Papri Chaat
Popular indian street food papri chaat recipe with from scratch homemade papri or indian crackers.
Ingredients
For Homemade Papri (Skip if using Store Bought Papri)
- ¾ cup (~115g) all-purpose flour maida
- 1.5 tablespoon fine semolina sooji
- ¼ teaspoon ajwain carrom seeds
- 1.5 to 2 tablespoon melted ghee or as needed
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 7-8 tablespoon water or as needed, room temperature
- oil for deep frying
For Papri Chaat (Serves 3)
- 1 large potato boiled, peeled & diced small
- ¼ teaspoon roasted cumin powder bhuna jeera powder
- ½ teaspoon chaat masala adjust quantity to taste
- 3 tablespoon tamarind chutney adjust quantity to taste
- 2 tablespoon green chutney adjust quantity to taste
- 2 tablespoon pomegranate seeds
For Yogurt
- ½ cup plain yogurt not too sour, I use whole milk greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon sugar adjust quantity to taste
- ½ teaspoon kala namak indian black salt, adjust quantity to taste
Instructions
Make Papri Dough (Skip this step if using store bought papri)
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together flour, fine semolina, ajwain & salt.
- Start with 1 tablespoon of melted ghee and start working it into the mixture. The idea is to moisten the flour with ghee so that the papri turn out khasta(crispy & flaky). The flour should feel powdery, rather smooth as you add ghee.
- Keep on adding ghee slowly a teaspoon at a time after it & working it into the flour till you are just able to form a firm ball of the flour using your palm & finger.This process is called checking "moyan ".
- Next, slowly add the water (¼ cup to begin with) and start kneading the dough. We are looking for a firm dough here (not soft & pliable, not hard). Knead the dough using your kunckles for about 3-4 minutes. The dough should not feel dry or tight.
- Transfer the dough back to the bowl, cover with a damp cloth & let rest for at least 30 minutes. You can rest the dough up to 1 hour. (do not skip resting).
Roll & Fry Papri
- You can roll the papris in a couple ways. Use any one of the below methods to roll the papri.1st Method -Divide the rested dough into small portions (about 22-24).Take each portion and roll into a smooth ball between your palms. Keep the dough balls covered with a damp cloth.On a rolling surface, roll each dough ball into a 2 inch circle. The thickness should be thin as a muslin cloth (kind of transparent). Dont use any dry flour while rolling. If needed, use oil while rolling. Prick the rolled papri all over with a fork to prevent puffing while frying. We dont want papri to puff like poori. Keep the rolled papri covered with a damp cloth.
- 2nd Method - Divide the dough into two halves. Take one part and roll it into a thin sheet.The sheet should be rolled as thin as a muslin cloth. Once rolled, prick the rolled dough all over with a fork to prevent puffing while frying. Use a round cookie cutter or a jar lid to cut into round shapes. Transfer the rounds to a plate & place covered with damp cloth till you are about to fry. Gather the remaining dough & repeat rolling & cutting till whole of the dough is exhausted. Repeat the same for entire dough. Keep the rolled papri covered with a damp cloth.
- Heat 2-3 cup oil in a deep pot on medium heat. The quantity of oil used should be enough to cover the papris completely while they fry. To check the temperature of oil, pinch a little dough & drop it into the heating oil. The dough should sizzle to the top slowly without changing color. If it sizzles immediately, reduce the heat & let the oil temperature come down.
- Add the papris into the heated oil, a few at a time. Do not overcrowd. Fry on medium-low heat until both sides are golden brown (about 3-5 minutes). Papris should be fried at medium- low heat else they will become soft after cooling.
- Remove browned papris with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel to soak up excess oil. Fry all the papri in a similar way in batches.
- Cool completely & store in an air tight container for up to 4 weeks
Assemble Papri Chaat
- Peel the boiled potatoes and dice small. Add to a bowl and sprinkle a bit of salt to season them. You could add red chilli powder or chaat masala to potatoes too.
- In another bowl, whisk chilled yogurt with little sugar and kala namak (indian black salt). Taste and adjust as you like. Gather the green chutney and tamarind chutneys.
- Dip each papri in yogurt and place in a wide plate. Sprinkle chaat masala and roasted cumin powder. I do 5-6 papri per serving or you can make a large plate if serving family style.
- Top with boiled potatoes. Sprinkle chaat masala and roasted cumin powder again. Season at every stage for amazing punch! Drizzle yogurt, coriander chutney and tamarind chutney. Add chopped onions and green chillies if you wish. Sprinkle chaat masala and roasted cumin powder. You could also add red chili powder.
- Top up with chopped cilantro,and pomegranate arils.Serve rightaway.
Notes
Top Tip - Chaat is all about visual appeal. Usually, I start with light colored ingredients such as yogurt and potatoes followed by green chutney and dark brown imli chutney. Sprinkle chaat masala and bhuna jeera in a manner that a little falls on the yogurt. This makes for an appealing visual contrast. Add the fresh ingredients such as pomegranate and coriander leaves at the very top.
MAKE AHEAD TIPS
You can make all the components ahead and store. Make papdis 2-3 weeks in advance. Boil the potatoes and store them. Prepare the green chutney and imli chutney and keep refrigerated. You can also whisk the yogurt with sugar and salt and store in fridge. With all the components ready to go, its just a matter of minutes before you arrange a papdi chaat plate.
Recipe Tips
- For perfectly crispy and flaky papri, avoid over-kneading the dough, and fry them until golden brown and crunchy.
- Vegan Version - If you are making papri at home, use plant based oil instead of ghee for moyan. Use plant based yogurt instead of regular yogurt. My green chutney recipe has yogurt mixed in it, omit the yogurt while making green chutney.
- The conistency of yogurt and both chutneys should be thick yet flowing. They yogurt should coat the papdi without dripping and you should be able to drizzle chutney.
- Think layers of texture while deciding on which toppings to inlcude for the best bite! aim for a balance of sweet, sour, and spicy flavors in your chaat. Accordingly, adjust the amount of chutneys and spices.
- Serve chilled - Papdi chaat is best served and enjoyed chillied. Make sure that your potatoes are cold. Use chilled yogurt.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!