Chana sundal prepared with kabuli chana or chickpeas is a healthy dish as well as prepared during Ganesh chaturthi festival as well as Navaratri.
Check out my collection of Ganesh Chaturthi recipes in my website and Navaratri sundal recipes for 9 days.
You can make the same with black chana too. I love both channa white and the brown/black.
What is Sundal?
Sundal is a south Indian dish in which we use various legumes to make a stir fry, often a simple tempering with mustard, urad dal, asafoetida, curry leaves and garnished with Coconut.
There are many variations in the method, but basic preparation is above. Changing the legumes, we can make a wide range of sundal.
I often make chana masala or pindi chana for Aj. Sundal, I make only very rarely, but I love it.
This year we are not celebrating the festival as paati passed away, so made it last week and clicked too. Very simple recipe, but flavorful one.
Chana or kondakadalai is how we call. But when I was studying in Trichy, many of my friends call kondakadalai as Sundal as such.
It was funny for me for a while but then when I heard it from others too, then realized some people also call kondakadalai as sundal!
Cooking hack
How to cook chana perfectly?
Soaking the chana overnight or minimum 10 hours is a must for perfect cooked chana. This is the normal process I follow.
Make sure to wash, drain the soaked water and change to fresh water before cooking.
Adding salt while cooking helps to prevent over cooking and mushy results.
Have less time on hand, forgot to soak?
You can add ¼ teaspoon of cooking soda and pressure cook for 10 whistles in medium flame. Cooking soda helps softening the legume and gives soft cooked chickpeas.
Difference
What is the difference between white chana and black/ brown?
White chana is widely available and commonly used these days. It is cream in color, bigger when compared to the black chana.
It's softer skin and texture than the other one. Where as on the other hand, kala chana/ black chana/ brown variety is smaller, skin is thicker and have a slight dense texture.
I love both for it's own quality, but folks at home say brown chana has more nutritional value.
My notes
My hack to a perfect flavorful sundal is adding asafoetida divided at two stages, one while tempering and one raw along chana. Both give a distinct flavor as my mom says as well as keeps the gastric issue in check when you consume legume.
Add a drizzle of coconut oil, raw (cold pressed virgin oil works best) for an amazing flavor.
Related posts
Recipe card
Chana sundal recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup Chana Chickpeas/ Kondakadalai
- ¼ cup Coconut scraped
- ⅛ teaspoon Asafoetida
- Salt as needed
To Temper
- 1 teaspoon Oil
- ½ teaspoon Mustard
- 1 teaspoon Urad dal
- 2 Red chilli
- ⅛ teaspoon Asafoetida
- 8 Curry leaves
Instructions
Cook chana
- To start with, wash and soak chana overnight. Next day, drain water and wash one more time.
- Then, pressure cook it with salt and water just to immerse it for 4 – 5 whistles in medium flame.
Temper sundal
- After that, heat kadai with oil and temper with the items given under ‘To temper’ table.
- Continue by adding the cooked chana drained from water. Sprinkle the asafoetida.
- Keep stirring every now and then for 2 minutes until moisture evaporates.
- Finally, add the grated coconut and fry for a minute. Transfer to the serving bowl.
Notes
- You can add onion after tempering but for festivals we have to avoid onion.
- Also you can replace red chillies with green chillies.
- You can grind green chilli and coconut and add it at last instead of tempering and adding grated coconut towards end.
- I added salt while cooking. This prevents over cooking of chana.
- Sometimes if the soaking hour is less, then adding salt will prevent chana from cooking properly. In such cases, add salt after cooking chana.
Stepwise photos
Cook chana
- To start with, wash and soak chana overnight and drain the water, wash it again. Add fresh water.
- After that, pressure cook it with salt and water just to immerse it for 4 – 5 whistles.
Temper sundal
3. Then continue by heat kadai with oil and temper with the items given under ‘To temper’ table. Add the cooked channa drained from water.
4. Continue by stirring for 2 minutes until moisture evaporates and add the grated coconut and fry for a minute. Transfer to the serving bowl.
Delicious sundal is ready… Its very healthy guilt free snack!
Sudha Sabarish
Love this kind of sundal and use to prepare it very ofently with both varieties.
Sangeetha Nambi
Love this ever....
http://recipe-excavator.blogspot.com
Kaveri Venkatesh
You've presented even this simple sundal in such a beautiful and tempting way....looks awesome
Premalatha Aravindhan
Delicious sundal,luks gr8!
Veena Theagarajan
so yummy sundal! easy to make.. and healthy too
Great-secret-of-life.blogspot.com
sowmya's creative saga
looks delicious
Priya
My most favourite sundal,simply love it.
Jaya J
Really looks great.. ur stepwise pics is always helpful to beginners like me and ur tips are so useful... u help me learn cooking from the basics.. thank you so much..
Hamaree Rasoi
It never looked so beautiful....Simple yet tasty
Anamika Sharma
Hey...Addition of Coconut in the Chana's makes this dish really yum, I wasn't aware that it is called Sundal till last year ganesh chaturthi festival. I love this combo 🙂
Sharmilee! :)
Looks very flavourful....beautiful clicks too!!
jeyashrisuresh
Super tempting sundal and clicks are pretty
dassana
i love sundals. the pics are great with black background and simple styling.
ஸ்வர்ணரேக்கா
always love to view ur space both for tips & photos...
happy to hear that you studied in Trichy
Laavanya
Sundals are always a treat - simple, tasty and nutritious
ANU
wow these clicks are very inviting and appetizing...
happy to follow you dear...
Do visit my space....
SYF&HWS - Cook with Spices
South Indian Cooking (SIC) Series
Sangeetha
love this simple sundals anytime, loved your clicks, so inviting!!
divya
Healthy , delicious and flavorful.. Love it..
Sanoli Ghosh
Very healthy and flavourful sundal. Awesome clicks.
Reshmi Mahesh
Sundal look super with your clicks...simple and yummy preparation...
Mano Saminathan
Simple but delicious sundal! The photograph looks very nice!!
revathi santhanam
With a great pride i say, i ve become a big time fan of ours!!! Usually, i spend most of my time in facebook!! But then now, the site in which i spend most of my time is rakskitchen.. Not only that, i ve started loving cooking. Had never stepped into kitchen before. Since last week, i ve promised to myself to try one recipe of yours every week. Already started with Lady's finger fry!! Def it did nt turn out way too good.. But then quite happy for my first try.. Love u soooo much!!! And your recipes... Yumm *Mouth-watering* every recipe is! 🙂
Keep posting more recipes. And i promise to myself to try every single recipe that u have posted.
With love,
Revathi S
revathi santhanam
Also, to mention a great photographer!! The way you present your recipe is simply wowww!! 🙂
Top Cuisine avec Lavi
Great recipe! Looks delicious! the pictures are incredible!
Vanamala Hebbar
shundal looks delicious....