Monsoon and chaat are indeed a perfect match! The rainy weather makes the spicy, tangy flavors of chaat even more enjoyable. Here are a few recipes to must-try this season.
5 Nutritious Chaat Recipes
Corn Rajma Bhel:
The lip-smacking flavors of bhel get a boost with corn and kidney beans
Ingredients:
- 1 cup uncooked rajma (kidney beans; soak for 6–8 hours)
- 2 cups fresh corn (from the cob) or sweet corn kernels
- 2 medium potatoes, boiled, peeled and diced
- 2 medium capsicum, chopped finely
- ¼ tsp. black pepper powder
- 75 gms. Feta cheese
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp. sugar
- 2 tbsp. butter
- Salt as per taste
Method:
- Pressure-cook the kidney beans with 4 cups of water and ½ tsp. salt for 4 whistles. Strain and keep aside.
- Pressure-cook the corn for 6 whistles. Strain and keep aside.
- Melt butter in a pan. Sauté onion, capsicum, and green chilies for 4 minutes.
- Add corn, kidney beans, potatoes, chaat masala, black pepper powder, and 1 tsp. salt; sauté for 3 minutes.
- Remove from heat; add lemon juice, Feta cheese, sugar and coriander.
- Serve & Enjoy.
Vada Pav
Try this vada pav recipe fortified with paneer and baked, not fried.
Ingredients:
- 8 slices whole-wheat or white bread (4” x 4”) or French baguette
- 1 litre double toned milk (1.5% fat)
- 4 medium potatoes, boiled, peeled and diced
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped finely
- 2 green chillies, chopped finely
- 10–15 curry leaves, chopped
- 2 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped finely
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- Juice of 2 lemons
- Salt as per taste
- 1 tbsp oil
Method:
- Bring milk to a boil and turn off the flame. Immediately add the juice of 1 lemon and stir until the milk curdles. Strain through a muslin cloth, making sure all liquid or whey is removed. What remains in the cloth is paneer.
- Preheat the oven to 160C for 7–10 minutes.
- Heat the oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds; once the seeds begin to splutter, tip in the garlic, green chilies, and curry leaves. Sauté for half a minute.
- Add potatoes, turmeric powder, and salt. Mix well.
- Transfer to a large plate and cool.
- Crumble the paneer and combine with the potato mix, along with coriander and juice of 1 lemon.
- Mash this mixture lightly by hand and divide into 8 portions.
- Lightly toast the bread. Spread the mixture on the toasted bread and bake in a preheated oven for 4-5 minutes. Serve hot.
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Poha Chaat
Ingredients
- 2 cup thin poha
- 2 tbsp. oil
- 2 tbsp. peanut
- 2 tbsp. roasted gram dal
- 2 tbsp. cashew
- 2 tbsp. almonds
- 2 tbsp. dry coconut, sliced
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 2 dried red chilli
- Few curry leaves
- ½ tsp. turmeric
- ½ tsp. chilli powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. sugar
- ½ onion, finely chopped
- ½ tomato, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp. cucumber, chopped
- ½ carrot, grated
- 2 tbsp. coriander, finely chopped
- ½ lemon
- ½ tsp. chaat masala
- ½ cup mixture
Instructions:
- Firstly in a heavy-bottomed pan dry roast 2 cups thin poha on low flame. Roast until the poha turns crisp, and keep aside.
- In a large kadai 2 tbsp. oil, 2 tbsp. peanut and roast until it turns crunchy. Add 2 tbsp. roasted gram dal, 2 tbsp. cashew, 2 tbsp. almonds and 2 tbsp. dry coconut. Roast until the nuts turn crunchy.
- Further, add 1 tsp. cumin, 2 dried red chili, and a few curry leaves. Splutter the tempering.
- Now add ½ tsp. turmeric, ½ tsp. chili powder, ½ tsp. salt and 1 tsp. sugar. Sauté on low flame until the spices turn aromatic.
