To cook the dried chickpeas, soak ½ cup dried chickpeas overnight or for 8 to 9 hours in enough water in a bowl. Next day drain all of the water. Rinse the chickpeas once or twice in fresh water. Again drain the water.
Then pressure cook the chickpeas in 2 litre stovetop pressure cooker adding 2 cups water + ¼ teaspoon salt till they are completely cooked and tender. They should have melt in the mouth texture with no bite in them. I pressure cooked them for 11 to 12 minutes on medium heat.
You can also cook the chickpeas in an Instant pot adding water as needed.
When the pressure settles down on its own, then only open the lid and strain the chickpeas. Let them become warm or come to room temperature.
Making aloo chana chaat
Take 1.5 to 2 cups cooked chickpeas in a mixing bowl. You can also use canned chickpeas.
To the cooked chickpeas, add chopped boiled potatoes. You will need 2 medium potatoes which have been boiled and peeled. Mix well.
Add green chutney, tamarind chutney and red chili chutney. Add the chutneys as per your taste preferences.
Add finely chopped onions and finely chopped tomatoes.
Mix everything very well. Check the taste and add any of the chutney if needed.
Take a portion of the chaat on a serving plate.
Sprinkle a pinch or two of chaat masala, roasted cumin powder and black salt or regular salt as required.
Sprinkle some crushed papdi on top.
Sprinkle some sev on top.
Lastly add a touch of chopped coriander leaves. Drizzle some lemon juice if you prefer.
Serve aloo chana chaat immediately so that the sev does not become soggy.
Notes
For a low fat and healthy version, skip the papdis and sev.
Use fresh chickpeas in their shelf life. Avoid using aged chickpeas as they take lot of time to cook.
You can vary the amount of the chutneys and spices according to your taste.
You can make this chaat without potatoes and onions.
You can also skip the chutneys and only add the ground spice powders as mentioned in the recipe.
A slightly richer variation of this chaat can be made by adding some beaten curd. You can also add some roasted peanuts.