Chana Salad is a protein-packed healthy salad that happens to be delicious too. You will surely fall in love with it!
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For lunch, I always stick to something that is healthy, fulfilling, and can literally be a one-bowl meal. That is the reason chana salad has become one of my favourite weekday lunches.
All the meal prep for the chana salad is done during the morning time (including boiling the brown chickpeas and making the dressing). During lunch hours, simply dress the chana salad and enjoy it.
Chana Salad would also pack up nicely for my husband’s office lunchbox.
Why You’ll Love This Salad
- Gluten-Free
- Quick and Easy
- Protein-Packed
- Healthy and Nutritious
- and a one-pot fulfilling meal
The Brown Chickpeas
In the Indian subcontinent, the brown chana is commonly used for making curry, kebab, or a variety of dishes. Like regular white chickpea (kabuli chana) you can use brown chana in a variety of creative culinary ways.
- It is an excellent source of gluten-free, vegan, plant-based protein.
- Like many other legumes and beans, the dried brown chana also requires a soaking time of 5 – 6 hours before cooking.
- The soaking process reduces the cooking time, deactivates anti-nutrients, and improves the amount of magnesium, zinc, and iron you absorb.
For the salad, you can either boil brown chana in a pressure cooker or cook them in an instant pot. Canned/tinned chana is also fine for making the salad.
The Green Dressing
What makes this chana salad even more pleasant is the refreshing mint dressing. It is very similar to the internet’s viral GREEN GODDESS DRESSING.
This green dressing is bursting with summer flavours pairing perfectly with the texture of the salad. It is the star of the show.
If you want to try any other dressing recipes with this salad, here are – 6 BEST SALAD DRESSING RECIPES
How To Build A Healthy Salad
- Don’t stop at one or two vegetables. Try to make it as colourful as possible with the best available seasonal greens and veggies.
- Avoid adding any fried or calorie-loaded toppings. That would just kill the purpose of a healthy salad.
- Pick your protein for the salad wisely. The meats laced with too much fat are a big no for any healthy salad. Roasted chicken, boiled beans, or pan-fried tofu make a delicious protein-packed salad.
- Keep the dressing light and simple. Too much cream, mayo, and cheese are not going to make the right dressing for a healthy salad.
Watch Chana Salad Video
More Salad Recipes
Get all my Salad Recipes here and you can watch the videos on Instagram.
Healthy Chana Salad Recipe
- Salad Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- 2 Cup brown chickpeas (kala chana)
- ½ Cup chopped onion
- ½ Cup chopped cucumber
- ½ Cup chopped tomato
- ½ Cup diced boiled potato
- ¼ Cup chopped coriander (cilantro)
- Juice of one lemon
Ingredients For Dressing
- ¼ Cup mint leaves
- ¼ Cup fresh coriander leaves
- ½ Cup greek yogurt/curd
- 2 clove garlic
- Salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon whole peppercorns or to taste
- ¼ Cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
Prep Work:
- Soak chickpeas (chana) overnight or for at least 4 – 5 hours. After soaking time, drain all the water from the chana.
- Boil chana in a pressure cooker with a dash of salt and approximately 1 ½ cups of water. Do not overcook the chana as it might turn mushy.
- Transfer the boiled chana to a colander. This step will drain the excess liquid and allow chana to cool down completely before adding to the salad.
- Combine all the dressing ingredients in a blender. Grind to a smooth consistency. Transfer to a jar and keep in the fridge till required.
- Chop all the vegetables, mix and keep in the fridge.
Prepare Salad:
- Add the boiled chana to the chopped vegetables and mix nicely.
- Pour mint dressing over the salad and toss gently.
- Sprinkle fresh coriander leaves, squeeze lemon juice and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
- Serve healthy chana salad immediately.
Recipe Notes:
- To cook chana perfectly in a pressure cooker, 3 – 4 whistles over low heat are good enough. It approximately takes 15 minutes to become al-dente. Or you can cook chana in an instant pot as well.
- Do not add too much water while boiling the chana.
- To keep the salad crunchy avoid adding warm chana to the salad.
- If brown chana is not available, you can subsitute it with white chickpeas (safed chole/kabuli chana).
- Salad dressing can be prepared in advance and stored in the fridge for 3 – 4 days.
- From sweet corn, peppers, and cucumber, to avocado, they all taste great in this vegetarian salad.
Deepthi Shankar says
I’m on a salad making spree these days. Will make this
Hina Gujral says
Hope you like it. It is one of my recent favorite salad 🙂
Antara Roy says
Nice article Mam and salad is so healthy too. One request – Please write an article on how to shoot professional food photography with the smartphone.
Hina Gujral says
Thank you. Will try for sure.
Yuvraj kore says
Hey I Love Coffee, specially Adrak Wali Coffee Please provide a different way to make coffee.
Jayalakshmi says
Tasty and healthy salad wil prepare for my family soon
Hina Gujral says
Please do try it and let us know how did you like it.