Sweet Tamarind Chutney ~ For Chaat

A Chaat is not complete without a drizzle of sweet chutney. We love chaat and make it once a week. Hence I always have green chutney and sweet tamarind chutney in my freezer. I have been making this chutney since many years. It is so easy to make and they keep well for a long time. Do try making this chutney and enjoy it by drizzling generously on your chaat.

Ingredients:

• Tamarind - Lemon sized ball (around 50g)
• Jaggery, powdered - 1/2 to 2/3 cup
• Red chilli powder - 1/8 tsp
• Roasted Cumin powder - 1/8 tsp
• Salt- A pinch

Procedure:

Take a cup of water in a pot and heat it. Once hot, turn off the heat and drop in the tamarind. Let it sit for 15- 20 minutes.

When it is cool to the touch, mash the tamarind with your hands. Then transfer it into a blender and blend it until smooth.
Then strain the mixture into the same pot and discard the fibres.

Now start heating the tamarind pulp. Then add in the powdered jaggery.

Let it boil. Once the jaggery is melted, add in the red chilli powder, roasted cumin powder and salt. Mix well. Allow the mixture to boil on a medium flame until it thickens slightly (10- 15 minutes).

Once it thickens, turn off the heat. Allow it to cool completely. Remember that the mixture thickens as it cools.
Sweet Tamarind Chutney is ready!

Transfer the chutney to a clean glass container and store in the refrigerator. It stays good for a month or two. If you want to store it for a longer time then freeze them in ice cube trays and then transfer it into a resealable bag. Above measurement makes one cup of chutney.

Serving Suggestion: You can top it on any chaat like masala puri, sev puri, dahi sev puri, papdi chaat, bhel puri etc. It makes a good accompaniment to samosa, dhokla etc.

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Ghugni ~ Easy Snack Recipe

Ghugni is a popular evening snack of Eastern India. The dried peas or chickpeas are cooked and then it is made more flavorful and tasty by adding many spice powders. The spiciness is well balanced by the addition of tamarind and sugar. It is finally garnished with chopped onions, cilantro and many other spice powders to make it more tasty.

I was introduced to this snack few months back. I had soaked peas waiting to be used and hence started looking for chaat recipes. I stumbled upon this recipe . I made few additions to the original recipe and gave it a try. I really liked it a lot and from then on I have made it so many times. It has become our new favorite snack and sometimes make it for our dinner too. Do give it a try, if you are looking for a yummy snack for a cold winter evening. I hope you all will enjoy as much as we do :-) 

Ingredients:

• Dried Peas - 3/4 cup
• Potato, small sized - 1 (optional)
• Onion, medium sized - 1
• Ginger - garlic paste - 1 tsp
• Cinnamon - 1-2 inch
• Bay leaf - 1
• Tamarind pulp - 1 Tbsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
• Red Chilli powder - To taste
• Garam masala - 1/4 tsp
• Sugar - 1/2 tsp
• Oil - 1-2 tbsp
• Salt - To taste

For Garnish:

• Roasted Cumin powder
• Black salt
• Chaat Masala
• Cilantro (coriander leaves)
• Chopped Onion
• Sev
• Papdi

Procedure:

Wash the dried peas and soak them in fresh water for 6-8 hours. 

Then discard the water and wash them 1-2 times. Now transfer the peas to a cooker along with the washed potato. Add water and salt. Cook it for a whistle and turn off the heat. The peas should be cooked but not mushy (mine cooked a little more than I expected).

While the peas were cooking, chop the onions and set it aside. Then heat oil in a big pot. Once hot, add cinnamon and bay leaf. After few seconds, add in the chopped onions and fry until they slightly change color to golden brown. 

Then add ginger garlic paste and continue to fry until the raw smell goes away.

Now lower the heat and add red chilli powder, cumin powder and turmeric powder. Fry for few seconds and add cooked peas along with water in which it was cooked. Mix well and add chopped boiled potato, tamarind pulp, salt and sugar. Let this cook on medium- low heat for 5-6 minutes. Finally add in garam masala and taste the mixture. Add more spice powder or tamarind pulp, if desired. The final consistency of the pea mixture should be medium thick (not too thick or not too watery). When everything comes together, turn off the heat.

Ghugni is ready!!

For Serving: Take the desired amount of pea mixture in a serving bowl. Then sprinkle little bit of chaat masala, black salt, roasted cumin powder. Then finally top it off with chopped onion, cilantro, sev and papdi (you can add or omit any of the above. This is how I like it). Serve it immediately.

