander: Added for freshness, flavor and aroma.

How to make the chana chaat

Making this chaat is very easy - less than 15 minutes if you use canned or pre-boiled chickpeas.

Prepare chickpeas: If using dried chickpeas, soak overnight and boil for 30 – 45 minutes till soft. You can also use a pressure cooker to skip soaking. If using canned chickpeas, drain the liquid, and rinse chickpeas under water.

Add ingredients together: Place the chickpeas, tomatoes, onion, green chili and coriander in a bowl. Mix well.

Add spices: Add salt, chaat masala and lemon juice.

Mix and serve: Mix all the ingredients, season to taste. It’s best to let the chana chaat sit for at least 10 – 15 minutes to let the flavors develop, and then serve.

Variations

The best part about any chaat recipe is how it can be varied to personal taste. Here are a couple of options for playing around with this chaat recipe.

• Use tamarind (imli) instead of lemon juice. I love the tangy taste of tamarind but making tamarind paste or tamarind chutney can be a bit of a chore. Lemon juice is far more easily available. If you do have tamarind on hand, either the tamarind paste or chutney, use it instead of lemon juice.
• Top with something crunchy such as paapri (crisps) or sev.
• Top with yoghurt.
• Add your favorite chutney such as mint coriander chutney, or tamarind chutney.

Serving Suggestions

There are so many different ways that you can serve this chaat recipe. Here are some options for you:

• Serve it in a big bowl or platter: This is my usual way of serving this chaat. I’ll just mix everything up in a big bowl and serve right away.
• Serve it in individual cups: This is a great idea for a dawaat or a tea party. To make the cups look even more pretty, top with yoghurt, green chutney, and/or paapri. Finish with a sprinkling of chaat masala.

More Pakistani street food recipes to try

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5 from 5 votes

Chana Chaat

Chana Chaat (also known as chole chaat) is a classic Pakistani and Indian street food made from chickpeas, onions, tomatoes and spiced with chaat masala. It’s super easy to make, a perfect tea-time and party snack.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time45 minutes mins

Soaking Time6 hours hrs

Total Time6 hours hrs 55 minutes mins

Course: Snack, Snacks

Cuisine: Pakistani

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 159kcal

Author: Kiran

Ingredients

• ¾ cup dried chickpeas or 1 can (400g) of chickpeas see note 1
• 1 small tomato, diced
• 1 small onion diced
• 1 green chilli, sliced (remove seeds)
• 4 tablespoon fresh cilantro leaves / coriander, chopped (plus more for garnish)
• ½ - 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon chaat masala (plus more for garnish)
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice see note 2 for substitutions

Instructions

• Soak chickpeas overnight in water. Make sure to use a large bowl as the chickpeas will double in size.
• Boil dried chickpeas in salted water for about 45 minutes till tender. A pressure cooker can also be used, and in that case the chickpeas will not need to be soaked. The time for pressure cooking will be about 30 minutes.
• If you are using canned chickpeas, make sure to drain the liquid from the can and rinse before using.
• Place the chickpeas in a large bowl. Add diced tomatoes, diced onions, green chili, coriander and salt, chaat masala and lemon juice. Mix well.
• Let it sit for about 10 – 15 minutes to let the flavours develop. Adjust seasonings if required.
• Garnish with coriander leaves and chaat masala before serving.

Notes

1. Both dried as well as canned chickpeas can be used in this recipe. Dried chickpeas can be boiled in advance and stored in the fridge for upto 2 days, or in the freezer for upto 3 months. If you enjoy chana chaat regularly, it's a good idea to boil a big batch of chickpeas and then make packet to keep in the freezer. Just thaw and use as needed.
2. Instead of lemon juice, tamarind paste (imli paste) or tamarind chutney (imli chutney) can also be used in this recipe. To make tamarind paste, break a chunk of tamarind from a block of seedless tamarind (available at Indian, Pakistani or Asian stores) and place it in a bowl. Add hot water, and soak the tamarind. Once the water is lukewarm, use a spoon or your hands to loosen the imli. It will turn into a thick paste - pass this mixture through a sieve to get tamarind paste. As much as I love the taste of tamarind, it can be a chore to make the paste or chutney, so for convenience, I use lemon. However, if you have it available, do try it out.