Chickpea Sundal
The Tamil festival and beach snack: boiled chickpeas tempered with mustard seeds, curry leaves and chillies, finished with fresh coconut and a little raw mango.
- Region
- Tamil Nadu
- Status
- Traditional
- Diet label
- Strictly vegetarian, egg-free
- Time
- Soak 8 h · Prep 10 min · Cook 30 min
- Serves
- 3 (about 130 g each)
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Good for
- Evening snack, festival offering (Navaratri), tiffin
- Tags
- Good source · High fibre · Dairy-free · Soy-free · Whey-free · Gluten-free* · No added sugar · Meal-prep friendly
- Allergens
- None of the major allergens (contains coconut; check hing)
Nutrition (estimated)
- Calories
- 200 kcal
- Protein
- 8 g
- Carbs
- 21 g
- Fat
- 8 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
Headline values are per serving, as written.
| kcal | Protein | Carbs | Fat | Sat fat | Fibre | Total sugars | Protein per 100 kcal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per serving | 200 | 8 g | 21 g | 8 g | 5 g | 6 g | 5 g | 4.0 g |
Good source. IFCT 2017 has no kabuli chana entry; USDA values are used. Coconut and coconut oil supply most of the saturated fat; groundnut oil reduces it by about 2 g per serving. Values checked against IFCT 2017 on 14 Oct 2026.
Ingredients
- 120 g kabuli chana, dry
- 20 g fresh grated coconut · 30 g raw mango, finely chopped (optional) · 2 tbsp coriander
- Tempering: 8 g coconut oil · ½ tsp mustard seeds · 5 g urad dal · 2 dry red chillies · 10 curry leaves · pinch of hing
- 4 g salt
Method
- Soak chana 8 hours. Pressure-cook with 500 ml water and a pinch of salt for 1 whistle on high and 15 minutes on low, until soft but whole. Drain well.
- Heat coconut oil; add mustard seeds. When they pop, add urad dal and fry until golden; add red chillies, curry leaves and hing.
- Add the chana and salt. Toss 2 minutes on medium.
- Off the heat, add coconut, raw mango and coriander. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Protein optimisation
- Chickpeas supply 7.5 g per serving; urad dal and coconut 0.5 g.
- Boost: mix in 50 g cooked moong sprouts per serving (+3.5 g protein, +40 kcal), or serve with a glass of chaas made from 150 g curd (+5 g protein, +90 kcal).
Variations, serving and storage
- Regional: Kerala-style — use kala chana and coconut oil, with a pinch of black pepper.
- Substitution: any pulse works — green moong, black-eyed beans (karamani), or peanuts (higher fat).
- Storage: 2 days refrigerated; add coconut just before serving.
- Food safety: fresh coconut spoils quickly; refrigerate sundal within 2 hours.
- Meal prep: cook chana ahead; temper on the day.
Nutrition values are estimates calculated from the Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (ICMR-NIN) and typical product labels. They have not been laboratory-analysed and will vary with your ingredients, brands and cooking. Recipes are for healthy adults and are general information only, not a substitute for advice from a doctor or qualified dietitian. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, cooking for children, have food allergies, or live with kidney disease, diabetes or any other medical condition, please take professional advice about your diet. From the collection Protein-Rich India by Dr. Shantanu Deshpande · drshantanudeshpande.com