This one sounds like an odd combination but they hit off pretty well – something like the chemistry of the geeky Farhan Akhtar and the glamourous Deepika Padukone in the movie Karthik Calling Karthik (which I very badly want to see and end my 15 month exile from the movie-hall), though I must admit that neither the chana nor the cabbage are as glamourous as Deepika, but the end result was almost there!
I found this variety of very small chana, almost like a baby of the big brown variety (lighter in colour too) The advantage is that they cook faster, their skins are more tender and according to me they taste better in salads where they blend nicely with the other ingredients instead of sticking out.
I’m not a big fan of raw cabbage in salads, so finely shredded cabbage and chopped onions were sauteed after some tadka and mixed into the dressing along with the boiled chana. For the dressing I used hung yogurt which is simple yogurt drained of all its water to get a thick cheese like remnant. You can beat this with a few spoons of milk for a creamier taste or use it as it is. If you have no time to hang, and if your yogurt is thick enough, then go ahead use it just like that.
We had this with microwaved crispy papad strips as dinner – the papads went crunch crunch against the chew-chew of the salad and on the whole it was a wholesome fun meal. I’m focussing on high protein dinners nowadays as I want to cut out carbs at night. This is a part of that series. I will share the other stuff I make in this series.
Chana Cabbage Salad
Low carb vegetarian dinners – 1
Serves 2
Chana cabbage salad with yogurt dressing - Low carb vegetarian dinner series
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup chana rd ( soaked overnight or for 4-5 hours) small
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- pinch asafoetida
- 1 cup cabbage finely shredded
- 1 onion medium , diced
- 1 tomato medium , deseeded and diced
For Dressing
- 1 cup yogurt hung
- to taste salt
- black pepper freshly ground
- 1 tsp masala or chat masala frankie or cajun seasoning
- pinch red chilli powder
- cabbage Shredded for garnish
Instructions
- Pressure cook the soaked drained chana with 1 1/2 cups water until soft - it took me three whistles and 6-7 minutes on sim. Since these chana varieties have a thick skin, they don't easily turn to a mush, so nothing to worry here. When the cooker has cooled off, drain chana and keep aside.
- In a wok, heat 1 tsp oil. Add the asafoetida, cumin and mustard seeds. Once they splutter, add the onions and cabbage with a pinch of salt, stir for 2 minutes on medium flame till slightly soft. Remove from the wok and cool.
- In a large bowl, combine all ingredients for dressing. Whisk well. Add the boiled drained chana, the cabbage-onion mix and toss to coat evenly.
- Garnish with shredded cabbage and serve chilled with papad or baked chip.
Lovely combination. KCK is that the movie name?Never knew.
nice salad. I want to watch KCK too
Thanks Latha – surprised you haven’t heard of the movie – released just the day before.Deesha – I hope i get to watch it before my enthusiasm fizzles out
Yipppe! looks delicious ! something mom and I could try too =)R.Rachel
channa and cabbage? i like both so i am not really finding the pairing that odd. looks great!
This looks like a good combo for me this week. I like the yogurt dressing
Hey just loved it was thinking if I could use lauki ka white sauce instead of curd dressing, am going to try it out and will let you know,,today will try beans salad..
This is a lovely idea!
A very fresh Idea.. though it is a common practice for us to use yogurt with vegetables in Pacchadis it is indeed unique to be using Channa!! Love the idea
Hope you guys try it out and like the taste of it :)Ujwala – lauki ka white sauce is more time consuming for me than just using yogurt :)Sandeepa – did you try it?
This is an interesting combo in your salad. BUt I like both so I’m sure its good.
When and where do you add the tomato?
Oh my god! i cant tell you how much i like this one..thanks for sharing..:)