Sundal is a stir-fried dish made with different types of lentils, legumes even grains from the cuisine of Tamil Nadu. This Channa Sundal has white chickpeas, spices and a good dose of freshly grated coconut. This dish is vegan and quite healthy too.
Rinse and soak the chickpeas overnight in enough water.
Drain the water from the soaked chickpeas and rinse a few times. Pressure cook the soaked chickpeas with 1 teaspoon salt and 3 to 4 cups water till they are tender and softened. You can cook chickpeas in a stovetop pressure cooker or in an Instant Pot. For cooking in a stovetop pressure cooker, cook chickpeas for about 12 to 15 minutes on medium heat or more if needed until the chickpeas are tender and soft.
Drain all the water from the cooked chickpeas and set them aside.
Making channa sundal
Heat oil in a pan. add the mustard seeds and urad dal. Heat on a low flame stirring often.
The mustard seeds will crackle and the urad dal will get browned.
They almost take the same time to cook on a low heat.
Immediately, add the curry leaves, red chilies and asafoetida. Fry for 10 to 15 seconds or until the curry leaves look crisp and the red chillies change color.
Now add the cooked chickpeas and salt. Stir and saute for 3 to 4 minutes on a low to medium heat.
Switch off the heat and add the coconut. Stir to combine well.
Serve the Channa Sundal as prashad or naivedyam to the deities.
Notes
A basic sundal recipe can be prepared with various legumes, lentils and grains. Using this recipe as a base you can choose to make sundal with your preferred lentils. Also do check more sundal recipes I have shared earlier in the post above.
When using canned chickpeas the dish comes together very quickly. Rinse the canned chickpeas a few times in water and add to the tempering mixture. Sauté for a few minutes and lastly finish with the coconut.
Instead of dry red chillies, you can use green chilies. Either slit them or add chopped. For a more traditional variation, you can choose to use crushed black pepper or ground black pepper instead of chillies.
For the oil, feel free to use sunflower oil, peanut oil, coconut oil or any neutral flavored oil.
For a gluten-free version of sundal, skip adding asafetida.