This Green Chickpea Salad is fresh, vibrant, colorful, healthy, and filling. Green chickpeas, also known as young garbanzo beans and Choliya in India, make this salad nutritious, Protein-packed, satisfying, and perfect for a weight loss diet!
Making the Green Chickpea Salad is easy, quick, and can easily be customized to your preferences. This salad is excellent for sides, snacks, and lunch boxes, as a light meal for a weight loss diet, or to maintain a healthy weight.
If you love green chickpeas (Choliya) as I do, you can also try this Green Chana Masala / Hare Chane Ki Sabji recipe.
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What are Green Chickpeas?
Green chickpeas are young, fresh garbanzo beans known as Choliya and Hare Chane in India. Young chickpea is also known as a winter superfood and a powerhouse of nutrients. In India, they are mainly available from local grocers during winter. While in Canada, this superfood can be found fresh or freshly frozen.
Green chickpeas are lightly buttery and tender in texture with a bright green color. They are high in fiber, protein-packed, and full of essential nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Fresh green chickpeas are slightly sweeter than dried ones and low in calories. We can roast the green chickpeas and enjoy them as a snack. Or, they are suitable for making salad, hummus, and curries.
Healthy and Protein-Packed Green Chickpea Salad
Green chickpeas are my absolute favorite! When I was in India, it was our family ritual to peel Choliya after dinner so my mom could make the green chickpea sabji the next day for lunch!
Fresh Hara Chana can be used in many recipes and eaten raw. One famous method is to roast them (with peel) on low heat, then peel and enjoy them.
I have used freshly frozen green chickpeas and cooked them in boiling water. If you use fresh green chickpeas in pods, you need to peel them and then cook them.
I have kept the salad simple with some basic seasonings and herbs. But you can season it as you prefer and add more or less vegetables according to your preference.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Green Chickpea Salad is vibrant, colorful, fresh, and delicious.
- It is healthy, protein-packed, nutritious, and filling.
- You can prepare this salad within a few minutes.
- Having this Hara Chana Salad is perfect for a weight-loss diet.
- Fresh green chickpea is a winter superfood and provides many health benefits.
- The recipe is vegan without onion and garlic.
Ingredients and Notes
- Green Chickpeas (Hara Chana / Choliya): These young chickpeas are readily available in Indian grocery stores during winter and can also be found frozen throughout the year. However, do not buy dried green chickpeas. This recipe uses fresh or freshly frozen green chickpeas.
- Celery: I like to add finely chopped celery to this salad. But if you do not have celery, you can skip it or add another choice of vegetable.
- Bell Peppers: Add any color of bell peppers. Instead of bell peppers, you can add finely chopped green peppers.
- Tomatoes: Add finely chopped tomatoes, removing some juice and seeds while chopping. This will prevent the salad from becoming soggy.
- Cucumbers: Remove the seeds if your cucumber has plenty of them and chop finely.
- Jalapeno or Green Chili: I added a small jalapeno with some seeds removed to add a slight heat to the salad. You can add green chili of your choice or red chili powder.
- Seasonings: I have kept it simple and added only salt and pepper. But you can add more ground spices, such as roasted cumin powder, red chili powder, or chaat masala.
- Coriander Leaves: Finely chopped cilantro enhances the earthy flavor of the salad.
- Lemon Juice: Lemon juice is necessary to enhance the flavors and add freshness to the salad. Add lemon or lime juice to taste.
How To Make Green Chickpea Salad
Cooking the Green Chickpeas
- Add water to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Add green chickpeas and salt and stir well.
- Boil the chickpeas until they are thoroughly cooked.
- It will take about 10-15 minutes.
- Once they are cooked, drain the water and set the boiled chickpeas aside to cool them completely.
Making the Salad
- Add boiled chickpeas, chopped celery, bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, and jalapeno peppers in a mixing bowl.
- Toss well.
- Add salt, pepper, chopped cilantro, and lemon juice.
- Mix well to combine.
- Taste and adjust the seasonings as required.
- Serve the Green Chickpea Salad as it is or as a side dish.
Serving Suggestions
Green Chickpea Salad is filling and satisfying. So, you can enjoy it as a light lunch or snack between the meals.
It can be served as a side dish with your mains or packed for a lunch box.
This salad is a sort of salsa and can be served as an appetizer with tortilla chips.
Storing Suggestions
You can refrigerate the leftover salad tightly covered for two days.
Recipe Tips
Green Chickpeas: This recipe is for fresh or freshly frozen green chickpeas, removed from the pods, and not for dried green chickpeas. And that is why it is easy to cook them by boiling them in water for a few minutes. So, if you want dried green chickpeas, you must soak them and cook them in a pressure cooker. You can use fresh or frozen Hare Chane for this recipe.
Vegetables: You can easily customize the salad by adding your favorite vegetables.
Seasonings: I have seasoned the salad with salt and pepper only. But you can add more ground spices of your choice.
Jalapeno: I removed the seeds from the jalapeno pepper to keep the green chickpea salad mildly spicy. However, you can add your choice of green chilis or use red chili powder.
More Easy Salads
Recipe Card
Green Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup (150g) fresh or frozen green chickpeas (Hara Chana / Choliya)
- Water to boil green chickpeas
- ¼ cup finely chopped celery
- ¼ cup finely chopped bell peppers
- ½ cup finely chopped cucumbers
- ½ cup finely chopped tomatoes
- 1 small jalapeno or green chili finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice or to taste
- Salt to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoon finely chopped coriander leaves
Instructions
Cooking the Green Chickpeas
- Add 2-3 cups water to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Add green chickpeas and salt and stir well.
- Boil the chickpeas until they are thoroughly cooked. It will take about 10-15 minutes.
- Once they are cooked, drain the water and set the boiled chickpeas aside to cool them completely.
Making the Salad
- Add boiled chickpeas, chopped celery, bell peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, and jalapeno or green chilis in a mixing bowl. Toss well.
- Add salt, pepper, chopped cilantro, and lemon juice. Mix well to combine. Taste and adjust the seasonings as required.
- Serve the Green Chickpea Salad as it is or as a side dish.
Storing Suggestions
- You can refrigerate the leftover salad tightly covered for two days.
Notes
- Green Chickpeas: This recipe is for fresh or freshly frozen green chickpeas, removed from the pods, and not for dried green chickpeas. And that is why it is easy to cook them by boiling them in water for a few minutes. So, if you use dried green chickpeas, you must soak them and cook them in a pressure cooker. You can use fresh or frozen Hare Chane for this recipe.
- Vegetables: You can easily customize the salad by adding your favorite vegetables.
- Seasonings: I have seasoned the salad with salt and pepper only. But you can add more ground spices of your choice.
- Jalapeno: I removed the seeds from the jalapeno pepper to keep the green chickpea salad mildly spicy. However, you can add your choice of green chilis or use red chili powder.
Thanks for coming! Let me know what you think.