Market-Stall Papdi Chaat with From-Scratch Papdi & Tamarind-Date Chutney

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Everything a good chaat cart does at once: shatteringly crisp fried papdi discs you roll and fry yourself, cool whipped yogurt, sweet-sour tamarind-date chutney, a bright green cilantro-mint chutney, spiced potato and chickpea, and a blizzard of sev. Build it in paper cones or shallow bowls and eat immediately, while every layer is still doing its own thing.

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup fine semolina (sooji/rava)
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/4 tsp ajwain (carom seeds), lightly crushed
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 tbsp ghee or neutral oil, plus more for frying
• 6 tbsp cool water, plus more as needed
• 4 cups neutral oil, for frying

• 3/4 cup pitted Medjool dates, roughly chopped
• 3 tbsp seedless tamarind concentrate (or 1/3 cup tamarind pulp)
• 2 tbsp jaggery or dark brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 tsp ground roasted cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
• 1/2 tsp kala namak (black salt)
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt

• 2 cups cilantro leaves and tender stems, packed
• 1/2 cup mint leaves, packed
• 1 serrano chile, stemmed (seeds removed for less heat)
• 1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 3 tbsp cold water

• 1 1/2 cups whole-milk plain yogurt
• 2 tbsp whole milk
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt

• 2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes
• 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 1/2 tsp chaat masala, plus more for finishing
• 1/2 tsp ground roasted cumin
• 1/2 small red onion, finely diced
• 1 medium firm tomato, seeded and finely diced
• 1 cup fine sev (chickpea-flour noodles)
• 1/3 cup pomegranate arils
• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves, torn
• 1 lime, cut into wedges
• Kashmiri chili powder and kala namak, for dusting

Instructions

1. Make the papdi dough: In a bowl, whisk the flour, semolina, salt, crushed ajwain, and baking soda. Rub in the 2 tablespoons ghee with your fingertips until the mixture looks like damp sand. Add the water 2 tablespoons at a time and knead 3 to 4 minutes into a firm, tight dough — stiffer than pizza dough. Cover with a damp towel and rest 20 to 30 minutes.
2. Simmer the tamarind-date chutney: Combine the dates, tamarind concentrate, jaggery, and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer over medium-low for 12 to 15 minutes, mashing the dates against the side of the pan, until the dates fall apart. Blend until completely smooth (add a splash of water if it stalls), then stir in the roasted cumin, ground ginger, Kashmiri chili, kala namak, and sea salt. Cool to room temperature; it should pour like warm honey. Thin with water if it thickens.
3. Blend the green chutney: In a small blender or food processor, purée the cilantro, mint, serrano, ginger, lime juice, sugar, salt, and cold water until smooth and vividly green, scraping down twice. Taste — it should be sharp and salty. Refrigerate.
4. Whip the yogurt: Whisk the yogurt with the milk, sugar, and salt for 30 seconds until pourable and glossy. Refrigerate until serving.
5. Cook the potatoes: Put the whole unpeeled potatoes in a saucepan, cover with cold salted water, bring to a boil, and simmer 18 to 22 minutes until a knife slides in with no resistance. Drain, cool 10 minutes, peel, and cut into 1/2-inch dice. Toss the warm potatoes and the chickpeas with 1 1/2 teaspoons chaat masala and 1/2 teaspoon roasted cumin. Set aside.
6. Roll and cut the papdi: Divide the dough into 3 balls. On an unfloured counter, roll one ball as thin as you can — about 1/16 inch, thin enough to see the counter through it. Cut out 1 1/2-inch rounds with a cutter or small glass, then prick each round 3 or 4 times with a fork so they stay flat. Repeat with the remaining dough, rerolling scraps once. You should get 45 to 55 discs.
7. Fry the papdi: Heat 1 1/2 inches of oil in a deep skillet or Dutch oven to 340°F. Fry the discs in batches of 10 to 12, nudging them under the oil, for 2 to 3 minutes, flipping once, until pale gold, hard, and no longer bubbling much. Drain on a rack or paper towels and season lightly with salt while hot. Keep the oil between 330 and 350°F. Cool completely — they crisp up as they sit.
8. Build to order: For each serving, stand 8 papdi in a paper cone or shallow bowl, breaking a few. Spoon over the potato-chickpea mixture, then 3 to 4 tablespoons whipped yogurt, a generous drizzle of tamarind-date chutney, and teaspoon-sized dabs of green chutney.
9. Finish and serve immediately: Scatter red onion, tomato, pomegranate, and cilantro over the top, then blanket with a big handful of sev. Dust with chaat masala, a pinch of Kashmiri chili, and a pinch of kala namak, and add a squeeze of lime. Serve within a minute or two, while the papdi still shatters.

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Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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