• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Mama's Secret Recipes
  • About Me
    • Food Info
  • Blog
  • Recipes
  • Videos
  • Contact Me
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • About Me
  • Blog
  • Recipes
  • Videos
  • Food Info
  • Contact Me
    • Bloglovin
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Chickpea ‘Sundal’ Salad

    March 27, 2019 by Fouzia 4 Comments

    “Sundal” a south indian delicacy is a delicious salad which is mostly enjoyed as a snack especially at the beach.
    Strolling along the shore at the Marina Beach (Chennai, India) on a hot summer evening, all you would crave for is this “sundal”. It is a tongue tingling melange of boiled dried yellow peas tossed with chopped pink onions, grated fresh coconut, green chillies, green mango, ginger, cilantro, salt and drizzled with freshly squeezed lemon juice, then infused with flavour by tempering with mustard seeds, dried red chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida. Such a popular street snack to enjoy at the beach and so yummy!

    This ‘sundal’ is usually made with dried whole yellow peas called ‘battani’ in tamil. If you don’t find it in the stores the best alternative is chickpeas. I prefer using the dried chickpeas to the canned ones even though it is more time saving and convenient. Canned food has always been my last priority for most of the food items as you know it not only contains preservatives but most of its nutrients are lost during the canning process, therefore are not as flavourful and tasty as well. It probably takes the same time to dump the dried chickpeas into the instant pot, add water and close the lid as it takes to open a can of chickpeas and rinse before using them. Why not make good choices and reap the health benefits by incorporating wholesome foods in our diet and avoiding canned foods?

    It is best to hydrate the chickpeas prior to cooking. If they are soaked all the way through, then they not only swell up and soften evenly but also in less amount of time. It is much easier cooking them in the Instant Pot as it not only saves time but is so convenient. You could also pressure cook them in the Instant pot without soaking them but it would take longer – between 45 minutes to an hour, while pre soaked chickpeas are al dente tender in 35 minutes. Slow cooking them in the Instant Pot retains all their water soluble nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Pre soaking them and draining away the water does break down the complex sugars that produce gas but very slightly (upto 25%). I prefer not to drain out the soaking water to prevent the loss of the valuable nutrients.

    With this ‘sundal’ are tagged so many memories too. Here is one …..
    I remember, I still remember
    the taste, the flavour
    the whiff of the aroma
    that hit our olfactory nerves
    as we sat watching the waves
    dancing in glee
    bouncing on the shore
    as if they were enjoying
    our company!
    Yes, I still remember
    those little vendors
    scooping out the ‘sundal’
    with their little hands
    while we sat waiting,
    drooling with impatience
    over this sensational concoction,
    this melange of flavours
    that stimulates your brain
    and leaves you craving for it
    over and over again!
    But in all this ecstatic endeavour
    little did we realize how hard
    those little hands worked
    to combat their dire needs
    to help, support and provide
    for their poverty stricken families.
    They were little kids indeed
    but burdened down
    by so many responsibilities!!

    chickpea sundal salad

    Here’s the recipe:

    Ingredients:
    1 cup chickpeas
    1/2 a medium onion
    1-2 green chillies
    1/4 cup cilantro chopped
    1/4 cup coconut grated
    1/3 cup green mango chopped or grated
    1 inch piece of ginger julienned and chopped.
    Juice of half a lemon
    a pinch of asafoetida
    a few curry leaves
    1/4 tsp mustard seeds
    1 tsp ghee(clarified butter)
    1 – 2 dried red chilies

          

    Instructions:
    1. Soak the chickpeas overnight or at least for 8+ hours to hydrate them to the core.
    2. Place the soaked chickpeas in the Instant Pot and Pressure cook on manual for 30 – 35 minutes till they are soft but al dente.  It is up to you to use the same water to cook or discard it. I prefer not to lose the valuable nutrients in the water so I use the same. Sauté till the chickpeas absorb all the water left in the Instant pot. If you forgot to soak them, just cover them up with boiling water and simmer on the stove till they are soft and tender. Or slow cook in the Instant pot.
    3. Add to the boiled chickpeas, chopped onions, green chilli, ginger, cilantro, grated coconut, squeeze in the lemon juice and toss them we till they get mixed well.
    4. Heat the ghee in a tadka (tempering) pan. When hot, crackle the mustard seeds, then add dried red chillies followed by curry leaves and asafoetida. Immediately pour the tempering over the chickpeas. Toss once more to mix well. Enjoy!

    You may also like:

    Spicy Carrot & Green Apple Salad

    Egg Salad

    Pineapple Kachumbar

    Chickpea Sundal Salad

    Filed Under: Chickpeas, Indian Cuisine, Instant Pot recipes, Popular Recipes, Quick and easy, Salads, Side Dishes, Snacks, South Indian Cooking, Street food, Traditional Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian Tagged With: battani sundal, beach snack, chickpeas salad, street food snack, sundal

    Subscribe

    for your weekly recipe fix.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kim - The Puffy Biscuit

      April 5, 2019 at 6:37 am

      5 stars
      So many delicious flavour combinations in this salad! Isn’t it amazing how food brings us back to special times and places? Thank you for the tips about chick peas – I have always just opened a can without thinking about it. The instant Pot does sound easy and like it’s a great way to keep more of the nutrients.

      Reply
      • Fouzia Husainy

        April 5, 2019 at 11:32 am

        Thanks so much. I am happy you like the flavour combinations in this salad. It gives me pleasure to share what ever my experience has taught me. Yes, food does bring back so many memories that time cannot not erase. It’s because all of them are associated with smells and taste. The instant pot does help in retaining the nutrients, cooks at the desired time, temperature and pressure and switches off on its own. Comes in so handy when you are pressed for time and so convenient. Thanks once again for commenting.

        Reply
    2. Wanda

      April 2, 2019 at 12:17 pm

      I love any salad or bowl that includes chickpeas. All your ingredients sound so delicious in this salad. I use the canned chick peas from The Italian Store here as they only contain sea salt, water and chick peas – but will have to try your method using dried!

      Reply
      • Fouzia Husainy

        April 2, 2019 at 11:39 pm

        Thank you. Yeah I love chickpeas too. The canned ones are no doubt convenient to use and good if they don’t contain any preservatives. But still I prefer using the dried ones for better taste as well as more nutritive value. You should maybe give them a try. I am sure you’d love them better.

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Hello

    Welcome to my world of cooking at Mama's Secret Recipes. My great passion for food opened the door to blogging so I could share my recipes... [Continue …]

    Recent Posts

    • Vegetable and Egg Korma, South Indian Style!
    • Malai Masti Shahi Paneer
    • Traditional Korma Aloo Gosht
    • Sweet Almond Ragi Harira
    • Easy Healthy Granola Bars

    Popular Posts

    haleem

    Easy Haleem (with lamb/beef)

    Thai black rice pudding

    Mango Coconut Sticky Black Rice Porridge

    shrimp biryani

    Easy Shrimp Biryani, Nawabi Style!

    cauliflower pepper fry

    Cauliflower Pepper Fry

    Persian rice

    Persian Style Saffron Rice

    talbina barley porridge

    Talbina (Barley Porridge)

    FBC Member Badge

    Subscribe

    Sign up to get the latest updates from Mama's Secret Recipes.

    ARCHIVES

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact me

    COPYRIGHT © 2021 MAMA'S SECRET RECIPES