Kala chana pulao is a pulao of black chickpeas and rice seasoned with aromatics and spices.
This high-protein, high-fibre, low-fat one-pot meal is a quick and convenient option when you are in a hurry or just too tired to cook an elaborate meal, but still want to eat delicious food.
Follow our easy chana pulao recipe for a healthy, nutritious, wholesome meal, which is also delicious, flavourful, and satisfying.
Added bonus: it’s vegetarian and vegan friendly.
Our kala chana pulao recipe is a wonderful dish for weekend lunches, dinner parties, and potlucks. It’s also a great lunch box or tiffin box option for both children and adults.
Learn how to make kala chana pulao that is a perfectly balanced one-pot meal that will have your guests demanding second helpings.
Our black chickpeas pulao recipe is irresistible, with its enticing fragrance of whole spices like bay leaf, cinnamon, clove, green cardamom, black peppercorn, and cumin seed.
Garam masala and pindi chana masala enhance the flavour and taste of this chana or chickpea rice dish. Saffron and turmeric impart a beautiful colour and flavour, nicely balancing the hearty and earthy chickpeas and the aromatic basmati rice.
If you don’t have basmati rice, you can use any other long grained rice for this brown chana recipe.
If you are in a hurry, you can use canned chickpeas, which do not need to be soaked, boiled, or pressure cooked. You can cook them directly with the masalas in step 5 in the recipe below.
In this kala chana pulao recipe, it is essential to place the pulao on dum (sealed over low heat) for 10 to 12 minutes for the flavours to blend and develop. Do not omit this step – it just takes 10 minutes but makes a world of difference to this chana pulao recipe.
Gently fluff the black chickpeas pulao with a fork when it is done. Garnish with coriander leaves or mint leaves if you like, though the fried cashew nuts sprinkled on top before giving dum already look wonderful.
Serve delicious kala chana pulao hot and fresh with any cooling raita of your choice. Tomato and onion thayir pachadi, bhindi raita, cauliflower and cucumber raita, mixed vegetable raita, pomegranate raita, or boondi raita are good choices.
Fresh garden salad or kachumber, along with hari chutney, pickle (achar), and papad make excellent accompaniments.
For a more lavish meal, serve kala chana pulao with side dishes like paneer butter masala, aloo gobhi, lauki kofta, dum aloo, chicken tawa masala, chicken curry, dal sultani, or egg kurma.
Wash it all down with a mango lassi or plain lassi for a yummy and satisfying meal.
Watch our quick kala chana pulao video and learn how to prepare and make kala chana pulao at home with all ingredients & easy cooking method.
Also, take a look at all our delicious Rice Recipes right here!