Papdi Chaat from scratch with Tamarind and Date Chutney

his again is a story related to me coming to the US after getting married.

Ask anyone who has grown up or lived in India for a while (especially the female kind :) and they will swear by the taste of this roadside delicacy and will have a story or two to tell you with a twinkle in their eye (while their taste buds start to tingle). And my dear friends, that is no exaggeration.

During my college days, I got my fix of chaat atleast once every week. I took it for granted as it was available everywhere. When I got married and was preparing to come to the US with hubby, he gave me this shocker (among a few others). Very calmly he announced that I should get my fix of as much chaat as possible as I would not find it in the US. I was taken aback but underestimated the truth in his statement, after all there were Indian restaurants in the US and they sold chaat... I was gonna be okay. Never had I been so wrong. I found the so called chaat here to be not even close to being worthy of being called chaat. It simply was some papdi with boiled potatoes and a chutney that tasted like tomato ketchup :o

Anyway, long-story-short, I decided to make my own. Here goes the recipe. If you really want your chaat to taste awesome, pay special attention to the chutney recipe.

Chaat is a generic name for a plate of savoury, spicy, tangy snack, typically served at road-side stalls or carts in India. Originally a street food, now it can be found in high end restauarants too. There are dozens varieties of chaat like pani puri or phuchkas, dahi bhalla, sev puri etc. All these are made with almost the same ingredients (with a different base), main one being the tamarind dates chutney. It is a thick tangy, spicy, sweet and sour sauce made out of tamarind pulp, dates and jaggery. Papdis are deep-fried pastry roundels that add the crunch to the chaat.

For Papdi-

Ingredients:makes about 2 dozens

All purpose flour .................................. 1 cup

Sooji/Semolina ................................... 4 tbsp

Salt  ................................................ to taste

Baking soda ....................................... 1/8 tsp

Black pepper ..................................... 1/4 tsp coarsely ground

Carom seeds ...................................... 1/4 tsp

Oil .................................................. 3 tbsp + for deep frying

Method:

1. In a bowl mix flour, sooji, salt, baking soda , carom seeds , black pepper and mix. Add oil and mix again. Add the water a little at a time while kneading until it forms a firm dough. Cover the dough and set aside for 20 minutes.

2. Divide the dough into about 3 - 4 equal parts. Take one section of the dough and roll it into an 8" circle. Roll it out thinly like you do for rotis, dusting with flour if necessary. Prick the rolled out dough with a fork randomly to avoid papdis puffing up while frying. With a 2" cookie cutter cut rounds.

3. Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium heat. To check if the oil is ready, just put a small piece of dough in the oil. The dough should sizzle right away but come up to the surface slowly. Don’t overcrowd. Fry the papdi until both sides are a light golden-brown. Remove cooked papdi and transfer to a plate.

4. Continue cooking the remaining papdi, store after they come to room temp. Papdi can be stored in airtight container for about a  month.

For Tamarind Date Chutney- makes 1/2 cup

Tamarind concentrate ....................... 3 tbsp

Dates .......................................... 3 tbsp, pitted and chopped

Jaggery ........................................ 1/2 cup, crushed

Water .......................................... 2 cups

Salt ............................................. 1 tsp or to taste

Red chilli powder ............................ 1 tsp

Fennel Powder ............................... 1/2 tsp

Roasted cumin powder ...................... 1 tsp

Black salt ...................................... 1/4 tsp

Method:

1. In a medium sized heavy bottomed pan on medium heat, add the water and tamarind and mix. Add the dates and let it come to a boil.

2. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the jaggery and mix. Let it cook on medium to medium-low heat till all the jaggery melts and the mixture reduces to half. Keep stirring in between. Add in the salt and all the masala and mix thoroughly. Cook for 2 - 3 minutes and turn off the heat when it get to a ketchup-like consistency (remember it will get thicker when it cools).

3. Allow to cool to room temperature and store in a clean dry non-metallic container. It keeps for months in the refrigerator.

For Topping-

Potato ................................ 1 large boiled, peeled and diced

Tomato ............................... 1/2 medium, finely chopped

Onion ................................. 1/2 medium, finely chopped

Yogurt ................................ 3/4 cup, well beaten

Roasted Cumin Powder ............ to taste

Salt .................................... to taste

Red Chilli Powder ................... to taste

Cilantro ............................... few leaves

Mint chutney ......................... to taste

Tamarind chutney ................... to taste

Thin sev .............................. 1/4 cup

Method:

1. Add salt to well-beaten yogurt. Spread a layer of papdi on a plate. Sprinkle potatoes, tomatoes, onions over the layer of papdi. Drizzle yogurt with a spoon, evenly over the papdi. Sprinkle roasted cumin powder and red chilli powder to taste. Pour the chutneys on top to taste. Sprinkle Thin Sev. Serve immediately.ENJOY!

Notes:
1. Many people like to add boiled chickpeas in the topping too. If yo like it, feel free to do so.

Pin It