4.1/5 rating (35 votes)

Paapri Chaat

Chickpea chaat

  • Heat Medium
  • Serves 6
  • Dietary Info VEGETARIAN LACTOSE-FREE HEALTHY
  • Prep 40 mins
  • Cook 15 mins

Cooling indian salad or chaat made with chickpeas and a variety of chutneys to give a spicy, sweet and savoury dish.

Hari says

This is another mouth tingling dish and takes me back to childhood. I remember my mum being super excited about eating and making this and it wasn't long before I understood why.

I guess the best way to explain what a chaat is,is that it's a cooling Indian salad. It has a number of different elements all of which come together to make your mouth 'literally' sing.

I know this recipe looks really long and it seems to have lots of elements, but it's actually fairly simple. You can cheat if you want to and I won't hold it against you by buying the paapri (crisps) from an Indian grocery store. The result is a dish that is so full of flavour that it wakes up all your taste buds. It has elements that are sweet, sour and spicy, it has textures that are smooth, soft and crispy, it has a warming sensation from the chilli and a cooling feel from the yoghurt and mint. If you like lots of different flavours then this one is

All I can say is that the resulting dish is so full of flavour that it wakes up all your taste buds. It has elements that are sweet, sour and spicy, it has textures that are smooth, soft and crispy, it has a warming sensation from the chilli and a cooling feel from the yoghurt and mint. If you like lots of different flavours then this one is definitely for you. 

Do tell me what you think!

  • Ingredients
  • Method

Paapri

  • 200g plain flour
  • 40g oil
  • salt, to taste
  • 1 tbsp ajwain seeds
  • Vegetable oil for frying

Green Chutney

  • Handful of coriander leaves
  • Handful of mint leaves
  • 1 green chilli
  • 5cm piece ginger
  • ½ tsp black rock salt
  • Salt, to taste
  • ½ tsp garam masala
  • Juice of 1 lemon

Sweet Yoghurt 

  • 3 tbsp yogurt
  • 3 tsp icing sugar
  • milk to loosen if required

Sweet Date and Tamarind Chutney

  • 85g seedless tamarind
  • 80g seedless dates
  • 40g grated jaggery (or brown sugar)
  • 450ml water
  • ½ tsp coriander seeds, crushed
  • ½ tsp cumin seeds, crushed
  • ½ tsp dry ginger powder
  • ½ tsp red chilli powder
  • 1 tsp black salt, or rock salt

Spiced Chickpeas

  • 1 green chilli, finely chopped
  • 1x400g can of chickpeas
  • 1 small red onion, finely diced
  • 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
  • 1 tsp roasted cumin powder
  • 1 tsp chaat masala powder
  • ¼ tsp red chilli powder (optional)
  • 1 tsp black salt
  • salt to taste

Method

Paapri

  1. Add the flour to a bowl and mix in the salt and ajwain.
  2. Add the oil and start to knead to form a dough.
  3. Make small balls with the dough slightly bigger than the size of a gooseberry.
  4. Roll them out so they are about 4-5 cm in diameter. 
  5. Place a large, deep pan or a wok on a gentle heat and pour in the vegetable oil and allow it to get hot.
  6. To test if it's hot enough, drop a tiny piece of dough into the pan – if it floats to the surface and starts to sizzle, it's ready.
  7. Very gently slide in one circle of dough and fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Then using your spoon to push them under the oil, then carefully flip them over and continue cooking for 1 minute, until it's golden and crisp. Transfer to a kitchen paper to drain, and repeat with the remaining dough.

Green Chutney

  1. Place all the ingredients, into a blender and blitz to make a chutney. Add a little water if required.

Sweet Date and Tamarind Chutney

  1. Put the tamarind, dates and water into a pan and cook for about 10 mins on a gentle heat.
  2. Add the jaggery and stir and let it come to a boil. Once the jaggery has dissolved the mixture will start to thicken. 
  3. Stir in all the spices and salt and simmer for about 20-25 minutes.
  4. Remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool.
  5. Sieve the chutney mixture into a blender and grind until the chutney is smooth. Add a little water if required. This will keep in a clean jar in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.

Spiced Chickpeas

  1. Open the chickpeas and place into a bowl. Using your hand squash them a little. 
  2. Place them in a bowl and add all the other ingredients and mix to combine. taste and adjust if needed. 

To Serve

  1. In a bowl add the chickpea mixture and crush some paapri's over the top. Add some blobs of sweetened yoghurt, some green chutney and some tamarind and date chutney and enjoy. Or place all the bowls on the table and let your guests help themselves.  

 

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