Chaat Gaadi is here!! Pani Puri, Masala Puri & Dahi Puri

Every Indian I know, loves chaat…from kids to grannies and grandpas, the spicy finger licking combination called “Chaat” is an all time favourite. Somehow it always seems to taste best when had in the roadside gaadis ..hehe…probably the fact that eating out involves standing and precariously balancing the chaat plates in one hand and eating with the other, at the same time taking care not to spill the chaat! An adventure on its own..hehe! I miss those gaadi chaats here in the US, there are restaurants which serve chaats but don’t taste that good. My mom used to make them at home so I thought I’d give it a try here too.

Masala Puri

Masala Puri is puris with ragada on top. Ragada masala is a mixture of boiled peas and various other ingredients.

You will need:
For the Masala Puri

Pani puris

2 tomatoes Chopped

1 onion chopped

1 carrot grated

1 cup Fine Sev

Salt

Mint(Pudina) chutney (recipe)

Meeta ( recipe follows)

Chopped coriander























For the Ragada:

1 ½ cups Dry Peas
¼ tsp Turmeric
2tsp Red chilli powder
2 tbsp Corriander powder
¼ tsp Black pepper powder
1 large onion cubed
2-3 Big cloves Garlic
½ tsp Garam masala
2-3 Curry leaves
1” pc Ginger
½ cup Corriander
6-7 Green chillies










Soak peas overnight and boil it with little salt and keep aside. Place remaining ingredients in a blender with ½ cup of boiled peas. Blend to a fine paste. Add this paste to the peas and bring to a boil. Let boil for atleast 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt to taste and use as required.



In a bowl mix the chopped onions, coriander and grated carrot. Take 6-7 puris in a shallow bowl or a plate. Flatten them by pressing down with the palm of your hand. Pour 2-3 ladles of the ragada on top of the crushed puris. Pour 1 tsp of Pudina chutney and meeta on top. Add a pinch of salt and top with the onion mixture. Cover with fine sev. Top with chopped tomatoes. Serve hot. Always prepare when ready to eat otherwise puris will become very soft.




Meeta


You will need:


2-3 portions Jaggery

1 portion of Tamarind juice

¼ cup Water


Place jaggery and tamarind juice with water in a pan. Bring to a bubbling boil. Taste and add more jaggery if required. Meeta is ready when the mixture has thickened and is sticky. Store in an air tight container and refrigerate.


Pani Puri/Gol Goppas


For the Pani:

2 litres water
2 garlic pods
15 green chillies
1 lemon (juiced)
1 ½ half tsp jeera
½ tsp black pepper crushed
Salt to taste
1 ½ tsps Jal Jeera powder










For the Pani Puri assembly:

Pani Puris
1 cup Boiled Peas
1 Onion chopped
1 Carrot grated
Chopped coriander
1 Potato boiled (optional)












Grind all the Pani ingredients into a fine paste and put the paste in a muslin cloth, tie it and leave it in the water. Stir once in a while. After ½ a day remove the muslin cloth from the water and Pani is ready to use. Top with chopped coriander. Use as required, can be chilled and used too.


This makes what is called Bangarpet Pani. Bangarpet is a small town located near Bangalore, Karnataka, famous for its Pani. This Pani is colourless but has good flavour.If you don’t have a muslin cloth, then you can add the paste to the water and strain it after half a day. The resulting liquid will not be as clear though.


Mix chopped onions, coriander and grated carrot. Make a small hole on top of each pani puri and fill it with boiled peas and the onion mixture. Add mashed potato if using. Serve these puris with a cup of pani. Add meeta to each puri if you like the pani puris sweet.




Dahi Puri


Also called Sev Dahi Puri or Sev puri, this is another delicious chaat.


You will need:


Pani Puris

Onion mixture (chopped onion, coriander and grated carrot)

Boiled Chikpeas

Boiled potato (mashed)

1 tsp Red chilli powder

Salt to taste

1 tsp Chaat masala

1 cup Fine sev

1 cup yoghurt

Water

Mint (Pudina) chutney

Meeta























Beat the yoghurt with little water to make a smooth paste which has a pouring consistency. Add 1 tsp Sugar and little salt. Mix and keep aside.


Fill puris with onion mixture, boiled chickpeas or mashed potato. Add a pinch of red chilli powder, chaat masala and salt. Add ¼ tsp of Pudina chutney and meeta. Top with the beaten yoghurt. Again add a pinch of red chilli powder and chaat masala. Top with sev and serve.



Add Meeta only if you want it sweet, it can be omitted otherwise.

