The samosa chaat is topped with tender chickpeas, red onion, boondi, sev and crispy spinach leaves before serving. Samosa Chaat is a total crowd pleaser; An Indian appetizer with incredible flavours and a vibrant finish.
What is Samosa Chaat?
A typical Indian street food prepared throughout India, but most famous in the Northern states. Delhi Samosa Chaat is an icon and mainstay of street food fare. Giant, potato-stuffed samosas with ample chilli, cooling yoghurt and a vibrant selection of chutneys and crispy toppings. Samosa Chaat really is a party in your mouth. The combination of hot samosas, chilled yoghurt and crispy spinach is a mouth watering adventure. I’d eat Samosa Chaat every day if I could!
Samosa as a street food
The street food culture in India is as diverse as the country itself, and one of the most popular street snacks that has gained immense popularity, especially in northern India, is the Samosa Chaat. The origins of Samosa Chaat are not exactly clear. However, it is said that the dish was invented in Delhi, sometime in the mid-twentieth century. It is likely that the dish was created as a way to repurpose leftover samosas, which were often made in large batches at street vendors. Slowly but steadily, the dish started gaining popularity and eventually became a part of Indian street food cuisine. Owing to the success of Samosa Chaat, many other chaat dishes also evolved over time.
Tips for making Chaat
Whilst making chaat at home is relatively simple, there are a handful of tips you should keep in mind.
- Fresh ingredients: One of the most important things for making delicious chaat is to use fresh ingredients, especially the tamarind, mint, and coriander chutneys.
- Proper temperature: Ensure that all the ingredients are served at the right temperature. For example, if the samosas are hot, then the yoghurt and chutneys should be cool.
- Assemble just before serving: It is best to assemble the chaat just before serving as it tends to get soggy over time.
Types of Chaat
1. Aloo Chaat
Aloo Chaat is a popular street food that can be found all over India. This dish is made from boiled potatoes that are mixed with tamarind chutney, mint chutney, spices, and a variety of vegetables. It is usually topped with sev, which is a crispy noodle-like snack made of gram flour. Try my recipe for Aloo Chaat Potato Skins.
2. Papdi Chaat
Papdi Chaat is a crunchy, tangy, and sweet dish that is made from a mix of diced potatoes, boiled chickpeas, onions, and tomatoes. The dish is topped with crispy papdi chips, which are fried wheat flour crisps, tamarind chutney, and yoghurt.
3. Dahi Puri Chaat
Dahi Puri Chaat is a chaat dish that originates from Mumbai. It consists of small, crispy puffed puris that are filled with mashed potatoes, chutneys, and yoghurt.
4. Bhel Puri
Bhel Puri is a light chaat dish made from puffed rice, onions, tomatoes, boiled potatoes, tamarind chutney, mint chutney, and sev. It is popular all over India and is a staple street food in Mumbai.
5. Palak Patta Chaat
Palak Patta Chaat is the best way to eat spinach! It’s a delicious chaat dish that consists of crispy, gram-flour fried spinach leaves, onions, tamarind chutney, mint chutney, and sweet yoghurt. It is the perfect dish to combine the flavours of spinach and chaat. Try my recipe for Palak Patta Chaat.
Can I use any type of samosas?
I would recommend a chunky Punjabi-style potato, pea and onion samosa for this recipe. Here’s my favourite recipe for Punjabi Samosas. The reason I say to use this type of samosa, as opposed to the filo-style samosas is that the texture of homemade pastry lends itself to the yoghurt, chutney and toppings much better.
The best samosas for Samosa Chaat
If you use Punjabi Samosas or any style of samosa made with homemade pastry, the toppings will soak in and soften it in the best way, rather than sitting drearily on top of the pastry. Samosa Chaat made with samosa patti, spring roll sheets or filo pastry tend to go soggy quickly and cannot hold the yoghurt, chutney and toppings.
What chutneys should I use for Samosa Chaat?
Green coriander and mint chutney, tamarind chutney and red chilli chutney are the most common toppers for Samosa Chaat. They provide a welcome hit of flavour and moisture, soaking into the crispy pastry whilst mixing with the sweet yoghurt. For this recipe, I choose to serve a single green chutney. This is because the beetroot yoghurt is already so sharp and intense. However, it’s very common to top Samosa Chaat with two, or even three different chutneys at a time. Mix things up and choose your own adventure.
Ingredients for Samosa Chaat
Samosas – choose your favourite shop bought or homemade samosas. Punjabi style work best, in my opinion. Here’s my recipe for Homemade Samosas. Spinach – be sure to remove any tough stalks. Wash and dry thoroughly before cooking. Chickpeas – tinned (canned) white chickpeas are fine to use here and a great shortcut in comparison to soaking and cooking dried chickpeas. Green chutney – homemade coriander and mint chutney is best, but you can use shop bought to save time. Here’s my recipe for homemade Green Chutney. Red onion – a small red onion is less sharp than brown onions. Sev – shop bought fried gram flour noodles. Buy these in any Indian supermarket. Boondi – these are shop bought fried gram flour pearls. Buy a packet in any Indian supermarket. Thick, sour, natural yoghurt – I like Turkish yoghurt, since it’s so rich and creamy. However, you can use any plain natural yoghurt. Beetroot – cooked beetroot (fresh, vacuum packed or jarred are fine). Beetroot packed in vinegar will be more sharp, which is actually a good thing for this recipe. Chaat masala – a blend of dried mango powder, black salt, cumin and other spices. Buy it in your local Indian supermarket. Sugar – any Salt – any
Step-by-step instructions for making Samosa Chaat
Step 1 – Make the yoghurt
Blend the beetroots to a smooth paste. Do not add any extra water. Use a balloon whisk to mix the beetroot into the yoghurt, along with the chaat masala, sugar and salt. It should be very smooth and creamy. The yoghurt will seem a little thick at first but will slacken as you whisk. If the yoghurt feels a little too thick, you can add a small splash of cold water. Refrigerate the yoghurt.
Step 2 – Prepare the chutney and the rest of the toppings
Chop the onion and drain the chickpeas. Wash and thoroughly dry the spinach. Drizzle the spinach with a few teaspoons of any neutral-tasting oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Toss well. Pre-heat the air fryer at 200°C. Air fry the spinach in for 6-7 minutes, or until crispy and brittle. Remove the spinach from the air fryer and allow to cool. Make the green chutney if you are preparing this from scratch. Alternatively, use shop bought green coriander and mint chutney.
Step 3 – Cook the samosas
Deep fry or air fry the samosas according to your preference. I like to deep fry my samosas ahead of time and then reheat in the air fryer prior to serving.
Step 4 – Assemble the samosa chaat
To assemble Samosa Chaat, place the samosas onto a large serving dish or platter. Drench the samosas in the chilled beetroot yoghurt and top with chutney, chickpeas, onions, sev, boondi and crispy spinach. Add additional chillies for more heat if you like. A drizzle of plain yoghurt provides a little colour contrast for vibrant presentation. Serve immediately.
Samosa Chaat recipe | How to make Samosa Chaat
If you like this, you’ll love my recipe for Maggi Noodles Chaat
More Indian street food recipes
With love and Samosa Chaat,
Try my classic Punjabi Samosa recipe if you would like to make them yourself. Alternatively, use shop bought samosas and cook according to packet instructions.Serve Samosa Chaat immediatelyDo not freezeDo not reheat
Sanjana Share this recipe
