Every Saturday or Sunday my family would make their weekly errands run to Liberty Avenue in Queens, NY, to purchase all of our vegetables and West Indian baked goods for the week. During our visit to the West Indian stores, I would always make sure I picked up a pack of fried channa (chickpeas) to snack on in the car. The most popular brand of fried channa I remembered buying was Patsy’s. It was tasty and had the right amount of salt and pepper, not the mention the crunch was just right. It’s not typical to make this at home since it is time consuming and easily accessible in West Indian stores. But if you are feeling brave, give it a try, trust me you will love it.
Since I cannot easily access a pack of Patsy’s split channa, I decided I would just have to make it myself to satisfy this craving. If you haven’t noticed, I have also been trying different methods to try to make some of our favorite West Indian foods a bit healthier. Oven-roasting these chickpeas instead of frying them definitely saves a lot of calories. And to be honest, you can’t tell a major difference in terms of texture. It was just as crunchy and tasty as the fried version.
Method
I used Goya, but you can use any brand of dried chickpeas, make sure it is 1 lb.
Soak beans overnight in 6 cups water. You can also follow the directions on the back of the package on how to reconstitute the beans.
In the morning, the beans will change color and also plump up
Drain beans
You can put the beans back into the same bowl/pot that was used to soak them in.
Dry beans thoroughly with a paper towel to remove excess moisture.
Add these seasonings to the chickpeas, if you do not want them spicy then skip the cayenne pepper!
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. You need a baking sheet big enough so that the chickpeas can lay flat and not on top of each other.
Bake for 50 minutes at 350 degrees, let it cook and enjoy your healthy snack!
Oven-roasted Chickpeas
Fried Channa (Chickpeas) Made Healthier
Ingredients
- 1 lb dry chickpeas
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Soak beans overnight in 6 cups water, beans will swell by morning. Or, you can soak beans in 6 cups water and boil for 10 minutes, then leave for 4 hours to swell.
- Once beans are swollen (reconstituted), drain in a colander and dry beans with napkins to remove moisture.
- Add oil, black pepper, salt, and cayenne pepper and toss well.
- Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spread chickpeas evenly so they are not laying on top of each other.
- Bake for 50 minutes at 350 degrees. You can taste one at this point to see if it needs to bake for a few more minutes, you want the chickpeas to be very crunchy.
Chennette says
that first shot of the channa is lovely. now I am craving fry channa 🙂 spicy!
Nikki says
Hey! Jus wanted say i made it and it turned out great!!!! It's the first time I tasted it also! My husband loves it! Thank u sooo much! 🙂
Anonymous says
Do you need to stir the channa every now and then whilst it is baking?
Mary Ann
Alica says
Hi Anonymous- I turned mine a few times. Let me know how it turns out!
-Alica
Anonymous says
Hi Alica, I made the Fried Channa tonight and it was excellent. I doubled the recipe and got 2 pans.
The first pan I baked on the middle rack but found that it had a soft texture even though I cooked it longer than the 50 mins. recommended.
I decided to bake the 2nd pan on the second rack from the bottom (the one just below the middle) and the channa was EXCELLENT. It turned out very crispy and one would never be able to tell it was baked and not fried.
Thanks very much for posting such a healthy recipe that doesn't have to be fried but tastes soooo good.
Mary Ann
Vix P. says
I so wanna try this right now, 9pm & craving channa. Luv Luv Luv your recipes. – Cindy P
Alica says
That is wonderful Mary Ann! Good thing you tried the second batch differently, it's all about the experimentation!
Alica says
Thank you 🙂
Joanna Boodhan says
I think i will try this receipe. I have been to Trinidad recently and had chana with nuts in do you reckon you cook the nuts same way. ie soak first then fry. Joanna
Lotus Blossom says
Can I use canned chickpeas to make channa or is it better to use chickpeas that you soak?
Dunori says
Thanks much for the recipe. I think I might try sprouting the chick peas longer so it might end up more crispy than crunchy.
Unknown says
These recipes are great and all ingredients are quite aquireable. Thank you for thinking about us Guyanese cooks 🙂
Sue Goeyenbier says
Love Chana! This brings back my childhood memories of when we lived in Guyana. We used to buy them as a snack from the market served in newspaper cones! Definitely going to try this recipe.