I have talked already about how much I love Indian Food and how the spices in this incredible cuisine are round and punchy. In this article instead, i want to talk about Samosa Chaat, which is a crispy and spicy deep-fried (or sometimes baked) pastry with a crisp and flaky outer layer and savory fillings. The fillings include spiced potatoes, peas, onions, lentils, or minced meat and can be triangular, half-moon shape, or cone-shaped.

Samosa is the most common snack throughout India. You can find samosas everywhere, including at parties, street food outlets, restaurants, homes, and cafes. It is ideal for every situation, whether as an appetizer, entrée, or a quick snack. In addition, samosa alongside tea is a perfect pair for a great evening conversation. The good thing about samosa is that you can prepare it to your liking by varying the degree of spiciness.

The most common and popular way to enjoy samosa is to eat them whole or as a delicious side for a meal. However, there are other ways you can include and enjoy this tangy and crispy snack in your meals:

Bun Samosa

Bun samosa, also called samosa pav, is simply a samosa hamburger, and you can find it in food outlets across India and the USA. It makes for a great snack on the go.

Samosa Wrap

Samosa Wrap is an innovative way of enjoying samosa. This food consists of tortillas stuffed with deconstructed samosas and a generous layer of spicy flavored rice.

Samosa Chaat Street Food

Samosa chaat is a yummy snack and among the most famous street foods in India. This spicy, tangy, and flavorful recipe is an excellent way of enjoying samosas. A plate of samosa chaat consists of samosa that is broken into bite-sized chunks and served up with masala chutney and a selection of spices.

Indian Chaat

Indian Chaat is a savory snack, which traces its origin to India. It is often served as an hors d’oeuvre across the streets of India in roadside tracks, stalls, and food carts. The term chaat derives from Hindi and roughly translates to lick or lick one’s fingers while eating. The Indian chat recipes vary, but they all have a base consisting of fried dough served with other ingredients.

Dahi Samosa Chaat

The dahi samosa chaat is a popular variation of the samosa chat. While the dahi samosa chaat and the samosa chaat are pretty similar, the latter is strictly for a vegan diet. Dahi or curd is a traditional yogurt with origins in India. The dahi samosa incorporates yogurt (from milk) and is therefore not ideal for a vegan diet.

Samosa Chaat Recipe

The two main components of this tasty dish are samosa and chole (Chana masala). Chole is essentially chickpeas prepared with various spices and seasonings. Others include chutney (coriander or tamarind chutney) which adds a vibrant flavor and a taste of freshness and toppings (cilantro and spices). For this vegan recipe, you can add almond milk yogurt to your samosa chaat.

While it is popular street food in India, you can still make a samosa chaat at home. You can have samosa chaat for breakfast, an afternoon snack, or even for lunch or dinner. This article will guide you through the entire procedure of preparing the different parts and combining them to make a samosa chaat.

This dish of Samosa Chaat consists of two different elements to be prepared: Chole Masala and Samosa.

Chole Masala Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups raw chickpeas
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 4-5 black peppercorn
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tea bags
• 5-6 green cardamom pod
• 5 cups water
• Salt to taste
• ¾ cup pureed onion
• 2 ½ cup pureed tomatoes
• 2 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
• ¾ tea spoon chole masala
• ½ teaspoon cumin powder
• ½ teaspoon red chili powder
• ½ teaspoon paprika powder
• Salt to taste
• 3-4 cloves
• 1 tablespoon oil

Garnish

• 2 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 1 inch ginger (cut into julienne)
• 1 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter)
• ¼ teaspoon garam masala

Method

1. Soak the chickpeas for about 4 to 5 hours (or overnight) in enough water to cover the chickpeas. Once the time lapses, drain all the water from the chickpeas
2. In a pressure cooker, add the chickpeas, bay leaves, tea bags, cinnamon sticks, cardamom, salt, and about 5 cups of water.
3. Pressure cook using high flame until you get a second whistle, and then turn the flame to medium. Now cook the chickpeas for about 12 minutes.
4. In a pan, heat one tablespoon of oil until hot. Add cloves and grated onion and fry until the onions turn golden brown.
5. Add the ginger-garlic paste and cook for about 4 minutes
6. Add tomato puree, stir, and allow it to cook for about 12 to 15 minutes on medium-low flame. Keep the pan covered during cooking.
7. Add the chole masala, cumin powder, paprika powder, red chili powder, and salt. Mix for a minute or two.
8. Add water and cover the pan. Allow it to simmer at the medium-low flame for about 30 minutes. The gravy will thicken during cooking, and you can add water to your preferred consistency.
9. To temper, heat one tablespoon of ghee in a wok and add the ginger julienne. Replace ghee with oil in the tempering if you are preparing a vegan recipe.
10. Fry the juliennes until they turn color to golden brown (Take care not to burn them). Add the tempering to the chole curry, stir well, and turn off the flame.
11. Sprinkle some Kasuri methi and garam masala garnish with chopped coriander leaves
12. Chole actually tastes better if you let it stay for a day; the spices infuse well into the entire preparation. Let it cool down, pack in an airtight container, and deep freeze. Use it the following day.

