Black Chickpea Chaat

          Black Chickpeas Chaat or Chana Chaat is a popular roadside snack in India. It is, like other chaat dishes, spicy and tangy, or chatpata as we call it in India. This dish can also be made with white chickpeas or garbanzo beans, but I like it more with black chickpeas.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups black Chickpea soaked for 6-8 hours
• 1/2 cup finely chopped Onion
• 1 cup finely chopped Tomatoes
• 1 boiled Potato
• 2-3 finely chopped Green Chili 
• 2 tsp Garlic paste
• 2 tsp Black Pepper
• 2 tsp Chaat Masala (Optional)
• 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp Oil
• 2 tsp Cumin Seeds
• A pinch of Asafoetida
• 1/4 finely chopped Cilantro

Instructions:

• Cook the soaked black Chickpeas. I prefer to use pressure cooker to boil it.
• If using a pressure cooker, cook for 4-5 whistles or tilt they are cooked.
• Make sure they are not overcooked else it will become mushy.
• In the meanwhile, dice the boiled potatoes and keep it aside.
• Once the chickpeas are cooked, drain the water.
• Now, heat some oil in a pan. Add Asafoetida and cumin seeds.
• As soon as cumin seeds start to crackle, add the garlic paste and saute it for about a minute.
• Then add the Chickpeas to it and cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Now transfer the chickpeas to a big bowl.
• Add the diced potatoes, chopped tomatoes, chopped onions and green chilies to it and mix it well.
• Then add salt, pepper, chaat masala and lemon juice to the bowl. You can adjust it according to your taste.
• Garnish with cilantro and serve.