Chana/Chickpea Salad

Step by step procedure to prepare a very refreshing salad recipe - Chana/Chickpea Salad. Here we are adding whole lot of fresh vegetables and herbs with olive oil and tossing them with the cooked chickpeas. Chickpeas are the vegetarian-friendly source of protein. Not only nutritious but also a very colourful and appetising dish. And the best thing about making this salad is "no cooking". We are just going to boil the chickpeas and then tossing them in the mixture of vegetables. sounds easy?? yes it is. This would be great for a simple supper. This is served best in room temperature and as well as chilled in refrigerator. You can also store it in fridge and have them for next day. Chilled salad also tastes extremely good and do not have to re-heat them. When you are hosting small parties/get together, Chickpeas Salad can be served as a starter/appetiser. According to your taste you can also add cheese or you can use lemon juice for seasoning. Now we will see how to prepare a filling and refreshing Chana/Chickpea Salad.

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Preparation time: 20 min (excluding 8 hours soaking time of chana)
Cooking time: 5 min
Serves: 2-3
Category: Salad
Recipe by Vidhya

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Ingredients

Chana/Chickpeas - 1 cup

Carrot - 1 grated

Onion - 1 finely chopped

Cherry tomato - 12 nos
Cucumber - 1 large/2 medium sized chopped

Capsicum/Green bell pepper - 1/2 portion of a whole capsicum

Coriander - 1/2 cup tightly packed

Jeera powder - 1 tablespoon

Pepper - 1 1/2 tablespoon

Extra virgin olive oil - 2-3 tablespoon

Salt - As per your taste
Cheese/lemon juice for seasoning(I used Cheddar cheese)

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Method

• Wash the chana and soak them for about 8 hours/soak it overnight. Pressure cook the chana for 6-7 whistles. Once the pressure comes down, strain water and keep the chana aside.
  
• In the meantime, you can chop the list of veggies. Grate the carrot, chop the onion, slit the cherry tomatoes, chop the cucumber. capsicum and coriander leaves. You can also replace cherry tomatoes with our regular ones, but cherry tomatoes are apt for salads.
  
• Now we will make the salad. Take a large bowl and add the cooked chana. Add 2-3 table spoon of olive oil. Give a gentle stir.
  
• Add 1 tablespoon of jeera, 1 1/2 tablespoon of pepper and salt. Mix them gently.
  
• Now add the whole lot of chopped vegetables and mix them with chana.
  
• With a lid, close the bowl and keep it for 30 min. You can also refrigerate them for 30 min.
  
• Put the salad mixture in a bowl and serve them. As I had mentioned above, I served it in 2 different ways.

1.  Cut the cheese into small cubes/grate the cheese and top them on the salad and serve. Kids would love this version of salad.
   
2. Cut and squeeze the lemon over the salad and mix it nicely and serve. This version is my husband's favourite.