Chana Sundal (South Indian Chickpea Salad)
Chana sundal (chickpea sundal) is a delicious South Indian chickpea salad made mainly during Navratri and Golu. This sundal/chundal recipe is protein-rich, vegan, and gluten-free, with no onion or garlic - make it in just 15 minutes.
Servings 6 people
Calories 185.28kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
To make the coconut paste
- ½ cup shredded coconut
- 2-3 green chillies
- 4-5 curry leaves
To make sundal
- ½ tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- ¼ teaspoon gluten-free asafoetida
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- salt
- 31 oz canned chickpeas
- ⅓ cup chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Add coconut, curry leaves, and green chillies to a blender jar.
- Blitz to make a coarse paste, adding 1-2 tablespoons of water only if needed - fresh coconut usually won't need any. Keep this paste aside. Priya's tip - Do not grind it too smooth. The coarseness adds to the texture of the sundal.
- Heat oil in a pan and temper the mustard seeds and gluten-free asafoetida (hing).
- Once the mustard seeds begin to crackle, add the turmeric and red pepper flakes (or 2 dried red chillies) and fry for 15 seconds.
- Add the ground coconut paste along with salt, then mix and cook for a minute.
- Add the drained and rinsed canned chickpeas to the pan and mix well, cooking for another 2-3 minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro or even chopped green mango and serve chana sundal warm.
Notes
- If you're short on time, but want to use raw chickpeas to make sundal, soaking them in hot (not cold) water for 3-4 hours cuts the soaking time down significantly compared to a full overnight soak in room-temp water.
- Save the water the chickpeas cook in (if cooking raw) — we use it as a base for paruppu rasam, arachuvitta sambar or a light lentil soup instead of discarding it.
- Coconut oil is considered the most classic, traditional choice for the tempering here, though any neutral oil works fine if that's not what you usually keep on hand.
- Asafoetida is easy to skip if you can't find a gluten-free version, and there's no need for a direct substitute - the sundal will still taste great without it. Use regular hing if you are not following a gluten-free diet. You can add ginger paste, or freshly ground black pepper instead to help with digestion.
Nutrition
Calories: 185.28kcal | Carbohydrates: 24.82g | Protein: 7.63g | Fat: 6.93g | Saturated Fat: 2.77g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.71g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1.63g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 480.11mg | Potassium: 252.53mg | Fiber: 7.49g | Sugar: 3.8g | Vitamin A: 156.94IU | Vitamin C: 15.67mg | Calcium: 58.5mg | Iron: 2.12mg