“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!!
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!
"Sundal" a south indian delicacy is a delicious salad which is mostly enjoyed as a snack especially at the beach.
- 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
- Soak the chickpeas overnight or at least for 8+ hours to hydrate them to the core.
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. Cool and set aside.
- 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.
- Heat the ghee in a tadka (tempering) pan. When hot, splutter 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!
Notes:
1. This sundal is mostly made with whole dried yellow peas. It can also be made with other lentils too like black eyed beans, small red beans etc...
2. Soaking the dried peas and cooking them gives better taste than using the canned ones whose nutrients are lost and also contain preservatives.
3. The instant pot makes it much easier to cook them. You just put them inside, add water set the time and forget it.
You may also like:
Spicy Carrot & Green Apple Salad
Egg Salad
Pineapple Kachumbar
Chickpea Sundal Salad
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!
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.
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.
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.