Samosa Chaat
This samosa chaat is the no-ordinary snack you ever come across. It’s light but hearty, it’s savory yet it’s tangy and sweet at the same time. In short, it’s just delicious.
This samosa chaat is the no-ordinary snack you ever come across. It’s light but hearty, it’s savory yet it’s tangy and sweet at the same time. In short, it’s just delicious.
What is samosa chaat?
Chances are you know and have tried samosa, right? (who doesn’t?). But have you ever tasted samosa chaat?
It’s a dish made of samosa and luscious chickpea curry (garbanzo beans) drizzled with mint yogurt chutney, and imli chutney (tamarind sauce). And it’s garnished with crispy fine Sev or crushed papdi.
As you can imagine, a lot is going on in that dish. So even though it is categorized as a snack dish, it’s quite filling and hearty.
It’s pretty much about enjoying your samosa at the next level, really.
All these different ingredients give different textures and flavors to the dish and make it unique.
The first time I heard the name and tried the actual dish, I was a bit apprehensive.
I love samosas, don’t get me wrong. But to think of having them together with chickpea curry plus yogurt and tamarind chutney was just not my kinda thing.
But because I love chaat and chickpeas too, so I decided to try them.
Oh my, I’m glad I did.
The crispy samosas go so well with the spicy chickpeas curry. The yogurt and tamarind sauce gives the dish a yummy combo of creaminess, tang, and sweetness. And, of course, we must not forget the crunchy garnish of fine Sev.
In short, it is simply scrummy.
And the samosa chaat recipe I’m sharing here roots in the Pakistani way of making it.
Best way to enjoy your samosa chaat
Traditionally, this savory, sweet, spicy, and tangy snack is served as an appetizer or a snack.
And it is one of the most sought-after street foods that you can find in the Indian subcontinent.
People enjoy this chaat at any time of the day. For breakfast, brunch, lunch, afternoon tea, or dinner.
I personally find it quite filling that I usually eat it as a meal, like lunchtime.
And I know many people who serve this samosa chaat as an appetizer at gatherings or parties. The breaking fast in Ramadan (which is called iftar) or festivities such as Eid are also occasions for people to have the chaat.
What you need to make it
As the name implies, the main ingredient of this dish is samosas. You can use your leftover meat samosas or vegetarian samosas.
And you can use the homemade ones or shop/restaurant-bought ones.
Originally, samosas are deep-fried. But I know that nowadays, people try to avoid deep-frying for health reasons. You may be one of them.
In that case, you can use air-fried samosas or baked samosas.
All of the choices are good as long as you like them.
The next ingredients are chickpea curry, mint yogurt chutney, and imli chutney (tamarind).
When it comes to chutneys, you can make them yourself, or you can use shop-bought ones. Though I suggest you make your own yogurt chutney as it’s so easy to make and doesn’t need cooking.
You also need fine Sev or papdi for a crunchy garnish.
And if you like, you can throw in some pomegranate seeds for extra texture and yumminess.
Equipment you need
- Chopping board.
- Kitchen knife.
- Cooking pan.
- Slotted spoon.
How to make it
Get your samosas ready while you prepare the other ingredients. If they have been in the refrigerator, warm them up before you assemble this samosa chaat.
Next, let’s make our chickpea (garbanzo beans) curry.
Fry chopped onion in 2 tablespoons of cooking oil until the onion becomes soft and translucent. Then add a tablespoon of ground ginger garlic.
You can grind ¼-inch ginger with 2 cloves of garlic into a paste using a pestle and mortar, or a chopper.
I love using my chopper as it saves me a lot of time and hassle. And my chopper has a grinder as well, so I now grind some spices myself, such as coriander, cumin, cinnamon, etc. It’s my essential kitchen gadget now.
Back to our garbanzo beans curry.
Add cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, red chili powder, ground black pepper, and salt to the onion. Stir and fry until the spices release an aroma.
Then add in the chopped tomatoes and ¼ cup of water. Leave it to cook until the tomatoes are slightly softened. Then add in the garbanzo beans.
Let it cook at medium-low heat for about 5-7 minutes until your chickpeas are softened. You can add more water if you find the curry too dry and like to have more gravy.