Samosa Recipe

Ingredients for Dough

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 50ml oil
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoon water (to knead the dough)
• 1 teaspoon carom seeds (ajwain)

Ingredients for Samosa Filling

• 3-4 medium-sized potatoes
• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoon green peas
• 2 tablespoon oil
• 2 teaspoon crushed coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
• 1 green chili chopped
• ½ teaspoon dried mango powder (amchur)
• ½ teaspoon garam masala
• ¼ teaspoon red chili powder
• ¼ teaspoon hing (asafetida)
• Salt to taste
• Oil to deep fry

Method

Samosa Dough

1. The first step is to make the samosa dough. Add flour, carom seeds (ajwain), salt, and incorporate well.
2. Add oil and start mixing the flour with your fingers. Rub the flour with the oil until the oil incorporates into the flour. This may take 3-4 minutes, and when correctly done, the flour mixture will look like crumbs.
3. To check if the oil is enough and well incorporated, press some amount of the flour mixture in your hand. It should form into shape and not crumble.
4. Progressively add water into the flour and mix to make a stiff dough. Be careful with the amount of water; you do not want to knead a soft dough. Do not overwork the dough.
5. Cover the dough using a moist cloth and allow it to rest for about 40 minutes.

Work on the filling while the dough is resting.

Samosa Filling

1. In a pressure cooker, boil the tomato for 8-9 whistles or until done. Release the pressure.
2. Peel off the skin and proceed to smash the potatoes. Set the mashed potatoes aside.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan on medium heat until hot. Add cumin seeds, crushed coriander seeds, and cumin seeds.
4. Sizzle the seeds for a few seconds before adding the chopped ginger, hing, and chili and cook for a minute.
5. Add the green peas and mashed potatoes to the pan and stir well.
6. Add garam masala, coriander powder, red chili powder, amchur, and salt and stir to combine everything.
7. Once everything is well incorporated, turn off the heat and allow the filling to cool down a bit.

Final Step – Prepare the Samosa

1. After resting for forty minutes, give the dough a quick knead and divide it into seven equal parts. Form each piece into a dough ball.
2. Pick a dough ball, roll it into a circular but almost oval shape to a diameter of about 6 to 7 inches. Cut it into two equal parts.
3. Mix a small amount of water with dough to make a nice glue for making samosa pouches.
4. Pick one of the halves and apply the glue along the straight edge. Now fold it into half along the straight edge. Pinch the glued edges together to form a cone-shaped pouch. Remember to keep the other dough balls covered with a moist cloth to prevent them from drying
5. Fill the samosa pouch with about 1 to 2 tablespoons of potato fillings. Avoid overfilling the samosa.
6. Apply the glue around the circumference of the samosa cone to seal it. Pinch the edges to ensure they seal completely.
7. The samosa is ready. Repeat the above procedure with the rest of the dough. Cover the filled samosas with a moist cloth while you prepare the others.
8. Heat the frying oil (on low heat) in a wok. Drop a small cut of dough into the oil check if it is hot enough. If ready, the dough should take a few seconds to rise to the surface.
9. Fry the samosas on low heat for 10 to 12 minutes – the samosas should become firm and turn to light brown. Now turn the flame to medium and fry for 10 to 12 until the samosas turn nicely brown.
10. Do not fry too many samosas at once – 4 to 5 at a time is okay. Overcrowding the samosas will cause the oil to lose heat quickly and result in sogged samosas.

Toppings

Ingredients

• 2 small bunches of cilantro (with hard stems removed)
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 green chili (or to taste)
• ½ inch ginger
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon cumin powder (roasted)
• ¼ cup plain yogurt (or almond milk yogurt for vegan recipe)
• 1/8 teaspoon chaat masala (optional)
• Pinch black pepper
• Salt to taste

Method

1. Remove the hard stalks from the cilantro (keep the tender stalks and leaves) and wash the cilantro.
2. Add the cilantro leaves, ginger, cumin powder, green chili, black pepper, chaat masala, and salt to a blender. Sprinkle in the lemon juice and the sugar, and add the almond yogurt.
3. Blend to a smooth consistency. If the chutney is runny, you can add a teaspoon of peanuts to make it have a thicker consistency.
4. You can refrigerate the chutney and use it as needed.

How to Serve Samosa Chaat

1. To prepare a dish of samosa chat, add a cup of chole into a serving bowl. Add a few dollops of yogurt for topping.
2. Break two samosas into bite-size pieces and place them on top of yogurt. Proceed to top the samosa with more chole and cilantro chutney.
3. Garnish the dish with chopped onion, cilantro, sev, and pomegranate arils (optional). Sprinkle with chaat masala.

Serve immediately before the crispy parts become soggy.