Recipe | Quick Chickpea Sundal with Flax seed powder - A Spicy Festive Snack

If Navaratri is a time for playing Dandia in Western and Northern part of India, it is a time to showcase your culinary skills down South. A very popular recipe Sundal is made in most of the houses and shared with neighbors and family during Navaratri evenings after it has been offered to God. 
Many use coconut and spices to make savory Sundal while others opt for jaggery and make sweet versions of it. 
My children love the entire process of decorating the small dolls, making gardens with sand and calling friends to visit the same each day. Each day my MIL prepares a different Sundal alternating with a sweet and savory recipe. 
I came up with the idea of adding flax seed powder to this healthy and filling Sundal recipe and make it more nutritious. You can omit the same if you wish to, it will not make any difference. 

Ingredients;

• 1 cup Chickpeas
• 2 tbsp. grated fresh coconut
• 1 tbsp. Flax seed powder
• 1 green chilly
• 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
• Salt as desired
• Water for soaking
• Few sprigs curry leaves
• 1/2  tsp, lemon juice

Tempering;

• 1 tsp. mustard seeds
• 1 tsp. de husked black gram
• 1/2 tsp. coriander powder
• A pinch of asafetida powder

Method; Wash and soak chickpeas overnight. Or for 6-7 hours

Rinse the soaked chickpeas again with fresh water twice the next day and discard the water.

Dry roast flax seeds for 2-3 minutes in a pan and grind it into fine powder. Chop the green chilly finely. Grate coconut.

Pressure cook the soaked chickpeas with 2 cups of water for 2-3 whistles and let the cooker cool completely. Open the cooker and drain the water completely from the chickpeas.

You can also boil the soaked chickpeas in a large vessel full of water, but it takes long time and the some of the essential nutrients are also lost from the chickpeas.

Heat a wok and splutter mustard seeds, add de husked black gram (dhuli urad daal) and let it become light brown.

Add grated coconut, chopped green chilly, asafetida, salt, coriander powder, curry leaves and sauté for 2 minutes.

Add boiled  and drained chickpeas in it and mix well to coat with all the spices. Take off the flame and sprinkle flax seeds powder and drizzle the lemon juice. Mix well and serve.

Notes;

1. You can add a tsp. of grated ginger in the recipe for extra zing.
2. Use any legume such as dried peas, lentils, groundnuts and all kinds of Daal to make this Sundal. Just make sure that you cook the legume according to the time needed for it to become soft. Dried peas need overnight soaking and 2-3 whistles, while de husked green gram (dhuli moong dal) needs just about an hour of soaking and can be used as raw in this recipe to make Sundal.
3. Flax seeds add extra nutrition to this healthy recipe. 

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