Horse gram Sundal

Sundal is a popular roadside snack from South India (mainly Tamil Nadu). Boiled pulses stir fried with simple spices and garnished with fresh coconut, lemon juice and cilantro, it is high in fiber and low in calories.

And quite interestingly there are lots of variations even for such a simple recipe. Some prefer to make it with the sprouted lentils while others prefer to add grated carrots/beetroot/cucumber to it. The regular version has lots of onions (and sometimes even garlic) going into it while the one made on festive days especially 'Ganesh Chaturthi' or 'Vinayaka Chaturthi' is sans these condiments.

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Read on for the recipe -

Preparation Time - 20 mins

Ingredients -

• 1 cup horse gram /kolotho/kollu
• 1 large onion (chopped into medium sized pieces)
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp urad dal
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 2-3 dry red chili
• a pinch of asafoetida
• a pinch of turmeric
• 2 tsp oil
• salt to taste
• freshly grated coconut/ finely chopped cilantro for garnishing

Preparation - Wash and soak the horse gram overnight.

Cook it with 2/3 cup water, a pinch of turmeric and salt to taste in a pressure cooker. Allow for 4-5 whistles. Remove from flame and keep aside till steam escapes.

Open the lid and strain the boiled lentils. Do not throw the water as it can be used for making rasam.

Cooking - Heat oil in a wok. Add the broken red chilis, urad dal, mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Once the urad dal starts turning a little brown, add asafoetida, curry leaves and onion. Fry till onion turns translucent.

Add the boiled lentils and stir fry for 2-3 mins. Adjust the salt if required.

Remove from the wok and garnish with fresh coconut/cilantro. Serve as a healthy afternoon snack .

Note - Add a little lemon juice and finely chopped green chili to add extra zing.  Avoid the onions when making it for Navratri or on any other fasting occasion !!

Kala Chana Sundal

A very easy and tasty snack, it hardly calls for any effort. Commonly sold on the beaches and roadsides, sundals have now become the staple 4'o clock snack in my home.

For those unaware of the benefits of eating chana, a single cup of boiled chana provides you with 1/3rd of the day's protein requirements. Plus it is loaded with dietary fiber which helps lower cholesterol,  regulates blood-sugar levels and also prevents constipation. It is a good source of potassium, sodium, iron, calcium and folate. But for those who have been advised for limit their sodium intake, go easy on the salt please.

Read on for the easy recipe -

Preparation Time - 15 mins ( includes a lot of standby time )

Ingredients -

• 1 cup kala chana
• 2 tsp urad dal (skin removed)
• 1-2 sprig curry leaves
• 2-3 green chillis (slit or chopped)
• 1/5 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 pinches of asafoetida
• 1 1/2 tsp oil
• salt to taste
• a pinch of turmeric (optional)
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• freshly grated coconut (optional)

Preparation - Wash and soak the channa overnight.

Cooking - Take the drained channa in a cooker with 1 1/2 cup water. Add salt to taste and turmeric. Close lid and cook for 3-4 whistle (till it is soft but not mushy).

Allow the steam to escape before opening lid.

Heat the oil in a wok. Add the mustard seeds and green chillis. Fry for 10 sec before adding the urad dal.

Once it urad dal turns light brown, add the curry leaves and asafoetida.

Add the boiled channa and fry for 2-3 minutes.

Remove from flame and serve with a dash of lemon juice and grated coconut.

Chickpeas Sundal

This is another popular variation of the 'Peanut Sundal' recipe posted earlier. Unlike the peanut sundal which is an instant variety, this requires overnight soaking of the chickpeas or garbanzo beans. However one can use the canned variety to omit this step.

A perfect snack for the summers with its high protein content, this is a hit with kids. Read on for the super easy recipe:

Preparation Time - 15 mins ( including 10 mins standby time )

Ingredients -

1 cup chickpeas/kabuli chana/garbanzo beans
2 tsp vegetable oil
2 tsp skinless urad dal (black lentil)
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1-2 dry red chilli
4-5 curry leaves
1 pinch asafoetida (hing)
1-2 tbsp grated coconut ( though I have skipped it )
a dash of lime juice
coriander leaves for garnishing
a few slivers of raw mango (optional but it really adds a lot of flavor)

Preparation - Wash and soak the chickpeas for 8-9 hours or overnight.

Cooking - Boil the soaked chickpeas in salted water till tender. (I used a pressure cooker and gave 3 whistles on medium flame). Drain off excess water and keep aside.

Heat the oil in a wok. Add mustard and urad dal. Fry till urad dal starts to turn a little brown.

Add curry leaves, broken red chilli and asafoetida. Fry for 10 seconds.

Add the boiled chickpeas and stir fry for 4-5 minutes.

Add the coconut, mix in and remove from flame.

Add coriander leaves and lime juice when serving.

Peanut Sundal (Verkadalai Sundal for Navratri)

Sundal is a quick stir-fried snack made with white chick peas or garbanzo beans. The beans are soaked overnight and cooked till soft but not mushy. This dish can also be prepared with peanuts, horse gram, whole green moong and kala channa. While the seasoning is kept minimal and the same for each preparation, they taste quite different as each legume has its own distinct flavor.

While the recipe is said to originate from Tamil Nadu, it is quite common to locate a street-side vendor selling a variety of sundal anywhere in South India. It is also used as a prasad or 'neivaidyam' during the Navratri fasting.

It was the ease to preparation and the protein content that made me try this as a 4 o' clock for my kid. Read on for the recipe:

Preparation Time - 15 mins ( including 10 mins standby time )

Ingredients -

1 cup peanuts (with skin)
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp skinless urad dal (black lentil)
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1 dry red chilli
4-5 curry leaves
1 pinch asafoetida (hing)
1 tbsp grated coconut ( though I have skipped it )
a dash of lime juice
coriander leaves for garnishing

Cooking - Boil the peanuts with a little salt till tender. (I used a pressure cooker and gave 4 whistles on medium flame). Drain off excess water and keep aside.

Heat the oil in a wok. Add mustard and urad dal. Fry till urad dal starts to turn a little brown.

Add curry leaves, broken red chilli and asafoetida. Fry for 10 seconds.

Add the boiled peanuts and stir fry for 4-5 minutes.

Add the coconut, mix in and remove from flame.

Add coriander leaves and lime juice when serving.

Note - While some like it hot, I prefer to have it at room temperature.