My mom used to make this chickpea bell pepper dish a lot when I was a child, and it’s always been my favorite ever since! This healthy Chettinad side dish has plenty of protein and a great crunch, making it the perfect pair to rice and roti.
Add chickpeas to a mixing bowl 
Soak in water for 6-8 hours 
Add toor dhal, water, turmeric powder and oil to a pressure cooker 
Pressure cook toor dhal 
Pressure cook chickpeas 
Add methi seeds to hot oil 
Add curry leaves, onions and green chilies 
Add tomatoes and bell peppers 
Add sambar powder 
Add chickpeas 
Add toor dhal 
Add tamarind extract 
Prepare tempering 
Pour tempering over pachadi 
Garnish with cilantro 
Chickpea Bell Pepper Pachadi
My mom used to make this dish a lot when I was a child, and it's always been my favorite ever since! This healthy Chettinad side dish has plenty of protein and a great crunch, making it the perfect pair to rice and roti.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 bell pepper (any color of your choice. I used red) (chopped)
- ½ cup onion (chopped)
- 1 tomato (chopped)
- 1 cup chickpeas
- ⅓ cup toor dhal
- 4 green chilies (cut in half lengthwise) (adjust to taste)
- 1 tbsp sambar powder
- 1 small marble sized tamarind (soaked in ⅓ cup water)
- 6-10 curry leaves
- 1 tbsp cilantro (chopped)
- 4 cups water
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- ½ tsp methi seeds
- 2 tbsp oil (for pachadi)
- 1 tsp oil (for cooking toor dhal)
- salt to taste
For tempering:
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- ½ tsp urad dhal
- 1 red chili (split in half)
- ¼ tsp asafoetida (also known as hing or perungayam)
Instructions
- Add chickpeas to a mixing bowl. Wash and soak in 2½ cups of water. Let the chickpeas soak for 6-8 hours.
- Add toor dhal to a pressure cooker and wash thoroughly. Add 1 cup water, turmeric powder, and 1 tsp oil to the cooker. Pressure cook for 3-4 whistles. The toor dhal should be al dente. Set aside.
- Next, add salt, as desired, and pressure cook the soaked chickpeas. Cook for 4-6 whistles. The chickpeas should be soft. Drain the excess water and set aside.
- Add 2 tbsp oil to a pan. Once hot, add methi seeds.
- Once methi seeds become darker in color, add curry leaves, chopped onions and green chilies. Saute for 30 seconds.
- Then, add chopped bell peppers and tomatoes. Saute for 30 seconds.
- Add sambar powder and mix well. Cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the cooked chickpeas and ½ cup of water, if needed. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Next, add tamarind extract and cook on medium flame for 5 minutes. Check for salt and spice and adjust as needed.
- In a separate pan, add 1 tbsp of oil.
- Once hot, add mustard seeds, urad dhal, red chilies and asafoetida. Once the mustard seeds start to crackle, remove the tempering from the flame.
- Pour tempering over pachadi and garnish with cilantro.
- Serve hot with rice or roti.
