This time I bring to you the ‘chatpati’ flavours of Indian chaat. During my childhood days I was not very acquainted with chaats and as far as I remember I have had homemade Vada Pav once. Other than that I don’t have any other memory of having any of these savoury snacks.
During my visit to Goa with cousins in 2007 I got the chance to taste Pani Puri. It was a good experience…standing near the pani puri vendor waiting for him to serve us the ‘loaded’ puris and the pani dripping all over our arms. Since then I tried never to miss a chance to get some chaat whenever I could.
Few days ago, I was going through the recipes in a cookery book I recently got from my uncle, and the tempting pictures of dahi puri caught my eye. Immediately I prepared my lab for the experiment.
Though the procedure is a bit lengthy, it’s absolutely worth all the time and effort.
Ingredients :
For Puris:
- Semolina – 3/4 cup
- Plain flour – 2 tbsp
- Baking powder – 1/2 tsp
- Salt – to taste
- Water – to make dough
- Oil – for deep frying
For Coriander Chutney:
- Fresh Coriander leaves- 1/2 bunch
- Peanuts – 1 tbsp
- Green chili – 2 nos.
- Salt – to taste
- Lime juice – 1 tbsp
For Tamarind Chutney:
- Tamarind – 70 gms
- Jaggery – 100 gms
- Chili powder – 1/2 tsp
- Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp
- Fennel seeds – 1/2 tsp
- Dry ginger powder – 1tsp
- Coriander powder – 1/2 tsp
- Oil – 1 tsp
- Salt – to taste
Filling:
- Boiled chickpeas – 1/2 cup
- Boiled potato – 1 big (coarsely mashed)
- Onion – 1 no. (chopped)
- Tomato – 1 no. (chopped)
- Fresh Coriander leaves – 3 tbsps (chopped)
- Salt – to taste
- Chaat masala – 1 tsp
- Chili powder – 1/2 tsp
Yogurt mixture:
- Yogurt – 400gms
- Sugar – 2 tsp
- Salt – 1/4 tsp
For Topping:
- Sev – 4 tbsp
- Fresh Coriander leaves – 2 tbsp
- Coriander chutney – as required
Method:
For Puris: Mix together semolina, plain flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl. Gradually add water to it and form a dough. Keep the dough covered in a damp cloth for about 30mins. Then take a little dough and roll it out on a counter dusted with flour. Roll it out as thinly as possible and cut out 2 inch wide discs using a cookie cutter or any lid. Deep fry in hot oil till it puffs up and turns golden on both sides.
For Coriander Chutney: Grind together coriander leaves, peanuts and green chilis with a little water to form a smooth paste. Transfer into a bowl and add salt and lime juice and mix well. Refrigerate for 30mins before serving.
For Tamarind Chutney: Boil tamarind in 1/4 litre of water; reduce heat once water starts boiling. After 5 mins, remove from heat. Mash boiled tamarind and strain the juice into a bowl. Heat the jaggery with very little water till the jaggery dissolves. Then strain into a separate bowl. Heat oil in a pan, add cumin and fennel seeds. Once they splutter remove from heat and add chili powder, coriander powder, dry ginger powder and salt. Mix together tamarind juice, jaggery and the spices and return to heat and allow the mixture to attain a chutney consistency. Cool and then refrigerate.
For Filling: Mix together all the ingredients for the filling in a bowl.
For yogurt mixture: Whisk together yogurt, salt and sugar.
Serving: Puncture the puris with your thumb tip and stuff with the filling. Pour a little of the yogurt mixture and tamarind chutney into each puri. Pour the remaining yogurt into a serving dish. Place the stuffed puris in it and drizzle some coriander chutney over it and sprinkle coriander leaves and sev on top and serve.
Hiba's Kitchen 