Channa Balls (Protein-rich non fried Chickpea Snacks)

Category: Kids Snacks 
Preparation Time: 15 mins + overnight soaking
Cooking Time: 20 mins   
Servings: yields around 18-20 balls

These Channa balls are made from the nutrient dense chickpeas and also these are not deep fried and hence very healthy for the growing kids:) The spices used here can be altered as per our taste.

Here i didnt cook the channa before grinding. We can also use cooked channa, in that case, we need to grind it coarsely without any water and if the consistency is wet and cannot make balls, we can use some binding agents like bread crumbs or corn flour or wheat flour to get the correct consistency.

Channa Balls

 Ingredients: 

• White Channa / Garbanzo Beans / Sundal - 1 cup
• Small Onions - 8-10 nos or 1 big onion, chopped
• Garlic - 4-5 cloves
• Coriander leaves, chopped - 1/4 cup
• Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
• Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
• Green chilly - add as per taste (Optional and can be avoided while making for kids)
• Salt - to taste
• Oil - as needed for pan frying

*We can adjust the spice powders as per our taste and preference, since making for kids, I avoid the chilly

**If it becomes little watery, we can add 1 tbsp of corn flour / wheat flour, but I didnt add here

Method:

1. Wash and soak the Channa for overnight and then rinse and allow to drain any excess water
   
   
   
2. In a blender, add the well drained Channa (water shouldn't be there) along with all other ingredients except oil
   
3. Grind them into a coarse mixture, we can also do the grinding in batches to get uniform coarse mixture
   
4. Mix it well and make small balls that could fit in the paniyaram pan 
   
5. Grease the paniyaram pan with few drops of oil in each hole
6. Once the pan becomes hot, place the channa balls one by one into the holes and drizzle few drops of oil over them
   
7. Cover and cook in medium flame until the lower side gets cooked and turns golden brown
8. Flip it over and allow to cook the other side in low flame; Do not cover it now
9. While its getting fried, if it looks very dry, we can drizzle few drops of oil and we need to rotate it often so that all the sides gets browned nicely
   
10. Once its done, transfer to serving plate and serve hot
    
11. We can have it with any sauces or chutneys or just as such:)