Kala Chana Chaat/ Black Chickpea Chaat

Kala Chana Chaat is easy and quick recipe if the chutneys are in handy. It is a healthy snack loaded with boiled black chickepeas which is rich in proteins, veggies for the flavour, nuts and sev for the crunch. This chana chaat has spicy and tangy taste from the chutneys added to it.
In this recipe you can adjust, add or skip the ingredients as per your liking. So don't go for the exact measurement.

Ingredients:

• Black Chana - 1 cup
• Potato - 1 medium-sized
• Onion - 1/4 cup finely chopped
• Tomato - 1/4 cup finely chopped
• Cucumber - 1/4 cup finely chopped
• Green Chutney - 1 1/2 tbsp
• Dates Tamarind Chutney - 2 tbsp
• Chaat Masala as needed
• Black Salt as needed
• Masala Peanuts - 1/8 cup
• Congress Peanuts - 1/8 cup
• Papdi - 5 to 6
• Sev for garnishing

Method :

• Soak black/brown chana overnight or for 6-8 hours. Pressure cook with enough water and salt to taste. Pressure cook potato along. Strain chana, peel and roughly smash the potatoes. (You can chop the potatoes too.)
• In a bowl take cooked chana. Add the potatoes.

• Add chopped onion, tomato and cucumber. Add in green and tamarind chutney. (You can add some fresh coriander leaves chopped and lemon juice for more tanginess)

• Add peanuts and some crushed papdis. Sprinkle some chaat masala and give it a nice mix. 

• Check for salt and add black salt accordingly. Adjust the ingredients as per your taste.
• Transfer it to a plate and sprinkle some sev. Serve immediately.

Variations : Weight watchers can skip fried masala peanuts, papdi, sev and yet have a yummy snack.

Puri Recipe for Pani Puri

Puri for chaat recipes are round shaped small crispy puri which is small enough to easily fit in your mouth, is a must have ingredient in many chaat recipes like pani puri, dahi puri etc. These are hollow which allow to make a hole on top and fill them with your favorite filling and enjoy them in a bite.
These are easily available in stores at India. But back in KSA we dont get the puris and not even yummy chaat items. So we got to prepare the puris at home and enjoy them with the prepared stuffing. Homemade is the best and healthy too. So lets get into making this small crispy puris.

Ingredients :

• Fine Rava/ Semolina - 1 Cup
• Wheat Flour - 1 tbsp
• Salt to taste
• Water for kneading
• Oil for rolling & frying

Method :

• In a bowl take unroasted rava, wheat flour, salt and mix well.
• Add water in parts and knead the dough. Rava absorbs water while kneading. Dough should not be very soft nor too hard.
• Cover the dough with damp cloth and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.
• Knead the dough again until smooth texture.
• Make small balls out of the dough. Cover them with damp cloth till u roll them.

• Grease the surface with oil and roll each ball into small puri and arrange them on a plate.

• Another way of rolling is to divide the dough into 3-4 equal portions. Take each portion and roll them into large roti with thickness of phulka or chapathi. It should not be very thin nor thick.

• With the help of a round cookie cutter or lid, cut the rolled dough into small discs. 

• Remove the extra dough and mix it with remaining dough. Arrange small puris on a plate and cover with damp cloth if you are not frying them immediately. Repeat the process for remaining dough. 

• Heat oil in a kadai on medium flame. When oil is medium hot, slide one puri at a time into the oil and press lightly to help them puff up. 
• You can fry 6-8 puris at a time until crispy and golden brown on both sides.

• Drain them onto a absorbent paper to absorb extra oil.

• Store them in an airtight container after they cool down. Use them for chaat recipes like Pani Puri & more chaat recipes which I will be posting shortly. 

Bhel Puri

Bhel puri is a popular roadside snack/ chaat in India. It is a delicious combination of puffed rice, onion, tomato, cucumber mixed with spicy-tangy-sweet chutney garnished with crushed papdi and sev.

Ingredients :

• Puffed Rice - 2 cups
• Onion chopped - 1/3 cup
• Tomato chopped - 1/3 cup
• Cucumber chopped - 1/3 cup
• Dates Tamarind Chutney - 2 tbsp
• Green chutney - 1 1/2 tbsp
• Chat Masala - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander leaves chopped - 2 tbsp
• Masala Peanuts - 1/3 cup
• Papdis - 8 (optional)
• Sev - 1/2 cup

Method :

• Prepare the chutneys with their recipes. Prepare them in advance and store them in refrigerator.
• Take puffed rice in a deep bowl.

• Add chopped onion, tomato, cucumber. (You can even add cooked and chopped potato, grated carrot)

• Add in both the chutneys and chaat masala. (There is salt added in both the chutneys, so no need to add it here)

• Mix everything well.

• Add masala peanuts, chopped coriander leaves and give a stir.

• Divide it into 2 equal portions and transfer to serving plates.
• Crush the papdis and spread them over the bhel. Or you can even add crushed papdis along with peanuts and mix.

• And sprinkle 1/4 cup sev onto each plate. Serve them immediately as it would turn soggy in few minutes.

Pani Puri/ Golgappa

Pani Puri or Golgappas is a popular and favorite street chaat in India. It is a round, hollow crispy puri stuffed with potato, peas, onion seasoned with chaat masala, black salt filled with spicy and tangy pani and served to be gulp in immediately.

