What Is Chaat ?
Chaat is many things to Pakistanis and Indians. Labeled under Street Foods, Indian Salad and Perfect Snacks it is definitely a recipe to try! Luckily, it’s an easy recipe to make. The hardest part is probably soaking and boiling some chickpeas to create the base for the Chaat. The boiled chickpeas, also known as Kabuli Chana are an easy way to get some much-needed nutrition in your diet!
The Different Types Of Chaat
While the base for Chaat is always boiled Chickpeas, there are many variations of Street Style Chaats that serve as great snack recipes. Some of the more popular ones are:
Aloo Chana Chaat Recipe {Potato Chickpea Chaat}Dahi Chana Chaat {Yogurt Chickpea Chaat}Samosa ChaatKala Chana Chaat {Black Chickpeas Chaat}Papri Chaat {Tangy Chickpea Salad}Aloo Tikki ChaatDahi Bhalla
The Recipe
The recipe, as mentioned, is really simple. The only real cooking involved is boiling the Chickpeas and Aloo {Potatoes}. The rest is just chopping some fresh ingredients, mixing in some spice powders and layering with the sweetened yogurt, chaat chutneys and crispy toppings.
Cooking The Chickpeas
There are a couple of different ways to prep your Chickpeas:
The oldest and most traditional method is to boil the Chickpeas in plenty of fresh water over medium heat on a stove top. An easier method is to use a pressure cooker or an Instant Pot. With this method, you will use only a little water and the Chickpeas will be ready in half the time.The easiest and my personal preferred method is to use canned Chickpeas or Garbanzo Beans. All you need to do is open the can, drain the liquid, rinse with and then drain the water and use!
Cooking The Aloo
For the Aloo or Potatoes, I boil them in just enough water to cover them, peel and dice. My preferred potatoes are red ones as they stay firm when chopped and hold their shape well.
The Spice Powders
Once the Chickpeas and potatoes are ready, mix them together in a large bowl and add in the spices. Technically there is only one spice that’s added, chaat masala powder. However, this is a blend of many different spices that are dry roasted and ground to make a unique spice that’s highly popular in South Asian Cuisine. Some of the spices included in the blend are:
Red Chilies/Red Chili PowderCumin Seeds/Cumin PowderCoriander Seeds (Dhania)Black Salt (Kala Namak)Carom Seeds (Ajwain)
The Fresh Ingredients
The next step is to chop up some fresh vegetables and herbs and add them in to the spiced potato chickpea mix. My personal favorites are tomatoes, red onions, fresh coriander/cilantro and green chilies. A squeeze of lemon juice at the end gives the perfect finishing touch. Some fun ideas for adding additional color and a flavor boost is to add some seasonal fruit such as pomegranate seeds or chopped mango to the mix!
The Chutneys
Now it’s time for the best part (IMO)! First, take some plain yogurt and beat it till it is smooth. Then add some sugar and chaat masala to it to flavor it. Want to make your chaat Vegan? skip the yogurt! In addition to the yogurt, I use my tamarind-dipping-sauce, a sweet tamarind chutney and at least one other type of chutney. The most common type is a green coriander mint chutney. However, in this recipe I decided to use a store-bought sauce I’ve recently discovered which works great! This Sweet & Spicy Banana Pepper Sauce from eatmillers.com is the perfect fill in as a second chutney for your bowl of chaat! The easy recipe just got easier with this store-bought sauce that’s so accessible!
The Toppings
Most are made with whole wheat flour or gram flour, deep fried and lightly spiced. They add a delicious taste to this Yogurt Chana Chaat Recipe.
Enjoying The Chaat
Now that all your Chaat prep is done, it’s time to get out your serving bowl and get your Dahi Chana Chaat layered and ready to eat. Add the Chickpea and Potato seasoned mixture in the bowl first. Drizzle the sweetened yogurt around the edges of the bowl and then drop dollops of the two chutneys on top of it. Finally, sprinkle the crispy toppings on top and enjoy!
Storing The Chaat
Due to all the chutneys and the fresh ingredients, Chaat is best prepared and eaten fresh. At most it can be kept in the fridge for a day or two but no longer than that. However, it’s so easy to put it together, especially when using canned chickpeas, that this has never been a problem for me in the past! Make some for Iftari, a tea time snack, a healthy lunch or to fulfill a street food craving! When you do, please rate, comment and share your pictures on social media!
