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A simple and refreshing vegan dahi chana chaat. Lightly pan-toasted chickpeas, diced onions, diced tomatoes, and green chillies. With vegan yoghurt (dahi), swirled with mint coriander chutney and sweet tamarind date chutney. Finish this quick Indian salad with some juicy pomegranate seeds and crackers for that much-needed crunch. With every spoonful, you’ll be gifted with fresh bursting veggies, a cooling sensation from the swirled dahi and a lovely crunch from the Indian crackers.
What is dahi chana chaat?
- Dahi = yoghurt.
- Chana = chickpeas.
- Chaat =to lick.
Dahi chana chaat is a popular Indian street food dish, that’s essentially a spiced tangy chickpea salad with a chutney and yoghurt dressing. These snacks are sold by food stalls across India and are called ‘chaat’ because they’re simply, finger-licking good.
This chickpea chaat is…
- incredibly addicting (but it’s healthy so this is a good thing!)
- the perfect snack and side dish.
- an easy recipe.
- a great way to get in protein during warmer summer days.
- vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free and nut-free!
Ingredients for dahi chana chaat
- Chickpeas: I used two tinned chickpeas for this recipe to make things easier. Just drain out the liquid, and give them a quick rinse. If you want, you can boil chickpeas from scratch using a pressure cooker.
- Tomatoes: You’ll need two medium-sized tomatoes, with all the insides scraped out. This will help prevent the chana chaat from becoming soggy. Then, dice it into small pieces.
- Onions: I like to use red onion, because of the colour. But feel free to use whatever onion you have at home.
- Chillies: Because this is a yoghurt chana chaat, you’ll need at least 2 green chilies to spice things up.
- Chutneys: Just like all street-style chaats, you’ll need chutney for this chaat. For this recipe, you’ll need my mint coriander chutney and sweet tamarind chutney. To cut the preparation time in half, simply make the chutneys a day before.
- Vegan yoghurt: Grab your favourite vegan yoghurt, I like to use Alpro’s plain one. Most chana chaat recipes call for you to beat the yoghurt and sometimes even thin it out with water, but because vegan yoghurt is pretty loose already, this isn’t really needed.
- Lemon: Just a little squeeze of lemon juice. Can you use lime juice? Of course! However, it may alter the taste of the chaat. If you don’t have any lemon juice I’d recommend substituting it with amchur powder instead as it adds the perfect amount of tang to this chaat.
- Spice powders: Salt, black pepper, roasted cumin powder and chaat masala powder! You can make your homemade roasted cumin powder, and it’s a pretty easy recipe. All you need is cumin seeds and a pan. The recipe is at the bottom of the recipe card.
Garnishes needed for this street-style chaat
- Fresh herbs: Mint leaves and coriander leaves! You can use both or just one.
- Pomegranate: My favourite part! With every bite, you’ll be gifted with a burst of a little sweetness.
- Crackers: You’ll need 10-15 papdi’s, which are deep-fried crackers that you’ll find at your local Indian grocery store. If you’re in a pinch, use crushed tortilla chips. Unlike the papdi’s, the tortillas chips may become soggy quicker so I’d advise to only crush them over the chaat before eating.
How to make vegan dahi chana chaat
To make this simple savory snack, start with heating the pan over medium heat. Add in the drained and washed chickpeas. Sprinkle with a little salt and black pepper. Cook for 15 minutes or until it starts to brown. Once they’re done pan-toasting, remove from heat and allow to cool completely. Because I have 0 patience, I transfer them into a wide bowl to speed up this process.
While the chickpeas cool, cut the tomatoes in half and scrape out all the seeds and liquid. Doing this will ensure our chaat doesn’t become soggy. Then simply dice it into small-sized pieces. Dice the onions and the green chillies.
Into a medium mixing bowl, add half of the cooled chickpeas, half of the diced tomatoes, half of the diced onions, and 1 diced green chillies. Sprinkle over the roasted cumin powder and chaat masala. Next, pour in half of the vegan yoghurt, mint coriander chutney, sweet tamarind chutney and a little lemon juice. Mix until everything is well combined.
Serving the vegan Dahi Chana Chaat
There are two ways you can serve chana chaat. You can either do it in one medium serving bowl or smaller individual bowls. Transfer the mixture into your desired-sized bowl. Next, drizzle over the remaining vegan yoghurt and both chutneys. Add the remaining pan-toasted chickpeas, diced tomatoes, diced onions and another green chilli. Finally, add the pomegranate seeds, crushed papdi’s and freshly chopped coriander.
Give it a taste, if you feel like you’d like it to be a little spicer, add another green chilli or a sprinkle of red chili powder. The great thing about chaats is you can really adjust them according to your personal preference. Want more sauce? Add more yoghurt and chutneys. Don’t like tomatoes? Omit them!
After you try this dahi chana chaat recipe, please leave a star rating and review below! I try my best to respond to you all. Oh, and don’t forget to tag me over on Instagram – I can’t wait to repost your images!!
Watch how to make this vegan Indian Street food recipe:
How to store chana chaat
Pop into an airtight container or a bowl with a lid. Store in the fridge for 3-4 days. You can enjoy this chaat straight from the fridge, or bring it back up to room temp before serving.
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Ingredients
- 400g x 2 chickpeas tins (drained and rinsed. )
- 1 tsp oil
- salt + black pepper (to taste)
- 1–2 medium tomatoes (scraped insides, and diced)
- 1 onion (diced)
- 1–3 green chillies (diced)
- 1 cup vegan yoghurt (divided in half)
- 2 tbsp mint coriander chutney (plus more for drizzling)
- 1/2 cup sweet tamarind date chutney (divided in half)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp roasted cumin powder (*see notes for homemade recipe)
- 1 tsp chaat masala
- 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
- 1–2 cups papdi
- 1/2 tbsp freshly chopped coriander
Instructions
- Toast Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the chickpeas, with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Cook for 15 minutes or until lightly toasted. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
- Combine Into a bowl add half of the diced tomatoes, half of the diced onions. one diced green chilli and half of the chickpeas. Sprinkle in the roasted cumin powder and chaat masala. Pour in half of the vegan yoghurt, mint coriander chutney, half of the tamarind chutney and lemon juice. Mix until well combined, then transfer into a serving bowl.
- Serve Drizzle over the remaining yoghurt, along with a little more mint coriander chutney and remaining sweet tamarind chutney. Add the remaining diced tomatoes, diced onions and chickpeas. Add the pomegranate seeds, and freshly chopped coriander and finally, crush papdi's over the chaat. Enjoy!
Notes
Homemade roasted cumin powder recipe:
All you need to do is heat a pan over low heat, add cumin seeds and roast for 10-15 minutes. Stirring constantly. Once the cumin seeds become fragrant and toasted, remove from heat and continue stirring to prevent them from burning. Once they’ve cooled down, grind them into powder. I like to do this in a coffee/spice grinder! And just like that, you have homemade roasted cumin powder! Store in an airtight jar – I like to reuse my empty store-bought spice jars.
Nutrition
- Calories: 245
