Green Chickpea Chaat

My dad once came back from a business trip to Mumbai, and raved about a curry that he ate at a fancy restaurant. Him and my mom reverse engineered the dish from his memory and recollection of the flavors he tasted. My friend’s mum, who was also a prolific cook, often did the same with her husband, and my friend would describe those dishes with such pride, and even get some in her lunchbox. I would marvel at the brilliance of moms to recreate something just from someone’s memory! Years later, I seem to have caught on that knack. If I enjoy a particular dish in a restaurant, I ask the server to help me with the ingredients, and then try making it at home. The bigger the restaurant, the more the server hesitates, or denies to get into the details. It’s understandable. That’s when I rely unraveling of flavors I tasted and create something as close as possible, albeit with my own interpretation.

Green Chickpea Chaat is one such dish inspired by Avocado & Green Chana Toastadas that I ate at one of my favorite progressive Indian restaurant - ROOH. The original dish had puffed black rice, togarashi, amongst other things. I gave it a spin of my own using seasonal green mangoes - I can never get enough of those lip-puckering sour green mangoes!

The Green Chana Chaat has sour, sweet, tangy and spicy flavors - everything you need for a memorable chaat eating experience. What I love especially about this is giving green chickpeas/green chana, some love. The dried version of chickpeas - garbanzos, get a LOT of love. But the precursor to it, the fresh version of chickpea - green chickpea, is lesser known but arguably tastier. It has a relatively sweeter, more delicate flavor than dried garbanzos, and the recipe for this could not be easier.

GREEN CHANA CHAAT

serves 2-3

YOU WILL NEED

• 2 cup green chana, shelled (frozen or fresh)

• 1.5 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup chopped boiled potatoes

• 1/2 cup chopped cucumbers

• 1/2 cup peeled and chopped green mango

• 1/4 cup chopped onions

• 2-3 sliced red or easter radish

• 1 tablespoon finely chopped green chilies (thai, serrano or jalapeño depending on desired spice level)

• 1 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro

• 1 medium ripe avocado, diced

• 2-3 teaspoon chaat masala

• salt to taste

• 2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

• 1 tablespoon justdatesyrup (optional)

Boiled Green Chana / Green Chickpeas

Chaat Ingredients

METHOD

• Boil 2 cups of green chickpeas in ample water, with 1.5 teaspoon salt, until they are soft but not mushy.

• Drain the chickpeas and let them cool for 10 minutes.

• Transfer them to a large bowl and add all the ingredients except avocados and cilantro.

• Mix everything well. Add avocado and cilantro right before serving.

Notes

• Chaats are best when they are slightly spicier. I prefer thai chilies for that reason in this recipe. Don’t be shy here 🌶 🥵

• If you don’t have just date syrup, date tamarind chutney works great!

• You can make this a day in advance, but add avocado and cilantro right before serving!