Recipe for Bhalla Papdi Chaat

Chaat is one of the most loved street foods in India. It is a tangy, spicy, and sweet snack that bursts with flavour. Although this food originates from the streets of Uttar Pradesh, a state in the north of India, it is popular throughout the country nowadays. Each state in India has added embellishments to this food and created its own version of Chaat. But one thing remains common: Chaat is absolutely delicious, mouth-watering, and sure to tingle your taste buds.

Although many big restaurant chains also serve Chaats, nothing can beat the experience of eating Chaat on the streets. By evening, the streets are lined up with Chaatwaalas ( Chaat vendors) who sell these delicacies at prices that suit every pocket. People from all sections of society come together to relish these treats. Chaat is synonymous with street food and represents the street food culture of India.

So, what is Chaat? Simply put, Chaat is a vegetarian snack made out of fried dough and a couple of chutneys. The taste is sweet, sour, and tangy at the same time. As I mentioned earlier, there are many variations of chaats.

Today, I am writing about my favorite, Bhalla Papdi Chaat. This dish has many components, which give it multiple textures and tastes. The softness of the Bhalla and the crunchiness of the papdi, combined with the richness of spiced yoghurt and sweet and tangy chutneys, come together to make a dish that bursts with flavours.

If you are new to this food, you must be extra careful in following the instructions to get the right results. If you already know what Chaat is and have tried it before, and are just looking for a recipe, I would imagine it would be easy for you to understand.

Below are the 10 Key components of Bhalla Papdi Chaat. Each has to be prepared separately and kept ready. In the end, we assemble everything.

10 Key ingredients needed for making Bhalla Papdi Chaat:

1. Bhalla: These are deep-fried dough balls made from Urad Dal. (Recipe given below)
2. Papdi: These are crispy fried chips made from refined flour. (Recipe given below)
3. Yoghurt/curd and spice mix (Recipe given below)
4. Potatoes: 3-4, boiled, peeled, and cut into small cubes. Cover and keep in the fridge until further use.
5. Black chickpeas: 1 cup boiled and strained.
6. Tamarind Chutney (Recipe given below)
7. Mint Chutney (Recipe given below)
8. Black Salt For sprinkling
9. Red Chili Powder For sprinkling
10. Roasted Cumin Powder-For sprinkling
11. Additionally, you can add fresh coriander leaves and sev for garnishing. I have not added them in my recipe.

Equipment Needed:

1. Mixing Bowl
2. Mixer Grinder
3. Knives and Cutting Board
4. Pan for deep frying
5. Cookie Cutter

Recipe for Bhalla

These are fried dumplings made from Urad Dal, i.e., black gram (without skin).

Ingredients for making Bhalla:

1. Urad Dal (Black gram without skin): 1 cup, washed and soaked for 3 hours
2. Salt: 1 teaspoon
3. Cumin seeds: 1 teaspoon
4. Finely Chopped Ginger: 1 tablespoon
5. Water: Only as much as is needed for making a fine paste
6. Water: taken in a separate container to soak the fried Bhallas.
7. Oil for frying

Method for making Bhalla:

1. Discard the excess water from the soaked lentils. Wash them once again. Then, grind them with salt, ginger, and minimal water into a fine paste.
   
   
   
2. Transfer this mixture to a mixing bowl. Combine with crushed cumin seeds (crush them using a mortar and pestle).
   
   
   
3. Whisk the mixture with a spoon continuously for 5 minutes or until the paste becomes light and fluffy. Note that this is an important step. Test if your batter is whisked enough by dropping a small portion of it in a bowl of water. If the batter floats, it is ready.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Take small portions and deep fry them in medium-hot oil. The heat should not be high; otherwise, the Bhallas will become dark brown on the outside and uncooked inside.
   
   
   
5. Take out the fried Bhallas and put them directly into a water-filled container. Let them soak for 1-2 hours.
   
   

Recipe for Making Papdi

Papdis are crispy fried chips made from refined flour. They add a crunchy texture to the chaat.

Ingredients needed for Papdi:

1. All-purpose Flour: 2 cups
2. Hot Ghee: 3 tablespoons
3. Salt: 1 teaspoon
4. Carom Seeds (Ajwain): 1 teaspoon
5. Water: For kneading, approx 1 cup
6. Oil: for frying

Method for making Papdi:

• In a mixing bowl, combine refined flour, salt and carom seeds.
  
  
• Add ghee. Mix and rub the mixture between your hands so that the ghee mixes well with the flour and the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Spend 1-2 minutes doing this activity. Ensure that the flour and ghee are well mixed.
  
