papdi chaat

i still remember having papdi chaat for the first time in a punjabi restaurant in mumbai (can’t remember the restaurant’s name). it was one of the best papdi chaat i had in mumbai.

when living in delhi, i had papdi chaats often, but cannot forget the one i had in mumbai. being a true blue mumbaite, i have always made sev puri, pani puri, dahi sev batata puri at home, but never papdi chaat.

not that papdi chaat is difficult or time consuming. just that it did not come to me that i can make it at home. so for the first time i made papdi chaat at home and it was exactly like the one i had in the mumbai restaurant. i made it the same day when i made sev puri.

in papdi chaat, besides the papdis (fried flour crispies), a melt in the mouth fusion of boiled chickpeas, potatoes and pakoris (fried black gram fritters) and curd (yogurt) is added.

in this papdi chaat recipe i have used all the ingredients except the urad dal pakoris. the pakoris are made exactly like the bhallas made for dahi bhallas. i did not have time to make the urad dal pakoris. if you decide to make the pakoris, then after deep frying them, let them cool and then soak them in water for some time. squeeze the water from the pakoris and add it to the papdi chaat before you top it with the curd and the chutneys.

as a substitute for pakoris, you can also use boondi. soak the boondis in water and then squeeze the water from the boondis. add these to the papdi chaat.

to make the papdi chaat healthy and nutritious, instead of fried papdis, use baked papdis. also some moong sprouts and pomegranate can also be added to the chaat.

so lets begin step by step recipe of papdi chaat:

arrange the papdis in a shallow bowl or plate.

top the papdis with boiled potatoes and boiled chickpeas.

add generous amount of curd.

add the green mint coriander chutney as much as you want.

top up with the sweet tamarind dates chutney.

sprinkle all the spice powder and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. at this point i wished i had fresh pomegranate to add to the papdi chaat. it would have added a lovely color and texture to the recipe.

just to add some color and crispiness, i added sev… but its optional

serve the papdi chaat immediately as soon as you are done preparing it.

adding onions or tomatoes to papdi chaat is optional. onions add a nice crunch to the papdi chaat. i made one serving with onions and  tomatoes and this was also too good.

printable version of papdi chaat recipe is below:

papdi chaat

 

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Prep time

50 mins

Total time

50 mins

 

papdi chaat is a popular north indian street food.

Author: dassana

Recipe type: snacks

Cuisine: indian

Serves: 4 plates

Ingredients

For the papdi chaat

• 24 flat crisp papdis/puris/flour crispies
• 250 gms cold smoothened curd/yogurt
• 1 large potato, boiled and chopped
• 2 cups boiled chickpeas/kabuli chana/garbanzo beans
• 1 onion finely chopped (optional)
• 1 tomato finely chopped (optional)
• ½ cup chopped coriander leaves
• 1 cup mint coriander chutney
• 1 cup tamarind dates chutney
• 1-2 tsp red chili powder
• 1-2 tsp cumin powder
• 1-2 tsp chaat masala
• 1-2 tsp black salt/rock salt or common salt
• 1 tbsp lime juice (optional)
• 1 cup sev (optional)

For the spicy green mint and coriander chutney

• 1 cup chopped mint leaves/pudina
• ½ cup chopped coriander leaves/dhania
• 1 green chili, chopped
• 1-2 tsp lemon juice (preserves the green color of the chutney)
• black salt

For the sweet tamarind dates chutney:

• ½ cup tamarind
• ½ cup seedless dates
• ½ cup jaggery
• ½ tsp dry ginger powder/saunth
• 1 tsp coriander powder/dhania powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder/jeera powder
• ½ tsp red chili powder (optional)
• 2 cups water
• black salt

Instructions

Cooking the chickpeas:

1. if you wanna add chickpeas to the papdi chaat, then some effort is needed. this is if you don’t want to use canned chickpeas.
2. you need to soak the chickpeas in enough water overnight or for a good 6-7 hours. then cook or pressure cook the chickpeas with water and salt/black salt till it is completely cooked.

Making the green mint coriander chutney:

1. blend all the ingredients with very little water to a smooth paste.
2. keep aside.

Making the sweet tamarind dates chutney:

1. boil the tamarind and dates in water.
2. when they become soft add the jaggery and the spice powders and salt.
3. cook further till the jaggery melts.
4. switch off the burner and let the mixture cool.
5. grind the chutney mixture to a smooth paste.
6. seive the chutney through a strainer.
7. add more salt if needed.
8. if the chutney becomes too thick add some water to liquidize it.

For assembling the papdi chaat:

1. arrange the papdis in a shallow bowl or plate.
2. top it up with chopped boiled potatoes and cooked chickpeas.
3. you can add chopped onions and tomatoes to it, but its optional.
4. sprinkle some chaat masala and red chili powder on it, if you want at this stage.
5. top these with cold yogurt/curd as much as you want.
6. top it up with the green chutney as much as you want.
7. and then with the sweet chutney as much as you want.
8. sprinkle some chaat masala, red chili powder, cumin powder and black salt.
9. garnish with coriander leaves.
10. sprinkle sev on top and this step is also optional.
11. add a dash of lemon juice to the papdi chaat if you want.
12. serve papdi chaat immediately.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 4

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