Dahi Puri Chaat

We are a family that loves chaats. Anything and all kinds of chaats are made in our kitchen and make it to our table. My chaat venture was restricted to Aaloo tikki chaat and occasional paani poori. Mr. Parveez always loved eating chaats, and he would even make Masala Poori at home when we got married. After we got married, he tasted Aaloo tikki chaat and he loved it. Since the, I would always try and experiment with different kinds of chaats, including chaats with sprouts, fruits and beans.

Chhole make an awesome addition to every chaat. Once you mix them up with onions, coriander leaves, boiled potatoes, green chilies, chutney and yogurt, it really absorbs the flavors and tastes delicious. This chaat is crunchy, crispy and full of sweet, sour and mouth tingling flavors. It tantalizes your taste buds opening up to so many different tastes.

This is a quick answer to chaat time craving. The whole process never takes too long, specially if you have boiled chickpeas. I usually soak and boil mine and make small packets in the freezer. Though using canned chickpeas is absolutely fine as well, but I just prefer mine to be homemade, since it isn’t too time consuming. Chaat cravings always need quick answers and this is soul satisfying to any chaat lover. Enjoy!!!

Dahi Chhole Papdi Chaat

We are a family that loves chaats. Anything and all kinds of chaats are made in our kitchen and make it to our table. My chaat venture was restricted to Aaloo tikki chaat and occasional paani poori. Mr. Parveez always loved eating chaats, and he would even make Masala Poori at home when we got married. After we got married, he tasted Aaloo tikki chaat and he loved it. Since the, I would always try and experiment with different kinds of chaats, including chaats with sprouts, fruits and beans.

Chhole make an awesome addition to every chaat. Once you mix them up with onions, coriander leaves, green chilies, chutney and yogurt, it really absorbs the flavors and tastes delicious. This chaat is crunchy, crispy and full of sweet, sour and mouth tingling flavors. It tantalizes your taste buds opening up to so many different tastes.

This is a quick answer to chaat time craving. The whole process never takes too long, specially if you have boiled chickpeas. I usually soak and boil mine and make small packets in the freezer. Though using canned chickpeas is absolutely fine as well, but I just prefer mine to be homemade, since it isn’t too time consuming. Chaat cravings always need quick answers and this is soul satisfying to any chaat lover. Enjoy!!!

Masala Poori Chaat

Masala Poori or Masalpoori is a popular chaat in Southern states of India, mainly Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. This chaat can be made spicy and sweet, and of course the best way, which is sweet and spicy.

I think all chaats need to have “Tikhi-Meethi”, which is sweet and spicy in hindi. A chaat has to have medley of flavors that just make you happy. Chaats should make you remember and enjoy good times. See, people usually don’t realize but more than any sweet dish, chaats spread more happiness. Sweet dish is a part of every family and usually made or brought in from sweet shop every time for an occasion, big or small, sometimes not so important and sometimes made even without an occasion. But, Chaat, people mostly don’t make it at home and when they step out to enjoy their favorite chaat, its more like an event.

If you happen to be a chaat lover like us, and enjoy making them at home, this is a recipe for you. This chaat is different from all other chaats, the difference is North and South, literally. This one is more cooked, blended, mixed in and a little more effort from our regular chaats, but the end result is all worth it.

This chaat is mostly made with peas and sometimes with Chickpeas/Kabuli Chana. I have made both ways and I feel the Kabuli Chana is much better so preferred in my house, but you can always substitute and follow the same steps. Peas do not need to be soaked so you can always make this chaat in around an hour if using peas. Make sure you follow the steps of mashing and blending, the flavor would not be the same if you omit those steps. The chaat is served warm and would fill you like a meal, so I recommend it more for tea parties or chaat evenings than an appetizer. It is also a great option for Ramadan Iftaar, if you have an hour gap between Iftaar and dinner. Also, I prefer making my papdi at home, and I make it with Whole wheat flour. Nevertheless, using store bought Papdi gives exactly the same fabulous result. If you want to make yours at home, feel free to follow my recipe. You can also substitute whole wheat with All purpose flour as well.

My better half, Mr. Parveez introduced me to this chaat. It was his college days when he would be out with his friends, after college and at times bunking classes enjoying mouthful of flavors and mostly it was Masala Poori. All in all, loads of wonderful memories. Now, I can definitely bring back his wonderful carefree days, but every now and then I help him remember them with a smile by offering his favorite chaat.

Chhole Tikki Chaat

I belong to Rajasthan, the land of flowing ghee, beautiful people and the most colorful state of India. Marwaris love chaats, specially the ones that are fried and warm and trust me, no one can make chaats and sweets better than Marwaris. That’s the reason we always see most sweet vendors and chatwalas as Marwaris.

I have been a big fan of chaats and this happens to be one of my favorites. It takes a little time to make it, but one bite into this awesomely delicious food and all the effort seems totally worth it. This chaat is also close to my heart because this was the first dish that portrayed my culinary skills and he felt proud that he is getting married to a promising cook.

Now, I learnt to make this chaat through a family friend, who would offer to cook food for us every Ramadan. Honestly, that was the first time I realized that such good street food can also be cooked at home as well. I was 11 then, and I would always be a little helper. With time, I learnt how to make it by myself and it always has pleased everyone who tried it.

The tikkis are made with boiled potatoes mixed with spices and rolled in mix of Maida and Corn Starch Powder, before pan frying. The corn starch makes the tikkis super crunchy and that is exactly how you want them to be. Specially once you add on hot chhole, the tikkis can get soggy very quickly. Corn starch helps it stay crunchier for longer.

The chhole have to be spicy and tangy, giving that perfect chaat taste to the tikki chhole. Adding Tamarind and dry pomegranate powder to chhole makes it taste just like the street foods in India. I usually soak my chickepeas, boil them and once cooled down, I pack them in separate ziploc bags and freeze them. I like to make loads of chaats that include chickpeas and this is one of my favorites. So, not having chickpeas, since they need to be soaked overnight, is the last thing I need to worry about if I feel like making chaat.

Assembling this chaat is what makes it taste more delicious. You can make the best Tikkis and chhole, but if you don’t assemble the chaat the right way, it wouldn’t give you flavors you are looking for. It has to be served warm on top of potato tikki and further garnished with chopped onions, coriander leaves, Tamarind date chutney, Green chutney and thin sev.

Chhole Sev Chaat

Do you ever have those days when you feel like having something filling, flavorful, colorful, sweet and sour, but you don’t want the dish to be heavy and not too filling. It’s one of those days when you don’t want those extra calories to pile up but, it’s hard to give up on that craving.

Well, this dish is for those days. To me, its a perfect weekend lunch. Our weekend lunch is difficult decision to make, specially on Sunday. My boys have sports and morning are always eggs, banana and milk or smoothies. After spending most of our day at sports ground and returning home at 2 PM, you can imagine the huge hunger pangs and growling stomachs.

At this point, serving my boys with kebabs or burgers is fine since they can easily digest it but the problem is that with 4 hours remaining in dinner, you want something filling but nothing too heavy. This dish is is perfect for those days.

Chhole/chickpeas are rich in fiber, vitamins and minerals. Mixing them up with tomato, onion, coriander leaves and few spices with yogurt, chutneys and sev make an excellent chaat which is satisfying to your belly and craving. A mouthful of delicious bites without the fear of adding extra calories.