Chickpea and canned tuna ‘chaat’ is a flavour explosion – no cooking required
Chaat, flavourful and textural savoury snacks found throughout South Asia, originated in India. A kaleidoscope of crunchy and fluffy textures doused in layers of sweet and tangy chutneys, cooling yoghurt and aromatic spices, it’s a flavour explosion – and no cooking is required.
The ingredient list is quite long, but you can pick up everything you need with a quick trip to an Indian grocer or the Indian section of the supermarket.
Ingredients
400g can chickpeas, drained
½ red onion, diced
1 small tomato, diced
1 tbsp lime juice
2 tsp chaat masala (see notes)
salt to taste
2 x 180g cans high-quality tuna in oil, drained
olive oil
½ bunch mint (about 25g), leaves picked
½ bunch coriander (about 25g), leaves picked
1 green chilli, thinly sliced
1 tbsp date and tamarind chutney (see notes)
1 tbsp Greek yoghurt thinned with 1 tsp water
2 tsp sev (see notes)
Method
Step 1
In a large bowl, combine the chickpeas, red onion and tomato with the lime juice, most of the chaat masala and a pinch of salt. Add the tuna and a good glug of olive oil, gently stirring through.
Step 2
Spread the mixture onto a large serving dish and scatter herbs and sliced chilli on top. Drizzle the dish with the date and tamarind chutney, followed by the yoghurt sauce and plenty of sev for crunch. Finish with another sprinkle of chaat masala and serve.
Notes
- Chaat masala is essential to the flavour of this dish. It’s a spice mix combining black salt, dried mint, mango powder, chilli powder, ginger powder and cumin. Sure, you can make it yourself, but it is easier to buy it.
- Look for date and tamarind chutney among the jars of preserves.
- Sev is a crisp noodle-like snack often made with chickpea flour or lentils – you could use aloo bhujia instead.
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Rosheen Kaul is the former head chef of Melbourne’s Etta, author of the cookbook Chinese-ish, and a Good Food recipe columnist.
