
Dahi Phulki is a dish I grew up eating
While you’ll hear me raving about papri chaat day in day out, it’s slightly less famous cousin, Dahi Phulki, or dahi phulkiyan, are what I grew up eating. It’s a cross between Dahi Bhallay and Papri Chaat and to be honest it’s my favorite. In our house it was served on many occasions. With chai as a snack, but also with biryani or Yakhni Pulao. It’s like raita but with some oomph from the besan (chickpea flour) ki phulkiyaan. The process is simple but the flavors are amazing.


Dahi, or yogurt, is the main component of Dahi Phulki
Unlike other chaats, the yogurt carries this dish in terms of flavor. I like adding potatoes, tomatoes and onions because that’s how I’ve always had them, but you can add finely chopped cabbage as well. I don’t make my own phulki although it’s not a very tough process. It’s basically mini pakoras with a slightly different batter, but you can easily find pre-made ones in your local desi grocery store. This takes out one step, making them easier to make. They come in dry form, and you rehydrate them with warm water, let them soften, then gently squeeze out excess water.


You need some basic ingredients
As with many other recipes I grew up eating, the ingredients for Dahi Phulki are simple. You don’t need lots of ingredients and copious amounts of spices to create delicious food. I use coarsely ground cumin, chaat masala and a little black pepper. The flavors throughout are subtle yet effective. Even the tomatoes add a dimension you’ll miss if you don’t add them.
More recipe to try this Ramadan:

Dahi Phulki
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried phulki
- 1/2 cup tomato diced
- 1/2 cup potato diced
- 1/4 cup red onion finely diced
- 1/4 cup dhania (cilantro) chopped
- 1-2 green chilies chopped
- coarsely ground cumin for garnish
- papad for garnish
Yogurt
- 2½ cups yogurt
- 1/2-3/4 cup cold water
- 1 tsp coarsely ground cumin
- salt to taste
- 1 tsp icing sugar
- 1/3 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp Kashmiri Laal Mirch
- 1/2 tsp chaat masala
Instructions
- In a medium sized bowl, mix together all the ingredients listed under yogurt. Whisk until smooth. The yogurt should be a milkshake consistency. The phulkiyan will soak up some of the yogurt as they sit in it. Set this aside and start on the phulkiyan.
- Place the dried phulkiyan in a medium sized bowl and pour warm water over them. There should be extra water in the bowl because they expand as they sit in the water. Let them soak for about 6-7 minutes. You can check one to see if it's soaked through and if it has softened. Once they are soft gently squeeze them to get rid of the excess water. The easiest way is to use your hands. Putting them in strainer will not get rid of the water.
- Add half the yogurt in your serving bowl. Add the drained phulkiyan. Sprinkle over half of the potatoes, tomatoes, onions, green chilies and dhania (cilantro). Add the remaining yogurt and top with the rest of the fresh ingredients. garnish with crushed cumin seeds. Chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
Have you tried this recipe?
I love hearing your feedback! If you tried this recipe I’d love to hear how it turned out in the comments below.

