Chana Chaat or Chole Chaat

Chana chaat is the Desi version of a salad. The base is chickpeas or chana with onions, tomatoes, green chilies and coriander as the supporting characters finished off with chaat masala and lemon juice for that necessary spice and khataaz!

How to make chana chaat?

Start off with boiling chickpeas or what is known as chana or sufaid chole in Hindi / Urdu. In fact, another name for chana chaat is chole ki chaat. You can also use canned chickpeas. Just drain and rinse before using.
Dice up tomatoes, onions, green chilies and coriander. Mix together.
Add salt, chaat masala and lemon juice.
Mix it all up and let it sit for at least 5 minutes to let the flavours develop. That’s it!

Playing around with chana chaat …..

That’s the simplest version of chole ki chaat, but if you want variation you can add boiled diced potatoes to make aloo chana chaat, add yoghurt (sweetened or salty) to provide a cooling contrast to that spicy chaat masala. One of my favourite combinations to serve in Ramadan is chaat with dahi baray. I start with dahi baray as the base layer, add chaat on top, and then top it off with imli chutney and papri. That’s the perfect Desi chaat bowl to rival any burrito bowl out there!

Some other similar recipes that you can try are:

1. Imli ki Chutney or Tamarind Chutney

2. Mash ki daal kay dahi baray

3. Ramadan Recipes 

Would love it if you could try out and rate the recipe, and let me know how it was in the comments below! 

5 from 2 votes

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Chana Chaat

Chana chaat is the Desi version of a salad. The base is chickpeas or chana with onions, tomatoes, green chilies and coriander as the supporting characters finished off with chaat masala and lemon juice for that necessary spice and khataaz!

Course Snack, Snacks

Cuisine Pakistani

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Soaking Time 6 hours

Total Time 55 minutes

Servings 4 people

Calories 95 kcal

Ingredients

• ¾ cup dried chickpeas or 1 can of chickpeas (400 gm)
• 1 small tomato diced
• 1 small onion diced
• 1 green chili sliced (remove seeds)
• 4 tablespoon coriander, chopped plus more for garnish
• ½ - 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon chaat masala plus more for garnish
• 2 teaspoon lemon juice

Instructions

1. Soak chickpeas overnight in water. Make sure to use a large bowl as the chickpeas will double in size.
2. Boil 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.
3. If you are using canned chickpeas, make sure to drain the water from the can and rinse before using.
4. Place the chickpeas in a large bowl. Add diced tomatoes, diced onions, green chili, coriander and salt, chaat masala and lemon juice. Mix well.
5. Let it sit for about 10 – 15 minutes to let the flavours develop. Adjust seasonings if required.
6. Garnish with coriander leaves and chaat masala before serving.

Recipe Notes

Chickpeas can be boiled in advance, and stored in the freezer. If you enjoy chana chaat regularly (or for Ramadan), it’s a good idea to boil a big batch and make packets in the freezer. Just thaw and use as needed.