Black Chick Peas Salad/Chat

This is my favorite snack and salad. This can be served as a side dish, or salad, or as an appetizer. I just like to munch on it as afternoon snack, pretty healthy too. As you may have noticed,  this is a re-post, but this time I added some more ingredients to this.  There is no hard and fast rule, you can add and delete ingredients based on what your palate desires or what you have in your fridge and pantry.

Ingredients:
* 2 cups Black Chick peas (available at local Indian grocers)
* Water to soak the Chick peas
* 4 cups of water to cook the chick peas
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 2 tea bags
* 2 teaspoon salt

For salad and garnish:
* 1 white/yellow onion finely chopped
* 1 red onion finely chopped
* 5-6 spring onions chopped
* 3-4 Roma tomatoes finely chopped
* 1 Seeds from 1 Pomegranate 
* 1 Jalapeno or Serrano  pepper, seeds and vein taken out finely chopped
* 1 bunch of  Cilantro leaves finely chopped
* 2 fresh limes

* Pickled beets 8 pieces finely chopped (I bought these from Costco) or one boiled and finely chopped beet
* 2 small boiled and peeled potatoes and  cubed in small pieces (optional)
* 1 cup of Fine Sev (Indian chick peas noodles available at local Indian grocers in snack packs)

Method:
* Wash the the chick peas with water.
* Soak the chick peas overnight in water.
* Next day add salt, baking soda and pressure cook them with teabags.
* Let the pressure cooker cool.
* Take out the chick peas, drain all the water, discard the tea bags.
* Transfer the boiled chick peas in a bowl.
* Let them cool to room temp

You can buy ready made chat masala or you can make the masala as follows:
To make spice mix (chat masala)
* 1 teaspoon black salt
* 1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
* 1 teaspoon ground black pepper (coarse)
* 1 tablespoon roasted cumin seeds powder
* 1 tablespoon of  Mango powder
* Table salt or to taste
Mix all of the above and set aside.

When ready to serve,  you can put it all together as follows:
* You can make it as individual serving or mix all in a bowl to serve immediately.
* Take the boiled chick peas in a bowl
* Add chopped onions, tomatoes, cilantro, jalapeno or Serrano pepper,  beets, boiled potatoes, spice mix, lime juice and mix well.
* You can adjust spices and ingredients depending on your taste.

* For garnish you  add pomegranate seeds and for extra crunch sprinkle Sev (Indian fine Noodles) on individual serving of this yummy salad. Garnish with some more cilantro if desired.
* You can make the same salad with canned white Chick peas (Garbanzo beans) but the taste of the black chick peas is totally different that that if Garbanzo beans.

Recipe and Photographs by Surekha