I think we all have those homemade snacks that we just crave and love that a bag of potato chips just won’t cover. For me, it’s definitely Chaat Papri (or Papri Chaat). Chaat Papri is a traditional street food found all over the Indian subcontinent, which includes Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh! There are so many different varieties but in general we have a vibrant, rich blend of chopped vegetables, spiced chickpeas, tangy yogurt, and crispy papri (fried flour crackers). The papri is a must, of course! It’s super simple to put together which just means you get to eat it quickly and it’s honestly as delicious as it is beautiful. Let’s get started with the recipe, shall we?
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Ingredients:
- 3 cups cooked chickpeas
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1.5 teaspoons cumin powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Pakistani red chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1.5 teaspoons tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, to taste
- 2 small red onions, diced
- 2 small plum tomatoes, diced
- 1 large potato, boiled and roughly chopped
- 5-6 cups Papdi
- 1 cup yogurt + 1/4 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons green (coriander or mint) chutney
- 2 tablespoons sweet tamarind chutney
- pomegranate seeds, garnish
- cilantro, garnish
- Shan Chaat Masala Seasoning, garnish
Directions:
When I say this recipe is simple, I mean it! The hardest part is just putting together the spiced chickpeas. In a small pot add the oil on medium heat. Add in the chickpeas with about a 1/4 cup water, if it’s from a can you can just partially drain it to get about a 1/4 cup liquid. Add in the spices, salt, and tomato paste. Cook on medium heat until the spices and tomato paste are completely mixed and aromatic, this should take about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover, and set aside until ready to use.
Once you have your chickpeas done, everything else is just a breeze. And doesn’t everyone just love a breeze? Maybe not winter ones…but okay, think of it like a cool summer breeze. Those are appreciated! Anyways, moving along. Finely dice your red onions and tomatoes. Then in a bowl mix together your yogurt and milk, until thin but still creamy. Peel your potato (if it isn’t already) and then roughly chop it up. Guess what? You are literally almost done!
Everything is ready so it’s now time to assemble! First, get your Chaat Papri station ready. You should have diced onion and tomato, chopped potato, yogurt mixture, spiced chickpeas, green chutney, sweet tamarind chutney (imli chutney), and of course your Papri. Now, you may be wondering where to get these fancy chutneys and Papri. You can certainly make them but they can very easily be bought at your local Indian market. Makes things even easier and that’s just what I want for you.
So, to assembling. There’s a few different ways you can go about it. If you want to make one large dish to serve many people you certainly can or you can break it up into a few large plates (which will serve 2-3 people each). Either way the order will be the same; a large tray will just put everything at once whereas in plates you can split the ingredients into thirds or fourths. Start with the Papdi (1-2 cups for smaller portion), then spoon on a few tablespoons of yogurt mixture, add a few tablespoons of chickpeas, some potatoes, some tomatoes, red onions, drizzle on some green and tamarind chutney, and top it with some more yogurt. Sprinkle with a little bit of Shan Chaat Masala Seasoning. Garnish with some fresh pomegranate seeds, a few crushed up papri, and some chopped cilantro.
And now, you’re done! Wasn’t that easy? It totally was. Serve it as soon as possible but it’s okay if it sits for a little while. I personally love it when the papri soaks up some of the yogurt and becomes a little soft but there is still a savory crunch. The vegetables and pomegranate add such a brightness and with the fresh chutneys you get a subtle sourness, sweetness and some spice. Everything just pairs together perfectly!
Chaat Papri
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked chickpeas
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1½ teaspoons cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon Pakistani red chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1½ teaspoons tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon salt, to taste
- 2 small red onions, diced
- 2 small plum tomatoes, diced
- 1 large potato, peeled, boiled, and roughly chopped
- 5-6 cups Papdi
- 1 cup yogurt + 1/4 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons green (coriander or mint) chutney
- 2 tablespoons sweet tamarind chutney
- pomegranate seeds, garnish
- cilantro, garnish
- Shan Chaat Masala Seasoning, garnish
Instructions
- In a small pot, add in oil and cooked chickpeas on medium heat. With the chickpeas add in aroun ¼ cup water. If it’s from a can, partially drain liquid until there is around ¼ cup liquid. Add the spices, salt and tomato paste to pot. Cook for around 5 minutes until spices are aromatic and tomato paste is mix thoroughly in chickpeas. Once done, turn off the heat, cover, and set aside until ready to use.
- Finely dice red onions, tomatoes, and put aside. Peel the boiled potato (if not already peeled) and roughly chop.
- In a small bowl mix together yogurt and milk until completely combined. It should be thinner but still creamy.
- To assemble make a station of Papri, yogurt mixture, diced onion and tomatoes, chopped potatoes, green and tamarind chutney.
- *In a large plate (to serve 2-3 people each) add in 1-2 cups Papri, spoon on a few tablespoons of yogurt mixture, add a few tablespoons of chickpeas (around ½ cup), top with some potatoes, red onions and tomatoes, spoon on some green chutney and tamarind chutney. Drizzle with some more yogurt then sprinkle with Chaat ka masala powder.
- Garnish with some crushed up papri, fresh pomegranate seeds, and chopped cilantro. Repeat this in 2 or 3 more plates until all the ingredients have been used.
- Serve immediately or you can let it sit for half an hour to an hour to let papri to slightly soften but still retain some crunch. Up to you!
- Enjoy!
Notes:
- *If you want to make on big serving, assemble using full amount of ingredients in the same order in a large 9×13 dish.
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