PAPDI CHAAT! Coming over for a chat?

For the last few days, I have been craving for chaat. Now that I don't live in India anymore ( not that we had chaatwala's in Kannur), I have no other choice but to make it from scratch. I am not complaining, I always wanted to make the ever-loving tangy tamarind chutney and making papdi is a breeze.


I started off thinking I would end with Pani Puri but, I ended up with Papdi Chaat due to lack of ingredients in our pantry.Nevertheless the end result was finger-licking, spoon-licking good. So, YAYY! ;)


For all  my North Indian recipes Hetal & Anuja is my favourite source. Their recipes are fool proof. I have tried their  Besan Burfi,Kaju Burfi, Eggless Hazlenut & Date Cake, Molten Lava Cake,Reshmi Kababs, Silky Smooth Pedas and lot more recipes like Rasgulla, Rasmalai, Namak Paare which I never blogged about.

Chaats are originally an Indian street food. Nowadays they are served even in high-end hotels too. They are popular equally among teens & elderly. There are different types of chaat like pani puri or golguppas,dahi bhalla, sev puri etc. All these are made with almost the same ingredients, main one being the tamarind chutney. It is a thick tangy, spicy ,sweet & sour sauce made out of tamarind pulp and jaggery . Papdi's are deep-fried pastry roundels (or squares). They add the crunch to the chaat. On the whole, any chaat is a very mouthwatering experience!


How I made this simple: While the chutney was on the stove boiling & reducing away, I made the dough for the papdi and rolled & cut them. Once the chutney was done and safely put aside, I started frying the papdi's.Meantime I boiled channa /chickpeas (previously soaked)& potatoes. I could get the whole thing done in less than an hour's time! :)

PAPDI CHAAT
Things you will need:
Tamrind chutney(homemade or storebought)
Papdi's (homemade or storebought)
Yoghurt - 1 1/2 cup, well beaten & chilled
Onions- 1 small, chopped
Coriander leaves- 1 small bunch, chopped
Red chilli powder - 1 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder- 1 1/2 tsp
Salt- to taste

HOMEMADE TAMARIND CHUTNEY
Recipe source : Hetal & Anuja

Tamarind pulp (storebought)- 2tbsp
Water- 2 cups
Salt- 1 tsp
Jaggery-1/2 cup, powdered & packed
Red chilli powder-1 tsp
Cumin seeds-1 tsp
Fennel seeds-1 tsp


Method:
Heat one cup of water in a microwave (or stovetop) and add the tamarind paste to it. Mix well making sure there are no lumps in it.Add the other one cup of water and boil it. Once it starts boiling, reduce the flame to medium and add the jaggery. Mix well and let it melt.Let it boil till it reduces to half quantity.Meanwhile, dry roast cumin seed and fennel seeds and powder them.Once the chutney starts coating the back of a spoon, switch of the stove and add salt, red chilli poweder and powdered spices. Mix well.Adjust the salt if needed.HOMEMADE PAPDI
My own recipe

Ingredients
All purpose flour- 1 1/2 cups
Oil- 2 tbps
Ajwain-1/2 tsp
Salt-to taste
Water- 1/4 -1/2 cup


Method:
Mix together flour, salt and ajwain.Add oil to it and rub well. Add just enough water and make a hard dough (not as soft as chapathi dough).Let it rest covered for 20 mins.Roll out thin (If you have used the right amount of water, you wouldn't need any dusting of flour while rolling)Pierce the pastry all over with the tines of a fork.Cut rounds or any other shapes from it.Deep fry in hot oil and drain on kitchen towel.You can make this ahead and store in airtight bags/tins.
Assembly:
Place 6-7 papdi's on a plate, add some channa/chickpeas and potatoes.
Pour 3-4 tbsp of youghurt on it. Drizzles one tbsp of tamarind chutney on it.
Garnish with coriander leaves and onions.
Sprinkle salt, red chilli powder and cumin seed powder  as needed.

Verdict: As soon as Jobin got back home, I served him a platefull. Zapp came the response:
It was seriously delicious. I have some chutney leftover from yesterday. Just can't stop licking it everytime I open our refrigerator ;) Guess I'll have a chaat night every week :)