What Is Papdi Chaat?
Papdi or papri means a deep-fried flat, crispy puri and chaat means a type of savory snack that is typically served at roadside stalls or carts. Here papdis are topped with boiled, chickpeas, potatoes, spices, yogurt, 2 chutneys (green chutney and tamarind date chutney), and sev. Plus, it is garnished with cilantro and pomegranate arils. Papdi chaat is a popular street food from Delhi (North India). The vendors who are selling dahi bhalla also keep this papdi chaat in the menu. Some vendors add some broken vada from dahi bhalla to papdi chaat plate and call it a dahi bhalla papdi chaat. Here in the USA, you’ll find papdi chaat on every North Indian restaurant’s menu.
❤️ You’ll Love This Dahi Papdi Chaat
Crowd pleaser: Make a large platter of this papdi chaat and your guests will go crazy over it. Believe me, this will be the first dish that gets cleaned up by everyone.
This tongue-tickling chaat has a combination of salty, sweet, sour, tangy, and medium spicy flavors. Every bite has crispy, crunchy papdi and sev with soft textured potatoes and chickpeas. It gives a cooling effect in your mouth because of the chilled yogurt in it.
Quick and Easy to make: Make some of the components ahead of time or use store-bought ones (e.g. cilantro chutney, tamarind chutney, chickpeas). After that assembly part takes just 10 minutes.
🧾 Ingredient Notes
Here is a pic of the ingredients and components you’ll need to make dahi puri recipe.
Papdi or flat puris: Make papdi at home or use the store-bought one. It is flat, crispy puris made with all purpose flour. I have shared the fried papdi recipe and baked papdi both versions. But here I have used a store-bought packet. Chickpeas: Personally I prefer to use dry chickpeas and then soak and boil them at home. You can check out instant pot chickpeas post. Or simply use canned chickpeas. Boiled potatoes: I always boil potatoes in instant pot. It takes around 8-10 minutes on manual. Or steam pressure cook on stovetop for 1-2 whistles. Plain Yogurt: Always use chilled, full-fat, not sour yogurt. Powdered sugar: A little is added to yogurt to make slightly sweetened yogurt. Spices: A spice mixture is made from black pepper, red chili powder, chaat masala, roasted cumin powder, and black salt. Trust me, this spice mixture is a game-changer. Don’t skip it. Green chutney: It adds a fresh, herby flavor with a spicy taste. It is made from cilantro and green chilies with a few spices. Tamarind date chutney: It adds a slightly sweet, tangy (chatpata) flavor. It is made from tamarind, dates, and jaggery. Nylon sev: For making dahi papdi chaat, you’ll need superfine nylon sev. The regular sev is slightly thicker than the nylon sev. You can use a regular one in the absence of nylon sev. Cilantro: Freshly chopped cilantro is a must. Pomegranate: It is optional, but I like to use it for flavor and it looks good as a garnishing.
👩🍳 How To Make Papdi Chaat Recipe? (Pics)
Prep: Rinse and soak chickpeas in enough water for at least 8 hours. Next day boil them. Plan ahead and prepare 2 chutneys. You can make them a day before and store them in the refrigerator. Also, boil and cut the potato, and keep it ready. Making Yogurt Mixture:
- Take yogurt in a bowl, and add powdered sugar.
- Whisk until yogurt is smooth and it should have a pourable consistency. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge until needed. Making Spice Mixture:
- Take all the spice powders (black pepper, red chili powder, chaat masala, roasted cumin powder, and black salt) in a small bowl.
- Mix everything with a spoon. Assemble Papdi Chaat Plate (That Serves 2 People): Keep everything ready on the countertop right before assembling the plates. Here I took a big plate and it will serve 2 people. To make it look good for photography, I have arranged whole papdi around the edges and broken pieces in the center. Note: You are supposed to eat papdi chaat with a spoon (not popping the whole puri in your mouth like sev puri or dahi puri). So it is a good idea to make a single layer of broken papdis.
- Break 12-13 papdi into 3-4 pieces and make a single layer on a plate.
- Sprinkle boiled chickpeas (¼ cup) and potato cubes (¼ cup) evenly on top of the papdi bed.
- Sprinkle the prepared spice mixture generously (around ½ teaspoon). 4, 5) Drizzle around 2 tablespoons of green chutney and 2 tablespoons of tamarind date chutney on top.
- Then drizzle around ⅓ cup of the yogurt mixture.
- Again drizzle 1 tablespoon of green chutney and 1 tablespoon of tamarind date chutney. And sprinkle around ¼ teaspoon of the spice mixture.
- Sprinkle around 2-3 tablespoons of sev on top.
- Garnish papri chaat with freshly chopped cilantro (1 tablespoon) and pomegranate arils (1 tablespoon).
💭 Expert Tips For Making Papri Chaat
Customizable: Take given measurements for chutneys and topping as a guideline. You can increase or decrease the amount as per your liking and preference. But be generous on yogurt here. Reduce your prep time by using store-bought items, such as ready jars of green chutney and meethi chutney. Also, get a can of chickpeas instead of soaking, and boiling at home. Also, use a store-bought packet of papdi. Making it for a party: Keep all the components ready a day before and store them in the fridge. So right before guests arrive, you’ll just have to assemble a platter of papdi chaat. Keep the serving spoon small plates, and spoons and let guests help themselves. And don’t worry, store-bought papdi won’t turn soggy and soft for at least 30 minutes. Did you try this dahi papdi chaat recipe (papri chaat)? I’d love to hear about it! Leave a review in the comment section below.
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