Ingredients :

• Home Made Puri - 30 nos.
• Dates Tamarind Chutney as required for serving
• For Pani :
• Everest Pani Puri Masala - 2 tsp
• Pudina leaves - 20
• Green chili seeded - 1
• Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp
• Tamarind Paste - 1 tbsp
• Crushed Jaggery - 1 tbsp
• Water as required
• Salt to taste
•  For Stuffing :
• Potato - 3 medium
• Fresh Green Peas - 1 cup
• Onion - 1 Medium
• Chaat Masala - 2 tsp
• Black Salt as required

Preparation :

To Prepare Puri/Golappa & Dates Tamarind Chutney :

• Prepare Puri/Golappa one day before you are planning to enjoy the pani puri and store them in airtight container. And similarly you can prepare Dates Tamarind Chutney in advance and store it in the refrigerator. Click the link for the recipe.

To Prepare Pani :

• For Pani, make a fine paste of pudina, green chili and lemon juice.
• In a bowl take pudina paste. Add required amount of water,tamarind paste, jaggery and Everest pani puri masala.
• Mix well till jaggery is dissolved. Adjust the tanginess and spice according to your taste. Add pepper powder for more spice.
• Refrigerate for 1 hour to incorporate all the spices together. Strain through a strainer to remove any rough bits. 
• Pani is now ready to be served.

To prepare stuffing :

• Meanwhile cook potatoes and green peas in a pressure cooker.
• Peel the skin of potato and roughly mash potatoes and green peas in a bowl.
• Add chopped onions, chaat masala and required amount of black salt.

To Serve : 

• While serving keep puris, dates tamarind chutney, chilled pani and potato stuffing ready.

• Make a small hole on a puri by tapping slowly on the crisp side.

• Fill some potato stuffing along with some dates-tamarind chutney. Similarly fill 6-7 puris and arrange it in a plate.

• Serve it with a cup of chilled pani. Stir the pani before serving to mix all the masalas.

Tips and Variations :

• Everest Pani puri Masala is easily available in all stores in India. In case if its not handy or not available you can replace it by adding jeera powder, coriander powder and pepper powder.
• For potato stuffing I have used black salt(kala namak) in place of table salt. Black salt gives a different taste for the chaat. 
• Black salt can also be used to prepare pani. Remember that Everest pani puri masala also contains salt. So check and add salt as required.
• No worry if you don't have black salt. It tastes great with table salt too.
• You can even use Green Chutney for filling for strong flavor and spiciness.
• White chana/ chick pea can be used instead of green peas. Soak them overnight and cook it along with potato.

Dates Tamarind Chutney

Dates Tamarind chutney, a healthy chutney is a must have dip for snacks such as samosa, kachori, dhoklas or stir-in mix for Indian chaats such as bhel puri, sev puri, dahi puri, pani puri. It is a sweet, sour and tangy chutney made from dates, tamarind and jaggery. It also gives a spicy kick by the added spice powders.

Ingredients :

• Tamarind seedless- 1/4 cup
• Dates seedless - 1/2 cup
• Jaggery - 1/2 cup
• Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Jeera Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
• Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp
• Hot Water - 2 cups
• Salt - 2 pinch

Method :

• Chop dates into small pieces. Soak chopped dates in 3 cups of hot water for 10 minutes.
• Add tamarind to soaked dates and boil them together over low flame for 8-10 mins or until dates become soft. Turn off flame and let it cool down.
• Transfer tamarind, dates along with water to mixer jar and blend until smooth puree.
• Place strainer over a bowl and pour the puree on to it. Strain puree through strainer using back of a spoon. Discard any residue and transfer it to a pan.
• Add jaggery and salt. Add required amount of water to adjust to your desired consistency. Boil it on medium flame.Switch off the flame.
• Add chili powder, jeera powder, coriander powder, garam masala and mix well.
• Dates tamarind chutney is ready to served as a dip with your favourite snacks or stir-in with your chaat dishes.
• You can store it in air tight container and refrigerate up to 1 month.

Green Chutney

Green chutney, the most favorite Indian accompaniment is a healthy and easy chutney recipe made using fresh coriander leaves and mint leaves along with green chilies, ginger and jeera. Lemon juice is added to retain the green color and to give the extra kick to the chutney. Green chutney is added in chaat recipes, used as a spread in sandwiches, enjoyed with parathas, samosas, dhoklas, cutlets etc.

Ingredients :

• Fresh Coriander Leaves chopped - 1 cup
• Fresh Mint Leaves Chopped - 1 cup
• Green chili - 1
• Ginger - 1/2"
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Lemon Juice - 1-2 tbsp
• Salt to taste
• Water as required

Method :

• Take all the ingredients in a mixer jar(except water).

• Grind it to a smooth paste by adding water as needed. Don't add too much of water. Add little by little.

• Taste for salt,spiciness and tanginess. Adjust according to your taste. 
• Transfer it to a serving bowl and serve with your favorite snacks.

• Store it in a air tight container and use it in chaats or as a spread in any sandwiches.

Variation : Mix 2 tbsp yoghurt with 4 tbsp green chutney to make instant green yoghurt dip. Usually served with tandoori dishes and grilled chicken.