Beans Chaat (Cold Beans Salad)

This amazing Chaat or a cold Salad is out of this world and bursting with flavors. Keep it for a few days in the fridge and enjoy the ease and the convenience for a while. It is great for picnics, road-trips, lunches and get-together.

Prep Time: 25 min
Chill Time: 1 hour
Serves: 6

Ingredients:

Kidney Beans (Rajma): 1 can (approx 1.5 cups)
Black Beans – 1 can (approx 1.5 cups)
Garbanzo Beans (Channas) – 1 can (approx 1.5 cups)
Bell Pepper- 1/2 cup, chopped
Radish – 1/2 cup, chopped
Firm Tomato – 1, de-seeded and chopped
Cucumber – 1/2 cup, de-seeded
Carrots – 1/2 cup, shredded
Onions – 1/2 cup, fine sliced (yellow, red or sweet)
Green Chillies – chopped fine, optional
Salt – to taste
Chaat Masala – 1/2 tsp or to taste
Garam Masala – 1/2 tsp
Red Chili Powder – to taste
Roasted Cumin Powder – 1 tsp
Mint Chutney or Coriander Chutney – to taste
Tamarind Chutney – to taste

Sev – for garnish
Cilantro – for garnish

For the Dressing:
Thick Yogurt – 1 cup
Salt – to taste
Chaat Masala – 1/2 tsp or to taste
Roasted Cumin Powder – 1/2 tsp
Red Chili Powder – to taste

Method:

1. Drain and wash the beans.
2. In a big bowl, combine the Beans, the chopped vegetables and the spices. Mix well.
3. In a separate bowl combine the ingredients of the dressing and mix.
4. If being served immediately, mix the dressing with the beans and vegetables and serve.
5. If being stored for later, chill everything in the refrigerator till ready to serve.
6. Garnish with Sev and chopped Cilantro right before serving.

Tip:

1. This salad/chaat stays good in the refrigerator for days, make a big batch and use over days.
2. Use your choice of different beans or just one single bean – it tastes great either way.

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63 thoughts on “Beans Chaat (Cold Beans Salad)

  1. H&A,

    I am Planning a birthday party for my hubby in april.will be inviting 10-15 people for dinner.plz give me some ideas for dinner.plz reply soon.

    thanks

    1. Hi Payal,

      You will first have to choose a theme (Punjabi, South Indian, Mexican, Italian, etc) and then go from there.

  2. Hi Hetal and Anuja,

    i live in US.just made this dish..it is yum yum and super yum 🙂 just wondering if i can add cannelini beans to it instead of chick peas. as i am making chole( from ur site)in main course for a get together.plz reply soon.

    Hats off to your great work. Any party, I dont panic. I will just refer your videos.i know u guys r there hehe:) Thanks!

    1. Hi Payal,

      Any type of beans will work for this recipe but cannelini beans are a little softer in texture so be careful while mixing so they don’t get mushy.

  3. Hey Hetal and Anuja – I made this salad for the party that just got over and received very very good comments for it. I cooked the beans by soaking it in the “easy bean soaking” that you showed in one of your tips. Few changes that I made in this was that I added some sauteed mushrooms and broccoli instead of radish and cucumber. It tastes SO VERY GOOD. Thanks a ton for this recipe!

  4. Hi Hetal,

    Recently I have moved in to US and you know what! It’s such a great releief to see your recipe videos. Now i am very less concerned what to and how to cook as mom stays far all the way to India. I am enjoying it 😉 I am not a lousy cook any more…hehe

    Thanks..

  5. Vanakam Anuja & Hetal!

    Thanks a million for posting wonderfull stuffs. Your website is so reliable, I’am more than satisfied as my family & friends compliments my cooking. I am more confident perhaps at times dare to do some experiments too:-) Thanks once again & keep posting.

