During the Holi week, you may have indulged in several kinds of streets foods and satiated your cravings for chaat papdi, samosa, kachori, namak pare and more. Chaat comes from the word chatpata and well, it suits the dish too. Often times, when we hear the word chaat, it is usually something that is packed with flavours and unhealthy too, at times. Did you know that chaat was invented for medicinal purposes? The tangy and sweet flavours of chaat were believed to have cured a plague that had spread during the Mughal emperor Jehangir’s rule. The contaminated water was made fit for drinking with help of certain ingredients and chaat took birth.
Since Holi was just round the corner, your appetite would have mostly consisted of pakore, gujiyas, malpuas, thandais and more. Deep-fried, greasy snacks and sugar-drenched desserts would have been quite commonplace. This Holi, you need to detox after eating all that unhealthy food. Chef Kunal Kapur is here for your rescue. He has come up with a lip-smacking chana chaat that is loaded with protein and fibre. The chaat recipe is simple, quick to make and a delicious detox to balance your Holi ki mithai.
The chef took to his YouTube Channel called Kunal Kapur to share the recipe. He starts by taking some overnight soaked black chanas (chickpeas). He drenches them in a cooker full of water and sprinkles a lot of salt in it. He keeps it on the gas and boils it till it becomes soft. After a whistle, he takes the cooker off the gas and let’s it cool down. Meanwhile, he starts making the tadka in the pan along with oil, tej patta, asafoetida, black cardamom, some black pepper and cloves. After giving it a nice stir, he adds some grated ginger and chopped green chillies to it. Next, he adds red chilli powder, turmeric powder and coriander powder. He cooks this on a low flame. This is followed by the kala chana along with water in the pan. A slight sprinkle of salt and kasoori methi and let it cook for five minutes.
Finally, you can garnish the chaat by adding boiled potatoes, chopped tomatoes, onions and green chillies along with amchur powder, chaat masala and loads of lemon juice. Mix it well and sprinkle some pomegranate seeds on top. Your kala chana chaat is ready.
Here is the full recipe of the chaat by Chef Kunal Kapur.