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Recipes: Sonal Ved's Dhokla Chaat, Burrata Papdi Chaat

January 10, 2024 13:11 IST

Cookbook author Sonal Ved is here to bring a gastronomic sparkle to your weekend. Try her unusual Buratta Papadi Chaat and eight-layer Dhokla Chaat, which can be made in 30 minutes.

Both these dishes are excellent starters for a family get-together and once you have all the ingredients ready, it won't take long to assemble them. 

These are two preparations from her latest and very colourful cookbook India Local: Classic Street Food Recipes, that brims with recipes for the kind of food India does best -- all varieties of wickedly tempting nashta that is found i homes or is part of the innovative street fare available at the corner of every town in our gourmet paradise land.

Burrata Papdi Chaat

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

For the tomato chaat

For assembly

Method


Dhokla Chaat

IMAGE: Kindly note the image has been posted only for representational purposes Photograph: Kind courtesy: AakritiGupta2/Wikimedia Commons

8-Layered Dhokla Chaat

Serves: 4

Ingredients

For layer 1 (mung)

For layer 2 (dhokla)

For layer 3 (potato)

For layer 4 (mathri)

For layer 5 (yoghurt)

For layer 6 (meetha)

For layer 7 (chutney)

For layer 8 (garnish)

Method


Sonal's Note: For the chaat masala, combine 1 tbsp jeera or cumin seeds, 1 tbsp dhania or coriander seeds, 1 tbsp ajwain or carom seeds and 1 tsp black peppercorns in a pan and place them over low heat.
Dry roast the spices until fragrant. Keep aside to cool.Place the cooled spices in a mixer-grinder and grind to a fine powder.
Add 1 tbsp amchur or dry mango powder and ¼ tsp adrak or ginger powder, ½ tsp kala or black salt and ¼ tsp hing or asafoetida, and grind again.
Store in an airtight jar.

For the green chilly-coriander chutney, grind 2 cups roughly chopped fresh green dhania or coriander or cilantro leaves, 2 tsp roughly chopped green chillies, ½ tsp jeera or cumin seeds, pinch hing or asafoetida, ½ tsp dhania or coriander powder, with 2 tbsp water to make a smooth paste.
Season to taste with salt.
Transfer into a bowl and add ½ tsp chaat masala and 1 tsp lemon juice.

For the date-tamarind chutney, set a pan of ½ cup water to boil over medium heat and add 1 cup dates, seeded and finely chopped dates, ½ cup de-seeded tamarind, and ½ cup crumbled gud or jaggery.
Mix well and allow it to come to a boil, approximately 3-4 minutes.
Keep aside to cool before blending into a smooth thick paste.
Strain the chutney through a fine sieve, discarding the debris.
Add 1 tsp jeera or cumin and 2 tsp red chilly powder along with a pinch of salt and stir through.
Refrigerate until ready to use.

For the tamarind-jaggery chutney, heat 1 tsp sunflower oil in a kadhai over medium heat and add 1 tsp ajwain or carom and 1 tsp saunf or fennel seeds.
Once the seeds begin to crackle, add the 2 tsp dry ginger, 2 tsp black pepper and 1 tsp red chilly powder and mix well.
Stir in ¼ cup crumbled jaggery and ½ cup tamarind pulp and continue cooking for 4 to 5 minutes, until it reduces by half.
Sprinkle 2 tsp chaat masala and 1 tsp black salt and mix through.
Slowly add 1/3 cup hot water to the chutney, stirring continuously, until it is runny but not too thin.
Season to taste with salt and serve when cool.

Excerpted from India Local: Classic Street Food Recipes by Sonal Ved, with the kind permission of the publishers Roli Books.

SONAL VED