  6. Just discovered this site recently and am so glad i did. I tried this dish for lunch and it was AMAZING!!! Site is really good with easy to follow instructions. Looking forward to trying more of the recipes.

  7. Thanks Hetal/Anuja. Chats are my pregnancy crave, but most of them aren’t filling enough. But, this recipe is my fav chat these days. It provides me with enough proteins for the day as well.

  8. Beans salad – v healthy, yummy, fantastic and easy-to-make recipe girls ! I tried this before Diwali and love taking this for lunch these days but without onion. I also made beans salad, reshmi chicken and Chicken Tikka (of course, all from stmc) as Entree for Diwali get-together. I chose these as I was able to prepare part of the recipes the previous day. Got lots of appreciation. I am passing all the credits to you both.

    H & A, I am planning for my little girl’s 3rd birthday party in December. I am inviting 10 kids of her age with their parents.Can you please give me ideas for kids meal (both boys and girls of Indian origin)? I always try recipes before the actual party just to assess myself.

    Hats off to your great work. Any party, I dont panic. I will just refer your video cookbooks. Thanks!

    1. Hi Tarini,

      Thanks so much for the feedback and the support! If you want a stress free meal idea that both kids and adults may like, you can try Vegetable Lasagna. It is not Indian but the dish is very flavorful and can be made ahead of time. Serve it with some salad and garlic bread and you have a complete meal.

  9. really! you guys are really smart ladies!..but aside all the recipes…my question is..how do you keep cooking alll those rich recipes (apart form the one above obviously) and stay so slim!!? 🙂

    do appreciate if u cud tell us how you manage your weight …hehehe

    1. please dont just tell me portion control and excecise..lolz!..i mean cmon! most of the recipes you make looks delish n obvioulsy has good enuf calories :P…and to think you have kids!..

      anyways, keep up the smart personality ladies…just loving it!

      1. Hi Amy,

        Well, first of all, thank you for the compliments!

        We’d love to tell you that there is a magic pill that keeps you slim…but unfortunately, there is none. You are absolutely right about portion control and exercise. However (and I am speaking only for myself), I can probably out eat any guy. I do practice portion control, but only for desserts and things that are not really healthy. I am a really big eater when it comes to normal everyday home food.

        I do have a secret though…. my sneakers! I put them on first thing in the morning and wear them all day (even when I am at home and not planning to go out anywhere). My sneakers mentally put me in “exercise” mode. If I am heating something in the microwave and have a minute or two to kill, I do some calf raises. Any few minutes I find in the day, I can do some sort of exercise (without ever going to the gym). Try some pushups leaning against the kitchen counter (away from the stove, of course). How about some leg lifts here and there? If you spread the exercises out through out the day, it doesn’t even feel like you did anything at all. Give it a try!

  10. Wonderful bean salad! Great flavor and texture, and fun to eat.

    I’ve made it twice now. The first time, it had the great flavor, but came out a bit soupy (probably the tomatoes I used).

    The second attempt came out fabulous. I used roma tomatoes (I guess they were serious about using “firm” tomatoes), drained the veggies for an hour after bringing them together, and hung my dahi for a couple hours. Perfection!

    Time to break out the dried beans for round 3. 🙂

  11. Hi there,

    This is not the first time that you have read my mind 🙂 I am in my first trimester, and have been prescribed to eat lots of chickpeas and rajma and I actually logged on to the website to make rajma as per your recipe (my friend made it using your recipe and it came out great). and what do I see when I log on to SMTC – just wat I need.

    Thank you so much!

  12. Can we refrigerate for a week with yogurt and all chutneys mixed in?? i’m thinking to make it this sunday for mon-fri lunch…
    please reply a.s.a.p. so i can go buy all ingredients on saturday.

    Thank you…ur repices are quickly prepared….thats what i love about this site..

