Chickpeas warm salad, also known as kadalai sundal or channa sundal is a healthy vegan and gluten free snack or breakfast, which is a widely popular breakfast in Sri Lanka. It’s very easy to prepare and a healthy way to get more protein into your diet. I have great childhood memories of my mum preparing this at least once in a week for breakfast. Initially I was a little fussy and refused it, same as my kids now, but they are now quite used to it. It is also important for my kids to know their culinary traditions wherever they live, rather than depend too much on preservative laden modern foods.

It’s also a popular street food in Sri Lanka, where some add some chilli flakes and vinegar to give it a tangy flavour as a snack. Sellers offer you this sundal in a paper cone, so you can carry it easily in while you are walking around and having a chat! We can commonly see sundal vendors and their parked pushcarts in most Sri Lankan beaches in the evenings.

This is also a common offering (prasadam) to Hindu gods on holy days.

Preparation and cooking time: 20 minutes

Diet: Gluten free, dairy free, vegan                                    

Serving: serves 10-15

Ingredients

• 2 cups of channa dhal
• 1 tbsp oil
• ½ tsp salt
• 1tsp fennel seed
• 1tsp mustard seeds
• 2 sprig curry leaves, finely chopped
• 2 dried red chilli, sliced
• ½ onion, chopped
• 2 tbsp coconut flakes

Instructions

1. Soak 2 cups of channa dhal in water for a minimum of 8 hours.
2. Rinse well and boil with 2 cups of water and salt for 30 minutes in a low heat or in a pressure cooker for 3-4 whistles. The final texture should be a touch mushy.
3. Strain the water and let it to cool.
4. In a wok, add 1tbsp of oil. Once the oil has heated up, add ½ tsp mustard. Once you hear the cracking sound from the mustard seeds, add half tsp of fennel seed, alongside finely chopped ½ onion, 2 sliced dried red chillies and some curry leaves and stir it for 2 minutes.
5. Add the strained chickpeas and coconut flakes and mix well.