This Indian Chickpea Salad is a classic—light yet hearty. Soft chickpeas tossed with crisp vegetables and a flavorful, lemony dressing make it perfect for a satisfying dinner or as a side.
I always look out for a light dinner after the weekends to keep things balanced, and this chickpea salad recipe has simple ingredients(like this Indian tomato salad).
Every bite is bright, hearty, and ultra-filling—it tastes like home. I never get bored with this Indian chickpea salad for lunch, dinner, or as a side.
You can enjoy it as a salad, a delicious sandwich, or a wrap filling. It’s a versatile dish that can go wherever you want it to.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
⭐️It’s vegetarian and vegan-friendly.
⭐️It's a light yet satisfying dish.
⭐️It’s super quick and effortless to make.
Ingredients
- Chickpeas: For today’s recipe, I used my homemade frozen chickpeas. I usually cook them in large batches, portion them out, and store them in the freezer. Whenever I need some, I thaw them quickly in the microwave. You can also substitute canned chickpeas.
- Cucumber: You can use Persian or English cucumbers.
- Tomatoes: Roma or cherry tomatoes work well for this recipe.
- Onion: I’ve used red onions today, but feel free to swap them with sweet onions if you prefer a milder flavor.
- Green chili: Use Thai green chili or Serrano peppers to give the salad a spicy kick. If you want a milder version, remove the seeds and the center rib to tone down the heat.
- Mint leaves: This recipe uses mint leaves as a garnish. You can swap them for cilantro or skip the garnish altogether depending on your preference.
- Red chili powder: You can substitute with cayenne pepper or paprika.
- Ground cumin: I used roasted ground cumin. You can either use store-bought or make it fresh at home. Just dry roast the cumin seeds over medium heat for a few minutes until they turn aromatic. Then, grind them in a spice grinder.
- Lemon juice: Fresh lemon juice for the fresh flavors.
How To Make Indian Chickpea Salad
- Combine chickpeas, cucumber, tomato, onion, green chili, and mint in a large bowl.
- Add red chili powder, ground cumin, and salt. Drizzle lemon juice over the salad, toss gently, and enjoy immediately.
♨️How To Adjust The Heat Level
This Indian chickpea salad has a moderate heat, mainly from the Thai chili peppers or Serrano peppers used in the recipe.
For milder heat, slice the chilies into large pieces and let them sit in the salad to infuse their flavor gently. Before serving, take them out to avoid biting into a chili.
For more heat, finely mince the peppers and increase the quantity slightly. The smaller the pieces, the more they spread throughout the salad, giving it that medium-level kick.
The Leftovers
- This salad tastes best when it’s freshly made and served right away.
- If you want to store the salad, you can refrigerate it and enjoy it within 24 hours.
- For longer storage, I recommend keeping the ingredients separate. Store the chopped veggies, cooked chickpeas, and dressing in individual containers. When you're ready to eat, toss everything together for the freshest flavor and texture.
- This recipe is not freezer-friendly—once frozen and thawed, the vegetables lose their crunch and become soggy.
FAQ
Soak dried chickpeas for about 8 hours or overnight. Then, you can cook them in an Instant Pot for about 8 minutes on high pressure, in a slow cooker on high for about 4 hours, or on the stovetop for 30–40 minutes until soft. Once cooled, you can store them in the freezer in recipes like this salad.
You can get creative here! Add-ins like corn, diced avocado, bell peppers, radishes, beets, or green peas work beautifully. To boost the flavor, you can sprinkle in Indian spice blends like garam masala or chaat masala.
Chaat, garam, or roasted cumin powder are great options. If you have black salt (kala namak), swap it instead of regular salt for a slightly tangy, sulfur-rich kick.
It goes great with Indian flatbreads like naan or roti. You can also serve it with rice or as a side with grilled fish or chicken. Or enjoy it on its own as a light, refreshing meal!
More Chickpea Recipes To Try
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know your thoughts in the 📝 comments section below the recipe.
📖 Recipe
Indian Chickpea Salad
Ingredients
- 1½ cups cooked chickpeas or 1 can, drained and rinsed
- 1 cucumber diced
- 1 tomato diced
- ½ onion finely chopped
- 1 green chili finely chopped (optional)
- 6 mint leaves
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon salt adjust to taste
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine chickpeas, cucumber, tomato, onion, green chili, and mint.
- Add red chili powder, ground cumin, and salt.
- Drizzle with lemon juice over the salad.
- Toss gently until everything is well mixed.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- You can use homemade frozen chickpeas or canned chickpeas for convenience.
- Swap mint leaves with cilantro or skip the garnish based on your preference.
- Adjust the heat by removing chili seeds for milder flavor or finely chopping chilies for more spice.
- Best enjoyed fresh; refrigerate leftovers and consume within 24 hours for best taste and texture.
- Not freezer-friendly; store chopped veggies, chickpeas, and dressing separately if prepping ahead.
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