Chana Salaad (Chickpea Salad)

By Kath Dedon

There are already several chickpea salad recipes on my blog. We like chickpeas. This new recipe, though, for Chana Salaad (Chickpea Salad) is the one that we find is perfect. Bob is actually quite smitten with it, saying that I should be making it all the time.

Urvashi Pitre’s recipe in Indian Instant Pot Cookbook uses the Instant Pot to cook the chickpeas. I think freshly cooked chickpeas really make a big difference. If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you could cook the chickpeas on the stovetop, or substitute 2 cans of chickpeas.

The first time I made this Chana Salaad I did wonder about Urvashi’s instructions to cook the dried chickpeas under pressure for 20 minutes, but I followed her directions. Sure enough, the beans weren’t done. That was really no problem. I simply sealed the pot  again and cooked them for another 20 minutes and they were perfect.

In hindsight, I think she might have meant to have you cook soaked chickpeas for 20 minutes. Since I love to skip the soaking step with my Instant Pot, the next time I made this I cooked the dried chickpeas for 40 minutes. Perfect!

Give this Chana Salaad a try! Leftovers keep well. (We might have had leftover Chana Salaad for breakfast.)

If you have an Instant Pot and love Indian food, I highly recommend Urvashi’s book!

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Chana Salaad (Chickpea Salad)

(Adapted from Urvashi Pitre’s recipe in Indian Instant Pot Cookbook)

(print the recipe)

Serves 4 – 6 (depending on how many other courses are served)

The olive oil added to the beans helps to keep the foam down. Foam can clog the pressure valve.

While you can use canned chickpeas, I think you’ll find this recipe is vastly improved if you use freshly cooked beans.

To cook the chickpeas

1 cup dried chickpeas, rinsed and drained

3 bay leaves

4 cups water

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

For the salad

1 cup finely minced red onion

1 large plum tomato, seeded and diced

½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Drained cooked chickpeas (or 2 cans rinsed and drained chickpeas)

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1. Combine the chickpeas, water, bay leaves and salt in the Instant Pot.

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2. Stir in the olive oil. Seal the lid. Use high pressure with the Bean/Chili function, and set the time for 40 minutes.

3. When the time is up, use the natural pressure release (in other words, don’t do anything) for at least 10 minutes. (Longer is OK.) Then use the quick release and remove the lid. Drain the chickpeas and discard the bay leaves.

4. Combine the red onion, tomato, and cilantro in a large bowl.

5. Add the chickpeas to the bowl with the salt, cayenne pepper and lemon juice. Stir well to distribute the lemon juice and seasonings and serve.

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