Why You Need To Add

Choliya

AKA Green Chickpeas To Your Winter Menu

Quick Summary

What’s green, tiny, and works well in stir fries, curries, and pulao? It’s not peas. It’s choliya or hara chana, aka green chickpeas. Nutrient-dense, these tiny beans (also known as harbhara in some regions) are available extensively in winter and considered a superfood that can be enjoyed raw, roasted, or cooked into curries. And they deserve to be on your winter food menu. Here’s why. 

Deep Dive

In the earlier times, frozen food, year-round availability, and canned goods didn’t drive meals. Fresh produce, seasonal harvest, and clever preservations techniques did. While times may have changed, it’s always a good thing to learn from the past. At least when it comes to using seasonal ingredients like green chickpeas or choliya. So, if you’re tired of repeating between peas, carrots, and cauliflower, looking to enjoy seasonal produce, or simply want to add new ingredients to your pantry, work with choliya. 

What Are Green Chickpeas?

Green chickpeas are young, unripe chickpeas harvested across India and Middle East in winter. As the name suggests, they’re known for their bright green color, similar to that of peas or edamame, but healtheir than both. They have a tender texture and slightly sweet and nutty taste, unlike the mature dried beige chickpeas. They’re also softer and crispier than dried chickpeas, with a less starchy feel.

A seasonal superfood, choliya is rich in protein, fiber, B vitamins, folate, and minerals. It can be enjoyed raw or roasted in chaats, stirred into curries, cooked with stir-fries, and even added to rice. You can even shell them directly from the pod and enjoy a few, much like peas. 

The only thing to keep in mind about availability: green chickpeas are available for a short duration in winters (and not the whole season). Green chickpeas are harvested midway between a fresh vegetable and a dried pulse. Farmers don’t grow choliya instead of kala chana—it’s the same plant, harvested early to reduce risk from heat, pests, or erratic winters. This makes choliya an agricultural hedge, not merely a culinary choice. The scarcity drives the demand. Thus, be sure to keep a look out for these tiny beans. 

Popular Dishes Using Green Chickpeas

Unlike regular chickpeas, green chickpeas don’t require hours of soaking, which makes them an excellent addition to many dishes. Here are some of the most popular items made with green chickpeas: 

Aloo Choliya Sabzi: A familiar curry in most North Indian homes, aloo choliya is made in a base of onion, tomatoes, and kitchen spices and herbs like cumin seeds, hing, ginger, garlic, and more. It’s often served with flatbreads or steamed rice. You can switch up the aloo choliya by adding paneer cubes to the mix (or even replacing aloo with it). Alternatively, you can cook just choliya, instead of with aloo or paneer, in an onion-tomato base curry. 

Choliya Pulao: Fresh green chickpeas and rice cooked together with whole spices like clove and bay leaves generate a slightly sweet and fragrant rice dish that’s a complete meal in itself. Often consumed with raita, plain yoghurt, and crisp papad, this one’s a seasonal take on an all-time classic dish, pulao.

Choliya Chaat: If you wish to enjoy choliya with no additions, then this is the best option. Simply mix blanched choliya with freshly chopped onions, tomatoes and coriander, and top it with tangy spices, lemon juice, and bit of chaat masala. It’s great as a tea-time snack, or even a quick appetiser when unexpected guests turn up. 

Choliya Kofta: For a royal feast featuring winter specialities, try your hand at the choliya kofta curry. It features soft, melt-in-your-mouth dumplings (kofta) made from mashed green chickpeas and paneer The koftas are simmered and served in rich gravy made from onions, tomatoes, and cashews (which add depth), along with local spices. It’s a flavourful curry that pairs wonderfully with soft, homemade parathas.

Green chickpeas tikki: This one’s a healthy and savoury Indian snack made from mashed fresh or soaked green chickpeas, mixed with spices, herbs (like coriander, mint), ginger, garlic, and sometimes potato or cornflour for binding. The mix is shaped into circular patties and shallow-fried or pan-roasted until golden brown. It’s often served hot with green chutney. 

Choliya halwa: This is an underrated, and rather unusual, green coloured dessert with a sweet and slightly nutty taste popular in Rajasthan. To make the halwa, ground choliya or hara chana into a paste and slow-cook it with ghee, sugar, and milk/mawa. Cardamoms maybe added for additional flavour and aroma. It’s served hot, often garnishes with chopped nuts. You can even let the halwa cool down and cut it into squares like a barfi. 

These are just a handful of dishes that you can make with green chickpeas

Cooking With Green Chickpeas: Dos & Don’ts

While it’s a fairly easy ingredient to work with, keep a few tips in mind to make sure you make the most of this winter produce: 

• Select fresh produce: Choose plump green pods that show no browning or wilting.
• Storage: choliya tastes best when cooked the day it is bought. It doesn't store well in the refrigerator for more than a few days as it quickly turns dark and develops an off-taste.
• Preparation: You will need to shell the beans from their fuzzy outer pods before cooking. The pods are not edible.
• No soaking required: Unlike their dried counterparts, fresh choliya does not need to be soaked overnight.
• Quick cooking time: Fresh green chickpeas are tender and cook much faster than dried ones. Be careful not to overcook them, or they will become mushy. They often cook perfectly with just a few whistles in a pressure cooker or a few minutes in simmering water or a pan. 

Chickpeas, But Make Them Green

Whether you’re in the mood for a quick evening snack, want to upgrade your pulao game, or simply looking to work with new ingredients, try green chickpeas this winter. You never know when a new experiment becomes a family favourite recipe.