- Add roasted poha and mix gently. Mix until everything is well combined. poha chivda is ready.
- To prepare the chaat, in a bowl add ½ onion, ½ tomato, and 2 tbsp. cucumber, ½ carrot, and 2 tbsp. coriander.
- Also, add ½ lemon, and ½ tsp. chaat masala and mix well. Now add 1½ cup prepared poha chivda and ½ cup mixture. Mix well. Finally, enjoy poha chivda chaat topped with onions.
Bombay Chana Chaat
Bombay Channa Chaat is a popular Indian street food snack that’s delicious, tangy, and refreshing. Here’s a recipe to make this flavorful chaat at home.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups cooked channa
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 medium tomato, finely chopped
- 1 small cucumber, finely chopped
- 1-2 green chilies, finely chopped (adjust to taste)
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves
- 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds (optional)
- 1/2 cup boiled and cubed potatoes (optional)
- 1/2 cup sev (crispy chickpea noodles)
- 1/2 cup yogurt (optional, for a creamy version)
- 2-3 tablespoons tamarind chutney
- 2-3 tablespoons green chutney (coriander-mint chutney)
- 1 teaspoon chaat masala
- 1/2 teaspoon roasted cumin powder
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black salt (kala namak)
- Salt to taste
- Juice of 1 lemon
Instructions:
- If using canned chickpeas, drain and rinse them well. If using dried chickpeas, soak them overnight and then cook until tender.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooked chickpeas, chopped onion, tomato, cucumber, green chilies, boiled potatoes (if using), and coriander leaves.
- Add the tamarind chutney and green chutney to the bowl. Mix well to coat all the ingredients with the chutneys.
- Sprinkle chaat masala, roasted cumin powder, red chili powder, black salt, and regular salt over the mixture. Add lemon juice and toss everything together.
- Add Pomegranate and Sev: Gently mix in the pomegranate seeds and sev just before serving to retain their crunchiness.
- Optional Creamy Version: If you prefer a creamy chaat, add yogurt to the mixture and mix well.
- Transfer the chaat to a serving plate or bowl. Garnish with additional coriander leaves and a bit more sev on top for extra crunch.
- Serve the Bombay Channa Chaat immediately to enjoy its fresh and crunchy texture.
Tips:
- If you like, you can add other ingredients like chopped raw mango, grated carrot, or even sprouts to the chaat for added flavor and texture.
Protein Papdi Chaat
For the papdi
- Wheat flour – 1 cup
- Soya flour – 1 cup
- Rava (semolina) – 1 cup
- Besan (chana flour) – 1 cup
- Ajwain (carom seeds) – 1 tsp
- Regular spices according to taste preference such as haldi, lal mirch powder, dhaniya powder, and salt
- Oil – 1 tbsp
For assembling the chaat
- Boiled chana – ½ cup
- Boiled corn – ½ cup
- Boiled potato (finely diced) – ½ cup
- Tomato (finely diced) – ½ cup
- Onion (finely diced) – ½ cup
- Cucumber (finely diced) – ½ cup
- Carrot (finely grated) – ½ cup
- Pomegranate seeds – ½ cup
- Dry roasted peanuts and chana – ½ cup
- Curd – ½ cup
- Tamarind dates chutney – 1 tbsp
- Coriander mint chutney – 1 tbsp
- Chaat masala – 2 pinches
Instructions
- Knead stiff dough of the papdi ingredients (all flour, all spices, and a teaspoon of oil).
- Roll this dough into a big flat thin sheet and cut diamond shapes with a shankar para cutter or knife. You can also cut it into small discs with a cookie cutter.
- Brush these diamonds or discs of dough with the remaining oil and bake for 12 minutes at 1800c. Your protein-rich papdi is ready. Store in an airtight jar.
- While making the chaat, break some of these papdi roughly with your hand into a bowl.
- Assemble all the other ingredients of the chaat into this bowl.
- Garnish with some chopped coriander leaves and chaat masala and serve immediately.