Chana Chaat is a spicy, tangy and sweet South Asian street food snack. It's healthy, filling and of course mind-blowingly delicious. Made with chickpeas, sweetened yogurt, basic spices, imli and mint chutney, it is also wholly vegetarian.
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I live for Pakistani street food. I might be biased (of course) but I find it the best. The spicy, tangy flavours are totally up my alley.
From the savory street-style bun kabab to the crunchy keema samosa to the sweet, juicy jalebi, I can never get enough of it. And who can forget the street-style chaats, pani puri, samosa chaat, aloo chaat—omg they are divine!
This Pakistani Chana Chaat is another highly loved item from the streets and also becomes an Iftar staple in many households in the month of Ramadan.
What Is Chana Chaat
Chana Chaat (also called chole chaat) is a a popular street food snack in Pakistan and India. It is a spicy and tangy chickpea salad made with tamarind chutney, green mint sauce, sweetened yogurt, basic South Asian spices, onion, tomato, mint, coriander and a snack of small, crunchy noodles called sev.
What Is Chana Chaat Made Of
This chaat is assembled in multiple layers.
- Chickpeas Mixture - A mixture of boiled chickpeas, diced tomatoes, onions, mint, coriander with basic spices is prepared.
- Imli Chutney - A sour dip made with tamarind is used to add tanginess to the chaat. The classic recipe of making this chutney can be found in the recipe card below. An alternative, easier way which I have used in this chickpea chaat is to mix tamarind concentrate with water, some sugar and cumin powder. The sauce is darker but tastes the same.
- Mint Chutney - A green sauce of fresh mint, coriander, green chilies and lemon juice is made to add a zesty flavour.
- Sweetened Yogurt - You can use plain or Greek yogurt and just whisk it with some water and sugar. This sweetened yogurt balances the spice and tartness of the other chutneys.
- Garnishes - Top the chaat with sev (deep-fried gram flour noodles) or papri (deep-fried flour crispies) for crunch, sprinkle chaat masala for some spice and some extra diced onions, tomatoes, mint and coriander leaves for colour.
How To Make Chana Chaat
Let's make this quick and easy Chana Chaat recipe!
- Prepare the cilantro mint chutney, imli chutney and sweetened yogurt according to the instructions in the recipe card below. Keep aside.
- Mix boiled chickpeas with diced tomatoes, onions, mint, coriander, chaat masala, cumin powder, salt and red chili powder. Set aside.
- Put aside the garnishes including sev, diced tomato, onion, mint, coriander and chaat masala.
- Start assembling! In a bowl pour the sweetened yogurt, the chickpeas, drizzle some more sweetened yogurt, imli chutney, mint chutney, garnish with some more diced tomato, onion, mint, coriander and finally sprinkle some sev and chaat masala.
Variations
- Aloo Chana Chaat - You can also add boiled aloo (potato) to the chickpeas mixture and have the Aloo Chana Chaat.
- Add Pomegranate - Garnish with some pomegranate arils for a pop of colour and juicy bursts of flavour.
- Replace Sev with Papri - Another popular alternative to the sev is papri (or papdi) which are South Asian deep-fried flour crispies.
Serving Ideas
- Chana Chaat without Yogurt & Chutneys - Many people also like having chickpea chaat without the yogurt and chutneys. That way is definitely more fuss-free and quicker. All you have to do is to combine everything with the boiled chickpeas. Add in the diced tomato, onion, mint, coriander, boiled potato (optional) and the spices. Put to cool in the refrigerator and enjoy cold.
- Single Serving - For parties serve this street style chana chaat in individual bowls. I have used a stem glass above but you can use mini bowls too or even disposable clear appetizer cups. Not only do they look prettier in presentation but in larger gatherings all the layers of the chaat get all mixed up. The single serving method keeps the layers and textures intact.
- Family Serving - This is the standard way of serving this chole chaat. Take a big shallow dish or bowl and add everything to it. You can also repeat the different layers if you want. Add the bowl to your lunch, dinner or snack table and enjoy with your family.
FAQs
You can prepare the chickpea mixture and the chutneys beforehand. The chutneys can last upto 10 days. The chickpeas will last around 2 days. On the day of serving, just assemble all the layers and serve.
It is a good idea to consume the chaat the same day if it has been assembled. It will lose its texture if kept long after combining everything.
Definitely you can! I have used canned chickpeas in this recipe. They save you the hassle of boiling them.
More Pakistani Street Food
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📖 Recipe
Chana Chaat
Ingredients
- 250 g pre-boiled chickpeas ~1 small can
- 1 small tomato diced
- 1 small onion diced
- 3 tablespoon fresh cilantro chopped
- 3 tablespoon fresh mint chopped
- 1 teaspoon chaat masala plus extra for sprinkling
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
Sweetened Yogut
- ½ cup (200g) yogurt whisked
- 2-3 tablespoon white sugar
- ¼ cup water
Mint Chutney
- ½ cup fresh mint
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro
- 1 green chili small
- pinch salt
- ¼ teaspoon cumin seeds roasted and crushed
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
Imli Chutney
- 100 g tamarind preferably seedless
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup jaggery (gur)
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon black salt
- ½ teaspoon ginger powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds roasted and crushed
Assembly
- sev or papri
- chaat masala
- 2 tablespoon onion diced
- 2 tablespoon tomato diced
- 1 tablespoon fresh mint chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro chopped
Instructions
- In a small blender add all the ingredients of the Mint Chutney and blend till smooth. Keep aside.
- Boil the water and turn off heat. Put the tamarind in it, along with the rest of the ingredients and cover for 15-20 minutes. When the tamarind separates and is soft blend everything together into a smooth chutney. If your tamarind has seeds remove those first before blending.
- Mix the yogurt, water and sugar. Keep aside.
- In the boiled chickpeas add onion, tomato, mint, cilantro, chaat masala, cumin powder, salt and red chili powder. Mix well and put aside.
- Take a big bowl (or individual jars for party serving).
- Add some sweetened yogurt sparingly to the bottom of your serving bowl, put the chickpeas mixture, pour some more yogurt, drizzle the mint and imli chutney.
- Garnish with diced onions, tomatoes, mint, cilantro and sev (or papri).
- Sprinkle some chaat masala and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- An alternative, quicker way of making Imli Chutney is to mix 1 tablespoon imli concentrate with ¼ cup water, 2 teaspoon brown sugar and ½ teaspoon cumin powder.
Nutrition
PIN IT FOR LATER
Patricia Dawson says
Great recipe, this was delicious!
Qashang says
Thank you!
2pots2cook says
We love chana 1 Since it takes only 30 minutes to serve it, this is perfect week dinner. Thank you !