A weekend of chaats, what more can one want? :)


37 comments:

  1. Oh chaats! amazing... I love them.. I can have pani puri n other chaats 24/7 and will never get bored of it.... super Nams! Now I'm tempted to eat all of those...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey thanks Suman :) Hehe..will send you some ;-D

    ReplyDelete
  3. hey one plate meetha please!! jaldi karo cos I am drooling already:)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hahaha...sure Sharmi..coming up right away! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is torture, chaat anytime.One plate for mee tooo

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am feeling hungry again... this is not fair.. I had my dinner just a couple of mins back.. thats chat.. lovely pics dear..:D

    ReplyDelete
  7. count me in for chaat anytime :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I too love chat items...and you have given all my favourite items here...you are tempting so many people here I think.......:)

    ReplyDelete
  9. That's a lovely array of Pics..feeling hungry now..

    ReplyDelete
  10. Loved them all...oh..my..there are butterflies in my stomach now...

    ReplyDelete
  11. Namratha feel like coming there. Bookmarked to try. Thanks. Viji

    ReplyDelete
  12. i may relocate near ur place, if you continue making such yummy food...chaat..i looooooove chaat

    ReplyDelete
  13. Tgis is what i call torture. One is just drooling to all the picture.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hehehe...sure Sreelu, plate headed your way ;-D

    Thanks Siri dear :)

    Sure Richa, making some for you too..hehe

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thanks Raks, hehe ya a lot of them say this is torture coz they can't grab a plate from the pics ;-D

    Thanks Apple:)

    Hehe..go eat quickly Lakshmi:)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thanks Viji, do come, you are welcome anytime:)

    :) Asha!!

    Hahaha...sure rajitha, do come, would love to have you here!!:)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hehe..aww come on over Happy, we can share a plate ;)

    ReplyDelete
  18. You have made my day!, Gosh...I am missing my galli ka paani puriwala..
    I love dahi batata puri the most!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Namratha....Me and my husband are great fans of these chats......I used to make them before...not doing them these days....
    Nice ones dear....crunchy chats.....Zindabad :-)

    ReplyDelete
  20. Namratha awesome chaats...mouth watering.....i need masala puri rite now.....

    ReplyDelete
  21. It's so interesting to hear about how good the food is back in India, when the food here is all I've had and It's so good to me, I can only imagine it being better!!!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Love all of these items!
    Yum Yum Yum! esp the pani puri:-)

    ReplyDelete
  23. what a great post! my whole family loves to eat chats. thanks for sharing the recipes..:)

    ReplyDelete
  24. hi ur page has all my favorite food...will come n grab everything

    ReplyDelete
  25. Thanks Padma:)

    Hey that's awesome Sirisha,always a pleasure to meet chaat fans..hehe!

    Thanks Madhuri...will send u some ;-D

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hmm that's so true Meeso...each one's country food is the best to its country people :)

    Thanks TBC:)

    That's nice to hear Lissie:)

    Hehe...sure Shanti, be my guest!:)

    ReplyDelete
  27. U made me so nostalgic with this ! I went back to the time when we stayed in North INdia and these were regular treats...I miss them so much

    ReplyDelete
  28. im drooling !!!! all my fav chaats...eventhough i'm akeralite,i love these chaats..i havent made myself yet...wanna try smetime...lastweek i had bhelpuri here in a indian restuarant...oh my god..the worst of worst that i had in my life...really they spoiled the wonderful taste of it...thanku for sharing this...will try it...

    ReplyDelete
  29. Hey how did I miss this post ?
    Drooling........Will make some this weekend. thanks a lot Namratha. What was your fav spot in mysore to eat these ?

    ReplyDelete
  30. hey Namratha...I googled masala puri and came to ur blog...my taste buds have been longing for the masala puri that we get in bangalore..
    your recipe looks yummy will surely try and let u know...

    ReplyDelete
  31. hey the recipe is awesome and very easy to cook tooo!!thanks a ton for sharing it:)

    ReplyDelete
  32. I tried this at home... every one thinks i can have my own Gaadi in Dallas :)

    ReplyDelete
  33. I'm confused a little..please help! For the MAsala Puri, have you used only Dry Peas? As in the Dry peas that has been soaked in water and then boiled, that is the only variety of peas which you have used?

    ReplyDelete
  34. MP, yes that is the only variety of peas I've used. Boil the peas, then blend a handful of it along with the remaining ingredients to make a gravy for the masala puri. You can reserve some of the boiled peas for the Pani Puri as well. Fresh peas aren't usually used in these dishes.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Thanks so much for the clarification, Namratha. Trying it out today :)

    ReplyDelete
  36. Good article!! And I am sure all Momma's are very happy to see this..So that they can avoid their kids eating out..There are also hygienic restaurants in Bangalore which serves these fast foods.

    Dining

    ReplyDelete

Hi, thanks for stopping by my blog! I appreciate your comments and suggestions.

Blog Widget by LinkWithin