Above measurement serves two people generously. If serving as an appetizer then it can stretch to about four people.

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Green Chutney ~ For Chaat

Green Chutney is a very important chutney in Chaat. It is a strong flavored chutney and stays good for many days in the refrigerator as it doesn't have any coconut in it. I adapted the recipe from Vah Chef. He is one of the person who has inspired me to try new dishes. I love his recipes. His recipe for green chutney is really simple and flavorful and have been making it for a long time. Do try it and use it for chaat, or along with dhokla or to spice up your sandwich.

Ingredients:

• Cilantro (Coriander leaves) - 1 cup (packed)
• Mint (Pudina) leaves - 1/3 cup (packed)
• Green chilli - 3 (vary accordingly)
• Lime juice- 1 Tbsp (or to taste)
• Sugar - 1/2 tsp (or taste)
• Salt- To taste

Procedure:

Discard the mint stem and wash it. Wash the cilantro along with the stem. 

Now put all the ingredients mentioned above in a blender.

Add little water and grind it to get a paste (not very smooth). At this stage taste it and add sugar or salt or lime juice, if needed. 

Green Chutney is ready!!

Transfer into an air tight container and store it in a refrigerator. Use it for chaat, as a side dish to dhokla or as a sandwich spread.

Note: To store the chutney for months, put it in an ice cube tray. Once set, remove the cubes and store them in a ziploc.

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Masala Puri

Masala Puri is a very popular Indian street food. People always prefer to eat this chaat either at the street vendor or at a restaurant. But I always like making it at home (as usual). I got this recipe from a very good friend of mine and have been making it for more than a year now. Posting this recipe was in my to-do list since a long time. It is not that difficult to make this chaat. Clicking the pictures was a challenge for me. Whenever I made either I would be too lazy to click the pictures or the final product would vanish within few minutes :-) This time I was very much determined to click a picture of each step.

This chaat is a favorite of ours and all the effort it takes in making it is worth at the end:-) You will realize it once you make it. So try it soon:-)

Ingredients:

For the Masala:

• Green Peas (dried)- 1 cup
• Onion, medium sized- 1
• Tomato, big sized- 1
• Potato, small sized- 1
• Red chilli powder- To taste
• Garam Masala- 1 tsp
• Oil- 2-3 tsp
• Salt- To taste

For Toppings:

• Papdi/ Puffed Chaat Puris- 18-20
• Onion, chopped- 1/3 cup
• Cilantro, chopped- 3-4 Tbsp
• Thin Sev- 1/2 cup
• Date- Tamarind Chutney- As required
• Green Chutney- As required (I didn't use)

Procedure:

To Make Masala:

Soak the green peas for 6-8 hours and then cook it in a pressure cooker, in enough water for three whistles (add salt before you close the lid of the cooker). I also cooked the whole potato (de skinned) along with the green peas.

Chop the onions and tomato.

Heat oil in a pan and add chopped onions.

Fry until it turns light brown. Then add chopped tomatoes.

Mix well. Sprinkle little salt and continue heating until the tomato becomes mushy.

Then turn off the heat and allow this mixture to cool. Then make a paste of this mixture without adding water.

Add this paste in the same pan and start heating it.

Heat it for 3-4 minutes, until it loses some moisture. Then add the cooked peas along with water (save a fistful of the cooked green peas).

Mix well. Let this mixture come to a boil. Meanwhile make a coarse paste of the saved cooked green peas. Also mash the cooked potato using your hand or using a fork. Now add the coarse paste of cooked green peas and mashed potatoes to the above mixture.

Mix well. Then add red chilli powder and garam masala. Check for salt at this point. If this mixture has boiled for a good time then turn off the heat. The final consistency of the masala should be medium thick (not too thick or watery). Now the masala is ready.

Next comes the assembling part:

Arrange the chopped onions and cilantro on a plate. Also put the sev (I used store bought one), date- tamarind chutney and green chutney in small bowls.

Now arrange the papdis on the plate as shown below. I used the store bought ones (if you are using puffed chaat puris, then crush them lightly using your hand).

Now put the prepared masala all over the papdis (or crushed puffed puris), as required.

Then add the date- tamarind chutney, green chutney, chopped onion, chopped cilantro and sev, one by one (amount of each item to be added is personal preference. Add accordingly).

Masala Puri is ready!!

Serve it immediately once assembled. Above measurement serves 2-3 people.

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