Sada Chana (Snack)

Customers use sada chana three ways. As it comes, with tea, for people who like their snacks to taste of the thing itself; chickpeas bring protein and fibre, so a handful genuinely fills a gap between meals. As a base, dressed at home with chaat masala, a squeeze of lemon and chopped onion, which turns the plain pack into your own masala chana at your own heat level. And as the calm bowl on a table where a spicier snack is also being served, because not every guest wants the hot one. If you do want the heat ready made, masala chana is the same chickpea fully coated; if you want the dry roasted style with the skin on, that is roasted chana.

Look for size and evenness. Good sada chana is plump and golden, not shrivelled, and the salt sits light on the surface rather than caked in the corners of the pack. A chickpea that is hard at the edges and soft in the middle was rushed; ours is cooked through evenly, which is the only real skill this simple snack asks for.

Airtight jar, cool and dry, away from the stove. Plain snacks show staleness honestly, with no spice to cover it, so buy the size you will finish in a few weeks.

Is sada chana the same as roasted chana? Close cousins, not twins. Roasted chana is the dry roasted bhuna style, usually eaten with its papery skin on. Sada chana is the plain salted whole chickpea snack, skin off, nothing added beyond salt.

Is it suitable for children? It is the chana we hand to children first, because there is no chilli in it. The pieces are firm, so for very small children a parent should judge, as with any hard snack.

WD Foods is the online store of Wahid Nimco, working from Quetta since 1990. We deliver across Pakistan in 3 to 5 business days, and the shop on Masjid Road is open every day from 9 AM to 10 PM. Browse the rest of the shelf in our pulses and sev collection.