Chana chaat recipe
Lemon-drenched chickpeas, mixed with diced red onions, tomatoes and potatoes. It’s showered with ruby-red pomegranate seeds and seasoned with chaat masala which features mango powder and nutty-tasting toasted cumin as its star players.
Tip: the chaat masala and date and tamarind sauce recipes will make more than you need for the salad so keep for another dish.
Ingredients
For the date and tamarind sauce (makes 300g/10.5oz)- 150 g wet tamarind block
- 125 g pitted dates
- 175 g jaggery or light brown soft sugar, plus extra to taste if needed
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 0.5 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp ground, roasted cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns
- 0.5 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
- 1.5 tbsp dried mint leaves
- 1 small pinch of ground asafoetida (heeng)
- 0.8 tbsp ground black salt
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 3 tbsp mango powder (amchoor)
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 0.5 tsp grated nutmeg
- 0.5 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 125 g full-fat Greek yogurt
- 0.5 tsp caster sugar
- 2 tbsp chopped mint leaves
- 1 small garlic clove, crushed
- 1 pinch salt, if needed
- 1 x 400g/14oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 red onion, finely diced
- 2 tomatoes, deseeded and diced
- 175 g new potatoes, boiled until tender and diced
- 2 lemons, juice only
- 2 green chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
- 2 tsp ground, roasted cumin seeds
- 0.2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 2 tsp chaat masala
- 3 tbsp chopped coriander (cilantro)
- 3 tbsp pomegranate seeds
- 150 g date and tamarind sauce
Details
- Cuisine: Indian
- Recipe Type: Salad
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 15 mins
- Cooking Time: 30 mins
- Serves: 4
Step-by-step
To make the date and tamarind sauce
- Break up the tamarind and dates and put them in a pan with the jaggery or sugar and enough water to cover – about 500ml/17fl oz. Place over a medium-low heat and bring the chutney to a simmer. Cook for about 20–30 minutes, adding extra water to the pan if the chutney looks like catching, until the tamarind and dates are really soft and pulpy.
- Remove the pan from the heat and push the sauce through a sieve to remove any fibres.
- Stir in the ginger, garam masala and cumin.
- Taste the sauce – it should have a sweet-and-sour flavour. Add more jaggery or sugar if it isn’t sweet enough. Serve chilled. It will keep for 2–3 days in the fridge, or 2 months in the freezer.
To make the chaat masala
- Roast the cumin, peppercorns and carom seeds in a dry pan over a medium heat for 1 minute, until the spices are fragrant.
- Take the pan off the heat and stir in the dried mint and asafoetida.
- Use a mortar and pestle or an electric grinder to pound everything to a powder, then add both salts, along with the mango powder, ground ginger, grated nutmeg and chilli powder.
- Store in an airtight jar. It’ll keep at room temperature for 2–3 months, or for 6 months in the freezer.
To make the chana chaat and mint yogurt
- Mix the chickpeas with the red onion, tomatoes and potatoes. Add the lemon juice, chopped chillies, ground cumin, chilli powder and chaat masala.
- Gently fold everything together and leave to one side for 10 minutes to allow the flavours to mingle.
- Meanwhile, make the mint yogurt. Combine the yogurt, sugar, mint and garlic and taste for seasoning, adding a little salt if necessary. Set aside until you’re ready to serve.
- When you’re ready to serve the chaat, add the chopped coriander (cilantro) and pomegranate seeds, then spoon over the mint yogurt and drizzle with the date and tamarind sauce.
This recipe is from India: The World Vegetarian by Roopa Gulati (Bloomsbury Absolute, £20). Out now. Photography by David Loftus.
You might also like:
Potato, paneer and chickpea curry