Did someone mention Papa Chaat? No wonder our hearts skipped a beat after hearing about this mouth-watering snack! If you have planned to do this at home, then we must say that you belong to the gang of papdi chaat lovers. With some simple tips and hacks in hand, you don't have to rush to the store every time you are craving something crisp, sour, and sweet to munch on! There is sev, there are crispy fried puris dipped in tamarind or meetha chutney, yogurt and so much more to keep you invested in its delightful taste!
But that is not where it all ends! How can we miss out on the boiled potatoes, chickpeas, sprouts, and even the mint chutney? Now we can call it a complete and yummy papdi chaat. Topped with sev and some freshly chopped coriander leaves, you are good to go.
A glimpse into delicious papdi chaat
Well, to make papdi chaat, you are going to need papdi or puri! You can either choose to make the papdi at home or purchase it from the store if you wish to save some time. Based on your preference, you can choose the papdi that you want. It could be baked, fried, frozen, and so on. Papdi is mainly prepared with wheat or flour. If you are inclined to have a simple snack and do not wish to invest much time into it then go ahead and buy the papdi from the store.
You shall need the chutneys
Of course, you cannot imagine making a chaat without chutney in it, can you? Tamarind chutney and mint chutney are two must-haves when it comes to a delicious and healthy papdi chaat.
To make the classic green chutney make sure you have a couple of ingredients in hand like a bunch of coriander and mint leaves, ginger and garlic, cumin powder, chili powder, and maybe some fried gram too. Add water to the finely blended mixture to create a thick paste. Be careful with the amount of water you add or else the paste will turn pale and watery.
The tamarind chutney on the other hand needs dates, tamarind, jaggery, cumin powder, coriander powder, red chili powder, salt, and so on. Add some water and strain the mixture so that the solid portions of tamarind and dates are removed. The amount of jaggery or tamarind that you will need depends on the level of sourness or sweetness you wish to establish in the chutney.
To make the potatoes, you know you have to begin with boiling them first! Then slice into thin and small sections. The potato will lie on top and unlike other chaats, this is not a filling for the papdi chaat, so you don't have to completely mash it this time. Sprinkle some red chili powder on the top and salt to create a spicy and salty essence.
One can even opt for garlic ginger chutney when it comes to making papdi chaat! We can tell you that it indeed makes a difference. To amp up the flavor of the chaat you are making, this is a third kind of chutney that you can indulge in. Pour hot water over the chili and allow them to soak until the chili has expressed its flavor and turned tender. Use chopped garlic and a little sugar to create this fine paste. Finally, your thick paste is ready.
How to prepare the dahi
You cannot make papdi chaat without dahi, can you? So do you directly pour it on the papdi? Well, you shouldn't! Of course, you need fresh dahi but don't forget to whisk it first. Use a little powdered sugar to tame the sour essence of yogurt. Continue to beat until the curd turns out smooth.
Now the yogurt paste is ready to go into your papdi chaat! Let's assemble them all!
Assemble properly
There is no rocket science behind assembling a platter of papdi chaat; however if you are doing it for the first time, then make sure to be precise about the quantity of every ingredient. For this, you can simply follow any basic recipe!
The papdis are initially placed on a platter to form a circular ring! In a single platter, you can add six to eight papdi at once. Now top them with the chopped mashed potatoes! You can garnish with some moong sprouts too! After all, you want your snack to be healthy as well, don't you?
Then pour the garlic and chili chutney. Based on your spice tolerance level you can alter the amount of chili chutney that you want. Then goes in the freshly chopped onions followed by dahi, mint, and tamarind chutney. Enjoy with some sev and chopped coriander leaves.