A Trini addiction

A spicy snack for any occasion - fried channa (garbanzo beans or chick peas) are sold all over Trinidad and there are many brands of commercially made channa to choose from these days – Patsy’s, Munch Kings, Anthony’s to name a few. They are cheap to make, simple to prepare and deliciously addictive. One tip: the older the bag of channa, the harder the crunch so take care.

Fried whole channa - Oh my word that looks lethal!

School yard vendors used to sell homemade fried channa in paper cones or in little plastic bags which were stapled to seal them. As children, our teeth were used to open everything, so there were times my lip would get caught in these staples. I didn’t care. The salt would cure it.

The usual suspects for any spicy fried snack are present: minced garlic, chadon beni, hot pepper, salt. Soaking the channa prepares it for frying as it rehydrates the beans and wakes them up. The trick is to fry the channa in oil until they float which means they’re cooked. You then toss the seasonings in the hot channa to remove the raw garlic taste. Some suggest shredding a little cheese over the channa. 

Seasonings used to make fried channa

Some say oven-roasting the channa instead of frying makes for a healthier snack. I prefer the traditional preparation.

You can also split the channa into its two cotyledons during the soaking process – this is called split fried channa. There’s also the no-pepper version but who wants that??

Split fried channa

I screwed up my face the first time I heard someone refer to them as “channa nuts”. What is channa nuts?? Can something be both channa and nuts?