In Indian cuisine, chaat is not just a category of street food, but a whole world of flavours and textures that come together into finger-licking goodness.
A proper chaat recipe must have something crispy, crunchy, spicy, and tangy. So, we created a mouthwatering combination of spicy potato patties, sour green chilli chutney, and maple-roasted nuts.
This peanut chaat is not just tasty, but also healthy. Most recipes include deep-fried dumplings or noodles, but we opted for an oven-baked version of the aloo tikki (potato patties). We brushed our spicy potato cakes with little oil and then gently baked them in the oven until crispy.
Moreover, we toasted the peanuts instead of frying them, and we seasoned them with some maple to add sweet contrast to this fiery dish.
The chutney is prepared with green chillies, garlic, ginger, and coriander, which, together with fresh tomatoes, add a pleasant refreshing note to the chaat.
Ready in less than 1 hour, this recipe is guaranteed to leave your friends and family asking for more. Let's make this together!
How long does this chaat recipe keep?
This appetiser is best enjoyed warm as the potato fritters and roasted peanuts taste much better when piping hot.
However, you can serve it cold too. It's perfect to bring over to parties or pack as a quick lunch box for your next day.
Keep it in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to three to four days.
You can also freeze the aloo tikki patties for four weeks and then leave them to thaw before heating them up.
To keep the coriander chilli sauce for longer, you can seal it in a sterilised jar and refrigerate it for a week.
How is traditional chaat made?
Chaat is one of the most famous Indian street foods, perfect for nibbling on or for serving as a starter.
Rather than being based on a single recipe, different chaat dishes share a common combination of ingredients.
They all have a base of fritters, like lentil, bread, or potatoes, or even puffed rice. They are accompanied by vegetables that can be boiled or served raw.
Then, the dish is topped with chutneys and chaat masala, a spice blend with mango and black salt.
To finish, chaat is served with crunchy toppings like fried noodles or chickpeas.
Is this potato chaat healthy?
Although delicious, classic chaat recipes are seldom healthy. This is because they often include a base of fried dumplings or bread and fried toppings like potato bits or noodles.
To make our recipe lower in fats and more weight-loss-friendly, we decided to brush the aloo tikki with just a little oil and bake them instead of frying. Also, we made sweet peanuts with a splash of maple syrup instead of white sugars, for a lower sugar content.
With these simple tricks, we were to make a tasty chaat recipe that has only 270 calories per serving. Also, each bowl provides 5g of fibres and 8g proteins, covering 21% and 17% of your recommended daily intake (RDI) for these nutrients respectively.
Ingredients
| Aloo Tikki | |
| Potatoes | 600 g |
| Cumin Seeds | 1 tsp |
| Chilli Flakes | 1 tsp |
| Fresh Coriander | 1 tsp |
| Rapeseed Oil | 1 tbsp |
| Green Chutney | |
| Fresh Coriander | 15 g |
| Fresh Green Chillies | 4 |
| Cumin Seeds | 1/2 tsp |
| Garlic Cloves | 2 |
| Grated Ginger Root | 1 tsp |
| Juiced Lemon | 1/2 |
| Sweet Peanuts | |
| Peanuts | 60 g |
| Maple Syrup (or Honey) | 1 tbsp |
| To Serve | |
| Tomatoes | 4 |
| Red Onions | 1 |
| Garam Masala | to taste |
Step 1
Let's start by preparing the aloo tikki.
Boil the potatoes until soft, then rinse them under cold water, and peel off the skin.
Mash the potatoes and add them to a bowl along with cumin seeds, chilli flakes, and freshly chopped coriander.
Season with salt to taste and mix the ingredients into a compact dough.
Step 2
Pinch off a handful of potato mixture, roll it into a ball, and then flatten it down into a patty.
Repeat this step until you have used all the aloo tikki dough.
Brush the potato fritters with oil and then bake them at 200°C (390°F) for 25 minutes.
Flip them halfway through cooking time to make sure they get nicely browned on both sides.
Step 3
Meanwhile, let's prepare the vegetables and the green chutney.
Dice the tomatoes and thinly slice the red onions, then set them aside (1).
Next, add fresh coriander, green chillies, cumin seeds, crushed garlic, ginger root, and lemon juice to a food processor.
Add a splash of water and blitz all into a smooth sauce (2).
Step 4
On a baking tray, toss the peanuts with maple syrup until they are well coated.
Then, roast the nuts at 170°C (340°F) for 10 minutes.
They will get crunchy and caramelised.
Step 5
Now, let's put all the chaat ingredients together.
Divide the potato cakes among serving bowls, add the tomatoes and onions, and top with a few teaspoons of chutney.
To finish, sprinkle the dish with toasted peanuts and dust with garam masala powder.
Tips
Replace garam masala with chaat masala, a spice blend that includes dried mango powder and black salt. It's the classic seasoning used in the traditional chaat recipes.