Chickpea Sundal – Spiced Chickpea Coconut Salad. Vegan Gluten-free Recipe

And just like that Summer is over, fall is here and the holiday season begins. Navratri, Dussehra, Diwali (Indian festivals through October) and then Halloween, Thanksgiving and more. I should have planned better and made some fall and holiday recipes in the Summer itself to avoid all the rush. Anywho, lets kickstart the celebrations with this simple snack / salad. 

Sundal can be made with any cooked legumes like chickpeas, split chickpeas, black chickpeas, black eyed peas, kidney beans and on and on. The cooked legumes are spiced with mustard seeds, curry leaves and urad dal, tossed in coconut and served hot or cold. Sundal is usually made with fresh coconut. But since freshly grated coconut is not available easily in regular grocery stores, I use dried coconut in this recipe.

Navratri basically means 9 nights. In western India, people come together to dance (Garba and Dandiya) every night, till wee hours of the morning. Check out this video to learn some Garba , here is a stage performance, and here a song from a hindi movie.

Simple Chickpea Sundal!

More festive recipes from the blog

Baked Wheat Mathri crackers, Gluten-free Mathri crackers,  
Roasted Chivda- Savory Spicy Trail mix of Puffed grains, nuts, dried fruits.
Indian Desserts like Besan Laddoo, Choorma, Kesar Burfi, Halwa etc. 

and yes that fudgy coconut laddoo in the below picture is coming up next. 

Chickpea Sundal. Chana Sundal 
Allergen Information: free of dairy, egg, corn, soy, gluten, nut, grain. Note: Asafoetida (hing) is generally ground with wheat or other starch like rice. Omit if you are not sure to make gluten-free or use certified gluten-free. 

Ingredients:
1/2 tsp organic canola or safflower or coconut oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal (black gram) or use mung dal (petite yellow lentils)
2 dried red chilies, broken into halves (cayenne or mild like california red)
10 curry leaves
a generous pinch of asafoetida (hing) – optional
3 Tbsp shredded coconut (dried or fresh coconut)
3 Tbsp water 
1.5 cups cooked chickpeas (canned or pressure cooked or slow cooker cooked)
1/2 tsp salt (less or more depending on if the cooked chickpeas are salted)

Method:

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add mustard seeds and urad dal. Mix and cook until the dal is golden brown. 
2. Add red chilies, curry leaves and asafoetida. Cook for 15 seconds. 
3. Add shredded coconut, water and mix. Cover and cook for a minute to rehydrate the coconut.
4. Add cooked chickpeas and salt. Mix well, Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Serve as is or as a side. Add chopped onion, tomato, cilantro and lemon juice and mix in for variation.

Note: If using fresh coconut, skip step 3 and add coconut after cooking the chickpeas for 5 minutes.  

Use any cooked or sprouted beans, black chickpeas, split peas, split chickpeas, black eyed peas, kidney beans etc. or use cooked grains like quinoa or millet.