Papri Chaat

So, here's a little Indian food education coming-your-way.  Chaat is a Hindi word for snacks that derives from a Prakrit word that means "to devour with relish, eat noisily."  And, my friends, I'm not ashamed to say that I did exactly that with this lovely dish.  I devoured it and completely forgot my table manners.  It's called papri chaat, and even though it's a snack, we had it for dinner.  In the non-traditional way that I make it, it's basically a vegetarian layer dip with tons of spice and flavor.  And bonus, if you have it with whole wheat pita, it's totally healthy.


Bascially, it consists of a layers of potato, chopped up chickpeas, yogurt and a generous dose of tamarind and cilantro chutneys, topped with a bit of salt and pepper.  I've served it with tortilla chips, pita chips, or just plain pita though if you can get your hands on some actual papri, do it.  


So, here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
 - 1 batch of cilantro chutney (best recipe in the world: here), or about 1/2 c. of the prepared stuff
 - 1 c. plain yogurt
 - 1 batch of tamarind chutney (best recipe, ever: here), or about 1/2 c. of the prepared stuff
 - 1 can of chickpeas, skins removed (to do that, just boil them for a bit and the skins should come off on their own)
 - 2-3 small potatoes, boiled until soft
 - pita chips, tortilla chips, pita or papri for serving


Directions:
 - Grab a bowl with a wide, flat base.  Mash potatoes roughly and arrange them in an even layer around the bottom of the dish.
 - Dump the chickpeas in a food processor and pulse them until they are roughly chopped.  Add a spoonful of Cilantro chutney and pulse until well combined.
 - Arrange chickpeas in an even layer around the dish.
 - Cover with yogurt.  Drizzle with tamarind chutney.  Drizzle or spread cilantro chutney on top.
 - Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
 - Serve with chips or papri.  Try not to let whomever you are eating with devour the whole thing.


Happy eating!
ceh.