WoYP Day #22 - Palak (Spinach leaf) Chaat

Palak (Spinach) chaat is deep fried spinach leaves topped with a melange of onions, tasty chutneys and toppings. It’s a great combination of spicy, sweet, crunchy - all akin to drool worthy chaat.

For this chaat, you will need larger leaves of Spinach. Wide, large leaves are easy to fry and almost forms a ‘plate’ in itself to hold all the toppings. If you don’t come across large ones, medium sized leaves will do too. 

 

You will need:

For the Fried Spinach:
8-10 large Spinach leaves, washed and wiped dry
1/2 cup Gram flour (Besan)
2 tbsp Rice flour
1/4 tsp Ajjwain (Carom seeds)
1/2 tsp Kashmiri Red chili powder
1/4 tsp Chaat masala
Salt to taste
Water, as needed
Oil to fry

For the Chaat:

1/4 cup chopped onions
Mint chutney
Tamarind chutney (Meeta)
2 tbsp Chopped cilantro
1 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder
1 tsp Chaat masala
1/4 cup yoghurt, lightly beaten
1/4 tsp Sugar
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Fine Sev

In a deep pan, heat 2 inches of oil. Meanwhile in a medium bowl, combine the Besan, rice flour, salt, ajjwain, red chili powder and chaat masala. Stir and add water little at a time to make a thick flowing batter. When the oil is hot, dip each leaf in the batter and drop it in the oil. Fry for 30 seconds on each side until crisp and brown. Remove and drain briefly on a paper towel lined plate. Fry the remaining spinach leaves and drain the excess oil.

To assemble:

 

Place one fried leaf on a plate or several if they are medium sized. Lightly beat the yoghurt with little water, salt and sugar. Top the fried spinach leaf with a tablespoon of chopped onions. Top with a spoonful of mint chutney and tamarind chutney. Drizzle a spoon or two of the beaten yoghurt. 

 
Sprinkle a generous pinch of chaat masala and red chili powder on top. Lastly add the sev and chopped cilantro. Serve right away.

Adjust quantities of chutneys to suit your taste. Hope you enjoy this crunchy chaat!