  
• When you press the flour, it should come together. If it doesn’t, add a little ghee at a time, mix, press, and check. Proceed to the next step only when you get the desired output.
  
  
• Add lukewarm water in parts and knead a firm dough. Cover and rest the dough for 15 minutes. Adding water in parts will ensure you use only as much water as is required to knead the dough. Excess water will make the dough loose, which is not desirable.
  
  
• After 15 minutes. Knead it again.
  
  
• Divide the dough into 8 parts. Round each portion onto a ball. Cover and rest for 15 minutes
  
  
  
• Round the dough and roll it into a thin sheet. Then prick holes using a fork.
  
  
  
• Cut into circular shapes using a cutter.
  
  
  
• This way, make all the papdis.
  
  
  
• Fry the cut pieces of dough on medium heat.
  
  
  
• Fry till the Papdis turn pale brown. Note that they will turn one shade darker as they cool.
  
  
  
• Transfer all the papdis to a kitchen towel so that all the excess oil is removed. Let the Papdis cool. Then store them in an air-tight container.
  
  

Recipe for making Yogurt and spice mix

Ingredients needed for Yogurt and spice mix:

1. Yoghurt with at least 3.5% Fat: 700 ml
2. Water: 150 ml
3. Salt: 1 teaspoon
4. Sugar: 1 tablespoon
5. Black Salt: 1/2 teaspoon
6. Roasted Cumin Powder: 1/2 teaspoon
7. Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder: 1/2 tsp

Method for making Yogurt and spice mix:

1. Whisk the yoghurt with water.
2. Then add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well and keep in the fridge.
   
   

Recipe for making Tamarind Chutney

Ingredients needed for making Tamarind Chutney:

1. Tamarind: 2 tablespoons if you are using paste/ Half cup if using tamarind with seeds
2. Powdered Jaggery: 1- 1 1/2 Cups
3. Red Chili Powder: 1 teaspoon
4. Salt: 1/2 teaspoon

Method for making Tamarind Chutney:

1. Put all the ingredients in a saucepan and cook them on low to medium heat. If you use tamarind paste, add it directly to the saucepan. If you use Tamarind pulp, soak it in warm water for about 10 minutes. Then squeeze out its juice and add the juice to the saucepan. Discard the seeds.
   
2. Turn off when it thickens ( approximately after 20 minutes). Let it cool. After cooking, the chutney will thicken further.
   
3. Transfer to a clean and dry jar.
   
   

Recipe for making Mint Chutney

Ingredients need for Mint Chutney:

1. Fresh mint leaves: About 20 stems
2. Fresh Coriander leaves: About 20 stems
3. Salt: 1/2 teaspoon
4. Sugar: 1 tablespoon
5. Lemon Juice: From 1 lemon
6. Black salt: 1/2 teaspoon
7. Water: 1/2 cup; Add more if it is too thick

Method for making Mint Chutney:

1. Combine all the ingredients and Grind everything together.
2. Add water to loosen it a bit.
3. Transfer to a clean and dry jar and keep in the fridge till further use.
   
   

With all the ingredients ready, we are now ready to assemble everything and plate our Bhalla Papdi Chaat.

Method for plating Bhalla Papdi Chaat:

1. Take a serving plate. First, put a couple of Papdis. Break them roughly.
   
   
   
2. Then, squeeze the water out of the Bhallas. Place them on the Papdis. Also, add the potato pieces.
   
   
   
3. Then cover with a generous serving of yoghurt spice mix.
   
   
   
4. Then add tamarind and mint chutneys.
   
   
   
5. Garnish with black chickpeas. You can also add fresh coriander leaves if you like.
   
   
   
6. Sprinkle some cumin powder, red chilli powder, and black salt and serve it immediately.
   
   
   

Note: Making Chaat at home is an elaborate process. It requires a lot of preparation and has quite a few components. But the good news is that you can prepare everything in advance and just assemble the chaat on the day you wish to serve.

For example, if you wish to serve chaat to your guests, you can do all this preparation in advance. Bhalla can be made a day ahead and stored in water in the fridge. Papadi can be made a week ahead and stored in an airtight container. Similarly, both chutneys can be prepared a week in advance and stored in the fridge. Potatoes and black chickpeas can be boiled and kept in a container with a lid in the fridge. Also, you can prepare flavoured yoghurt the day before.

If you do all these preparations, then on the day of the party, you will only need to assemble everything together.

There are many more evening snack recipes on my Evening Snack Recipes Page. Check them out too.

Check out other recipes from my kitchen here.

Please note that this article contains affiliate links. If you buy using these links, I receive a small commission. This has no effect on the price for you.

Follow me on:

• Facebook
• Goodreads
• Instagram
• Google
• YouTube