Channa @ Chickpeas Salad/ Kadalai salad

Channa/Chickpeas :

Chickpea is one of the oldest legumes whose origin dates back to 7500 years. It is believed to be originated from the Middle East and it is widely cultivated around the world. The name 'chickpea' is said to be derived from French word 'Chiche'. It is said to be rich in proteins and was proved by some nutritionists and researchers. In India, the two types of Chickpeas are called as 'Desi chickpeas' and 'Kabuli chickpeas'. 

*Desi chickpea - It is a type of chickpea that looks dark brown in color and smaller than Kabuli chickpea.

*Kabuli Chickpea - It is a type of chickpea that looks white-creamy in color and larger than Desi chickpea.

Apart from being rich in proteins, Channa / Chickpeas are also a source of Zinc, Manganese and folate. They are low in fat. Comparing between the Desi (Dark brown) and Kabuli ( white creamy color) Chickpeas, the Desi (Dark brown) chickpeas are rich in fiber . As per some researchers, the Desi chickpeas (Dark brown) are proved to reduce the cholesterol levels. Most importantly the dark brown channa/chickpea(Desi) is used for increasing your hemoglobin level. It is highly recommended for people who has very low hemoglobin level to intake this dark brown Desi channa/chickpeas. I have personally experienced this and it has shown good results. 

Chickpea Salad :

Here we have used Desi chickpeas.
Ingredients :

( for serving two)

Chickpea (soaked and pressure cooked)-  2 cup
Carrot( grated) - 1 1/2 (big)
Onion ( finely chopped)- 1 (big )
Tomato ( finely chopped) - 1 ( big)
Cucumber ( peeled and chopped) - 1
Salt to taste
Chat masala powder - 1 tsp
Pepper powder - 1 tsp
Coriander leaves/ lettuce for garnishing.

Method :

Take a bowl, soak the chickpeas in water overnight. On the next morning, wash the soaked chickpeas, add some water to it so as to the level where the chickpeas gets immersed in water. Cook it for 20 mins or upto 3 to 4 whistles. Once the chickpeas are cooked, let it cool for 5 mins. Then add these chickpeas into a bowl. Then add the finely chopped onions, tomatoes, grated carrot and chopped cucumber to it. Now add the salt, chat masala powder and pepper powder as per your taste. Finally sprinkle some coriander leaves/lettuce.

The same salad can be done using Kabuli (Light creamy color) chickpeas, green gram and with different types of sprouts.

Try it and share your feedback's :)