Papri Chaat

The king of street food: Papri Chaat

Papri Chaat is the king of chaats. Just the sight of it makes me happy. And honestly, what’s not to love? Chickpeas and potatoes are drenched in spicy chutneys and a cooling yogurt sauce. Everything is topped with freshly ground cumin and crunchy papad(papar?). I’m a purist when it comes to papri chaat. If you follow a few simple steps you can get amazing papri chaat at home. In fact, it’s better than takeout. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve ordered papri chaat from Indian/ Pakistani restaurants only to be disappointed. I’ve added some recipes notes to get you the perfect results every time.

The components of a perfect papri chaat

A real papri chaat is much like the one found at Lahore Chatkhara, the greatest chaat place of all time. The formula is simple. Flavorful chutneys, chilled yogurt and crispy papar. If the yogurt isn’t runny and chilled, if your chutneys aren’t packed with flavor you’re doing it wrong. The best way to make this is to have everything ready. I keep the potatoes and chickpeas at room temperature and the chutneys and yogurt in the fridge. When I want to serve, I assemble everything and add the papar last, so it stays crunchy. If you’re hosting a party, and want to check things off your list, you can definitely make this ahead of time and cover and refrigerate. Please remember to add the papar right before serving, or it’ll get soggy, and that’s a no go.

The secret’s in the sauce, or the chutneys

I love a quick fix, and store bought chutneys are great. But have I told you about my chutney recipes? They have intense, bold flavors. They also use a handful of ingredients, and they keep great in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. If you take a short time to make my Mint Chutney and Sweet Tamarind Chutney, you’ll get to use them in so many things, and the flavors are unparalleled.

Papri Chaat

Sconce&Scone

This is the king of all chaats. Chicken peas and potatoes tossed in spices, drizzled with cooling yogurt and flavorful chutneys, only to be topped with crunchy papar. What a combination!

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine Indian, Pakistani

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

• 3 small red potatoes boiled
• 1.5 cups chickpeas boiled
• 1/2 cup onions thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/2 cup hari chutney mint chutney
• 1/2 cup imlee ki chutney tamarind chutney
• 1/2 tsp chaat masala for garnish
• cilantro leaves for garnish
• 1/2 tsp crushed cumin seeds for garnish

Yogurt

• 1.5 cups yogurt
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• salt to taste
• 1/4 tsp laal mirch chilli powder

Instructions

 

• In a small bowl mix the yogurt with water and the seasoning. (If you are using homemade yogurt you won’t need to add the water, because home made yogurt is already thinned out.)
• Cut the poatoes into 1/2 inch cubes. add to a bowl with the chickpease, sliced onions and cilantro leaves. Mix well.
• Add half the yogurt mixture to the bottom of your serving dish. Add the potato and chickpea mixture. Drizzle over the remaining yogurt. Drizzle over the chutneys.
• Garnish with crispy papad, fresh cilantro and chaat masala. Serve chilled.

Notes

There is nothing wrong with using store bought chutneys, but my recipes that I have linked above are easy to make, use minimal ingredients, and take the flavor up many levels. If you have the time to make them, I highly recommend it for the full papri chaat experience. You can find the Tamarind Chutney here and the Mint Chutney here. 

Authentic papar that is used at chaat stalls in Pakistan is actually fried samosa pastry. For an authentic papar experience, cut spring roll pastry or wonton wrappers into squares and fry till crispy and light golden brown. Drain and cool completely before breaking over your chaat. 

The yogurt you use should always be chilled. Room temperature yogurt just doesn’t have the same effect. I always use full fat yogurt for this, but a 2% or low fat yogurt could also work. You can easily sub the yogurt for a dairy free option to make this chaat vegan. 

You can make your own chaat masala, but I find that store bought ones get the job done. 

 

Keyword Chaat, Papri Chaat, Street Food, Vegan Friendly

Have you tried this delicious street food?

Did you try this recipe? If you did, I’d love to hear how it turned out in the comments below. Your feedback makes me so happy!

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