Papdi Chaat is a popular North Indian street food snack made with crisp papdi layered with boiled potatoes, cooked chickpeas, yogurt, chutneys, and ground spices. It has a mix of crunchy and creamy textures with sweet, tangy, and spicy flavors.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 60 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 560 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Snacks
  • Cuisine: Indian, North Indian

Ingredients

  • 1 cup dried chickpeas (– swap with 2.5 to 3 cups cooked or canned chickpeas)
  • 2 cups water (– for pressure cooking chickpeas)
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 potato (– medium to large)
  • 24 to 30 Papdi (– crispy puri or flour crackers)
  • 1 cup curd ((yogurt), whisked till smooth, cold and fresh)
  • ¼ cup coriander leaves (- chopped)
  • ½ cup Mint Coriander Chutney
  • ½ cup Tamarind Chutney (– recipe ingredients and method below)
  • ¼ cup Garlic Chutney (– recipe ingredients and method below, optional)
  • 1 teaspoon kashmiri chilli powder (– optional)
  • 1 teaspoon roasted cumin powder
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons chaat masala
  • 1 teaspoon black salt (or edible rock salt or regular salt, add as required)
  • ¼ to ⅓ cup pomegranate arils (– optional)
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons lemon juice (or lime juice, optional)
  • ½ cup sev (– optional)
  • 1 cup mint leaves (– chopped)
  • ½ cup coriander leaves (– chopped)
  • 1 green chili (– chopped or add as required)
  • 1 to 2 teaspoon lemon juice (or lime juice, preserves the green color of the chutney)
  • salt (as required)
  • ½ cup tamarind
  • ½ cup seedless dates
  • ½ cup jaggery (or add according to taste)
  • ½ teaspoon dry ginger powder ((ground ginger))
  • 1 teaspoon coriander powder
  • 1 teaspoon roasted cumin powder
  • ½ teaspoon red chili powder (– optional)
  • 2 cups water (or add as required)
  • salt (or black salt, add as required)
  • 18 to 20 garlic cloves (– medium to large sized)
  • 2 teaspoons kashmiri chilli powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt (or add as required)
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons water (or add as required, for blending or grinding)

Method

Cooking Chickpeas

  1. If you want to add chickpeas to the papdi chaat, then some effort is needed. This is if you don't want to use canned chickpeas.
  2. Rinse chickpeas in water a couple of times. Soak them in 3 cups water overnight or for 8 to 9 hours.
  3. Later drain the soaked water and rinse the chickpeas again a few time. Add the chickpeas to a 2 litre pressure cooker together with water and salt.
  4. If you want to cook potato, then keep a potato in steel bowl. Place this steel bowl with the potato in it on the chickpeas and water mixture in the cooker. The potato and chickpeas will be cooked together.
  5. Cover the cooker tightly with the lid and pressure cook on medium heat until the pressure starts building and you hear the hissing sound in the cooker. Then lower the heat a bit and pressure cook for 10 to 12 whistles.
  6. When the pressure settles on its own in the cooker then only remove the lid.
  7. Check the potato by piercing it with a knife or fork. It should be tender, soft and the knife or fork should easily pass through it. Lift the potato with a pasta tong and set it aside to cool at room temperature.
  8. Check to see if the chickpeas are cooked. They should have a soft melt-in-the-mouth texture. Drain the water and set the cooked chickpeas aside.

Making Mint Coriander Chutney

  1. Blend all the ingredients with very little water to a smooth and fine consistency.
  2. Set aside or refrigerate in a small covered container or jar.

Making Sweet Tamarind Chutney

  1. Boil the tamarind and dates in water.
  2. When they become soft add the jaggery and the spice powders and salt.
  3. Cook further till the jaggery melts.
  4. Switch off the heat and let the mixture cool.
  5. Grind the chutney mixture to a fine and smooth paste. Seive the chutney through a strainer if needed. Add more salt if required.
  6. If the chutney becomes too thick add some water to liquidize it.

Making Spicy Chili Garlic Chutney

  1. Peel the garlic cloves and rinse them in water. Add them together with the kashmiri red chilli powder, salt and water to a small blender or chutney grinder jar or a spice grinder.
  2. Blend to a smooth and fine consistency without any tiny chunks or bits.
  3. Transfer the red chutney in a small bowl and set aside.

Assembling & Making Papdi Chaat

  1. Arrange 6 to 8 papdi in a shallow bowl or plate.
  2. Top it up with some of the chopped boiled potato cubes and cooked chickpeas.
  3. You can add chopped onions and tomatoes at this point, but it is optional.
  4. Sprinkle some chaat masala, roasted cumin powder and optionally kashmiri red chili powder on it, if you want at this step.
  5. Top these with whisked cold curd (yogurt) as you like.
  6. Top it up evenly with 1 to 2 tablespoons of the green chutney as much as you want.
  7. Then add 2 to 3 tablespoons of the sweet tamarind chutney and 1 to 2 teaspoons of the spicy chilli garlic chutney evenly. According to your taste preferences you can add less or more of each chutney.
  8. Sprinkle some chaat masala, red chili powder, cumin powder and black salt or regular salt.
  9. Garnish with coriander leaves and pomegranate arils. Sprinkle sev on top and this step is also optional.
  10. Add a dash of lemon juice to the papri chaat if you prefer.
  11. Serve papdi chaat immediately.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.