When your chickpea curry is ready, you can assemble your samosa chaat.
Take a serving dish and place your samosas on it. Break, crush, or smash your samosas. But take care not to completely break them into small pieces.
Then spoon the garbanzo beans over and around the samosas. Followed by dollops of mint yogurt chutney and drizzles of tamarind chutney.
Lastly, sprinkle some fine Sev or crushed papdi over the chaat. And if you like, scatter some pomegranate seeds too.
Storage matter
Samosa chaat is best eaten right away after you assemble it. If you leave it too long, the samosas and the Sev or papdi will go soft and soggy.
Therefore, if you are serving the chaat to others, make sure you assemble it near the time they will eat it.
If you are having a party and want to serve samosa chaat to a large number of people, just make all the ingredients before the party day. Keep them in your refrigerator.
On the party day, you can quickly warm the samosas in the air fryer, oven, microwave, or instant pot. And heat up the chickpea curry in the microwave. Then assemble your chaat.
I don’t recommend storing the assembled samosa chaat in the refrigerator because it will go sloppy.
More chaat recipes
Thank you for checking out this samosa chaat recipe. I hope you will try it soon.
When you do, please share what you think about the recipe in the comments below. I really appreciate it.
And if you need more ideas on how to elevate your snack by adding a few things, you can try these salt and pepper spring rolls.
Before you go, why don’t you take a look at my other chaat recipes that you may like?
- Fruit chaat.
- Papdi chaat: potato and chickpea salad.
- Chana chaat: sweet, spicy, and tangy chickpea snack.
Lastly, please follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. To sneak a peek at what’s cooking in my kitchen.
Take care and all the best.
Samosa chaat recipe
Equipment
- Cooking pan
- Wooden spoon
- Casserole dish.
- Mixing bowls.
Ingredients
- 3-4 cooked samosas.
- 14-15 ounces canned garbanzo beans/ chickpeas. Drain and discard the water.
- 1 small brown onion.
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil.
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger garlic.
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder.
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder.
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder.
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper.
- ¼ teaspoon red chili powder.
- ⅓ teaspoon salt or according to taste.
- 2 small tomatoes chopped.
- ⅓ cup water.
- ¾-1 cup mint yogurt chutney.
- ½-⅔ cup imli sauce/ tamarind sauce.
- A handful of crispy fine Sev or crushed Papdi.
- Pomegranate seeds optional.
- Cilantro leaves chopped (optional).
Instructions
- Peel, chop, and fry the onion in 2 tablespoons of oil.
- When the onion becomes light golden in color, add the ginger garlic paste
- Then add the coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, ground black pepper, red chili powder, and salt. Continue cooking until the spices release an aroma.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and ⅓ cup of water. Let it cook until the tomatoes are softened.
- Next, add the garbanzo beans/ chickpeas and give it a stir. Put the lid on and leave it to cook at medium-low heat until the beans are softened. It takes approximately 5-7 minutes, or longer if you prefer your beans to be softer. And add more water if you find the curry is too dry or if you prefer to have a bit of gravy.
- To assemble, break or smash the samosas and place them on a serving dish.
- Spoon the cooked garbanzo beans over the samosas.
- Dollop the mint yogurt chutney onto the samosas and the beans.
- Then drizzle the imli sauce/ tamarind sauce over the samosa chaat.
- Lastly, sprinkle some fine Sev or crushed Papdi, some pomegranate seeds, and chopped cilantro (coriander leaves).
Notes
If you don’t have fresh tomatoes, you can use canned tomatoes. ½ cup of canned tomatoes is enough for this recipe.
As for the chili powder, I use Kashmiri red chili powder more often than not. You can use ordinary red chili pepper powder or even cayenne powder. If you like the garbanzo beans to be spicier, just add more chili powder than the suggested recipe.
Nutrition
Disclaimer
Nutritional info in this recipe is only estimate using online calculator. You should refer to it as a guide only. Please verify with your own data if you seek an accurate info.
Especially on rainy days when all I want is something warm, spicy, and comforting.
Oh yes, nothing can beat good samosa chaat with a cup of chai on a rainy day.