  13. I tried this today. Used red beans, chickpeas and kala-channa. Since I pressure cooked it, they were a bit more cooked than in your video. It tasted amazing!! I never thought I would ever enjoy raw capsicum but I must say it tasted really good with this dish. Can’t stop talking about it with my friends! So healthy, so tasty and so simple..thank you so much!

    1. Also, since I have sensitive teeth, I don’t enjoy cold items. I had this slightly warm and fresh..shortly after I cooked the beans. It actually tasted very good.

  14. ahhhhhhhhh………..what can i say about this dish??? It is very very delicious…….thanks a lot Hetal and Anuja……Looking forward for more healthy recipes like this one…….

  15. I made this last sunday before this video come. I have added Black Channa, Maiza Beans, Green onion, and crushed Garlic. It came out nice and today I saw your video..wow !

  16. You guys are looking beautiful in those tops!

    Thanks for the recipe. I think this will be gr8 for school lunch. My kid will be spending lot of time on the bus back and forth to school + 6hrs at school. So one of the challenges I have is to give her some healthy and filling food for breakfast and lunch. This salad is a wonderful idea. Please provide few more such recipes. Thanks.

  17. Hi H&A,

    I am planning a trip in labor-day weekend, can you please suggest me something which I can make along with salad for picnic lunch.
    I think just salad wont suffice, so can you please give me some ideas regarding what to make with the salad for picnic ??

    Thanks in Advance,
    Ciao
    Ujjaval

    1. Hi Ujjaval,

      Try our Pasta Salad recipe. It is also a filling one. You can make sub sandwiches. Prep all the veggies at home so all you have to do is assemble them at the picnic. Take along dressings, mayo, sliced cheese, jalapenos, etc. It will be a full, simple meal.

  18. Hi Hetal & Anuja,

    I always make this as a salad but i use only black beans and add cucumber,bell pepper,cube carrots and deseeded tomatos and since i use as a salad i don’t add chutneys n yogurt but do add all those spices and lemon juice and packed for my sons school lunch with chips or sometimes khakharas. This only black beans salad is also called black beans salsa but i am not using onions caus it smells in lunch at work.
    Now i am going to try your version. Thanks

  19. Hi Anuja and Hetal,

    You guys are doing a great job. I love your recipes. I have tried many of them and all of them have turned out really well. Thank you very much for that!!

    Today I had a chance to taste pumpkin bars (with frosting on top) baked by an Indian family. It was very delicious. I have been looking for pumpkin bar recipes that match what I ate today. Unfortunately, none of the recipes posted online look like what the family had baked, and I don’t know the family to ask for the recipe. I guess there was an Indian touch to the baked bars. Since you guys are exponents in fusion of recipes, I thought your website would be the best place to stop by. I guess you haven’t posted pumpkin bar recipe on your website. So if you don’t mind, could you please post a pumpkin bar recipe?

    Thanks!

    1. Hi Sheetal,

      Have never tried ranch but it should work. The only thing that might be a problem is that the ranch flavor may clash with the chaat flavor. You may want to try it out on a small portion before adding it in to the whole thing. Also, yogurt is a healthier option unless you use fat free or low cal ranch which (in my opinion) is not that great in flavor.

  20. Dear H & A,

    you guys r really my saviour angles!I have been having these hunger pangs from the time I conceived and reaaly do not have the patience to cook every time I am hungry. So I am going to make a big batch of this salad and devour whenever I am hungry!

    Thanks a ton!

    –Gauri

  21. hi guys ,will definitly try this exciting recipe this weekend for our father,s day bbq.will let you know how well it went down with the family.thanks again for a delightful recipe .keep up the good work
    kamla nz

      1. This is sooooo delicious! I made it with the boiled cubed potatoes the other day for a party as I had no radishes at the time. It was a huge hit. This is an excellent party item. It’s so worth the extra time it may take.

  22. Hi,
    Healthy recipe.Can i cook the beans and then make it like chaat?
    Thanks & do keep up the wonderful job you do
    Jayashree

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