South Indian Style Chickpea Salad / Sundal

Sundal is a South Indian dish made with legumes and chickpea sundal is the most popular dish in South India. This snack is quite filling , protein packed and can be served as after school snack or along with a cup of hot coffee. It is tempered with mustard seeds , cumin seeds and topped off with grated fresh coconut. You can also add raw mango pieces for some nice crunch.

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Brown Chickpeas
• 1 Medium Onion chopped finely / Sundal tastes better if you use shallots instead of onions. Use about 10 peeled and finely chopped shallots instead of onion
• 1 Tablespoon Sesame Seed Oil / Vegetable Oil
• 1/2 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds
• 1/2 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
• 1/2 Teaspoon Urad dal
• 1 Dry Red Chilli
• 1/2 Teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
• 2 Tablespoon Grated Fresh Coconut
• 1 Sprig of curry leaves
• a big pinch of hing / asafoetida
• salt to taste
• 1 Teaspoon chopped cilantro leaves for Garnish

Directions

1. Rehydrate chickpeas : If you are using dry chickpeas, soak them in water overnight. Pressure cook the chickpeas along with 2 pinches of salt and 1/2 cup water for 2 whistles. If you are using canned chickpeas , you can skip this step
2. In a frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon sesame seed oil over medium flame
3. When the oil is hot, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves
4. When they splutter, add urad dal. When the dal turns light golden color, turn the flame to low and add broken red chilli
5. Immediately add onions and sauté until onions are translucent.
6. Add hing and red chilli powder and give it a stir
7. Then add cooked chickpeas to the pan and mix everything together
8. Add grated fresh coconut and chopped cilantro leaves and give it a stir
9. Switch off the flame and serve warm with coffee