• Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

Sinamon Tales

by Monika

  • Home
  • Recipe Index
  • About
  • Work with Me
  • Media Mentions

White Chana Sundal | Spiced Chickpeas with Coconut

White Chana Sundal aka. Spiced Chickpeas with Coconut is a recipe I learnt after I got married, and sure forms an integral part of my Navratri now 🙂

You read some of my childIf you make this, share a picture with me on twitter, instagram or Facebook? I would love to hear what you have to say about it !hood Navratri stories yesterday and then like it happens often; childhood became history. I grew up, moved out of the house and married into a South Indian family. With a totally different culture and traditions and of course food. My world became richer by a whole new cuisine and cultural experience. This white chana sundal (Spiced chickpeas with coconut) is one such recipe which made my life so much richer 🙂

 

White Chana Sundal

My first Navratri after the wedding, everything was so different than I had experienced till then. There wasn’t any devi pooja, there was no mention of Rama which were the things I grew up celebrating. For us, the first 8 days of the festival were always about Durga, who according to the stories was hiding from Bhairo. without food for 8 days in the hills of now, what we know as Vaishno Devi. And when she killed Bhairo and came down from the hills she was fed by a local with Chola and Poori. The fasting and Kanya Pooja on Ashtami is a representation of the whole story in a way. The Dashami or Dushehra marks the killing of Ravana by Ram. Two of the most important Gods in the North of India are worshiped around this time.

 

But it was different down South, the 9 days of Navratri are marked by a popular and beautiful tradition of keeping Golu or Kolu in the house and inviting friends and families for blessings. The first time I saw it, I was fascinated. Usually various kinds of dolls are kept in odd number of steps. People get innovative and have themes around Golu, every year some new dolls are bought and added to the existing collection. Everyone in the house contributes in its decorations, even the kids get a dedicated area. A friend’s son this year has built the whole village with Lego in his area. Golu kind of reminds me of the Jhankis we used to make up north during Janmasthami.

From what I understand the Gods are placed on the highest of the steps, followed by humans and animals on the last. Kind of signifying the way of life and that God is superior to us all. We never kept Golu at home, one we aren’t too religious. Two, I am slightly uncomfortable with the idea of haldi kumkum. Specially because I live with MIL who is a widow, it makes me very sad to greet only a certain set of friends in a particular way and not the rest. If people would not get hurt, I would love to boycott the whole haldi kumkum practice itself. Yes invite people, sit together, eat some good food and say bye, but then like a lot of traditions and customs this is deep rooted and will take years to change.

But I love love love everything else about Golu, the decoration and of course the prasadam that is made every evening. One of the major ones being Sundal. I adore the very lightly spiced lentils with a generous sprinkle of grated coconut. I could eat bowls full of them. Of all kinds, my top favorite really is white chana Sundal or Chickpeas Sundal.

 

White Chana Sundal

 

So whether you are fasting or not, whether you have kept Golu or not – l the food across regions unite this Navratri. Enjoy the chola poori halwa and the sundals at the same time. You can be as lucky as me, I am sharing the recipes with you guys after all 🙂

White Chana Sundal | Spiced Chickpeas with coconut

White Chana Sundal aka. Spiced Chickpeas with Coconut is a recipe I learnt after I got married, and sure forms an integral part of my Navratri now 🙂
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 30 minutes mins
Total Time 8 hours hrs 40 minutes mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine south indian
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup chickpeas chana dried white /white
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp urad dal
  • pinch asafoetida of a generous /hing
  • 2 chilies dry red
  • 2 sprigs curry leaves
  • 4 tbsps coconut fresh grated
  • to taste salt
  • 1 tbsp ghee /oil

Instructions
 

  • Wash and soak chickpeas for 8 hours or overnight.
  • Next morning, rinse and boil the chickpeas in a pressure cooker along with salt. After one whistle, reduce the flame and let it simmer or 15 minutes. Set aside for steam to escape.
  • In a kadai, heat oil and add the mustard seed. Let them crackle and add urad dal, fry till it is lightly brown.
  • Add heeng, red chillies and curry leaves and fry further for 2 minutes.
  • Add the boiled and drained chickpeas and fry for 4-5 minutes.
  • Add grated coconut and turn off the heat. Serve warm

Notes

If you make this, share a picture with me on twitter, instagram or Facebook? I would love to hear what you have to say about it !
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Related

Tweet
Share
Pin140
140 Shares

Appetizers & Sides// Festivals/Holidays// Indian Appetizers// Indian Festivals// Kid-Friendly1 Comment

« Sama ki Poori | Barnyard Millet Flatbread
Chef Gary Mehigan’s Seven Culinary Wonders »

Comments

  1. Anindya Sundar Basu says

    October 7, 2016 at 2:24 pm

    Keep the stories coming.. Love reading them

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Get my new books on Salad in your inbox. Subscribe now

About the Author

Monika is an ex-IT person turned into a food blogger, consultant, home baker and an amateur food photographer. She loves music, writing, food, and travel, but not necessarily in that order ;)

Sin-A-Mon Tales is a canvas for her food memories. Apart from Sin -A- Mon Tales, Monika also writes for many online websites and publications. She's an avid reader and can always be found with a book in her bag, which mostly is as bright as her. She's an obsessive traveler and is always looking for the next food story. Read More…

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2025 · Hosted by WPfog