Aloo chaat or alu chaat is a potato-based street food from India (most popular in North India, West Bengal, Pakistan and in parts of Sylhet Division of Bangladesh).
I love this dish because it is so fresh and fragrant but also combines my two favourite things; roasted / deep fried potatoes and Indian spices. My version is hopefully super quick and easy to make, and despite the fried potato it’s pretty healthy. This is perfect for lunch working from home or a light dinner around this time of year as the days start to get a bit warmer! I like mine rather spicy, but you can absolutely remove the extra chilli topper or the chilli powder if you want it a little milder... or go the other way and ramp up the spice - completely up to you!
I think it’s fair to say in this country we are fairly knowledgeable about Indian cuisine, but this knowledge mostly comes from dishes we’ve had at our local curry house, takeaway or from visiting Dishoom a couple of times. But there is so much more to explore through home cooking and Indian street food, and I’ve made it my little mission this year to cook more Indian dishes. So, follow along with my journey and look out for more recipes and discoveries on my blog and Instagram...homemade chutneys next I think!
Serves: 1
Ingredients
5 new potatoes or 1 medium roasting potato (washed and chopped into small squares, no need to peel unless you want to)
Half red onion
1 Salad tomato
2-3 Tbsp Plain Yogurt
2-3 tsp Mango chutney (any type of Indian chutney works e.g. tamarin)
Coriander (handful)
1 Green finger chilli
Bombay mix or roasted peanuts (optional)
1 tsp Hot Curry powder
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp Hot Chilli powder
2 tbsp Sunflower or Vegetable oil
Squeeze of lemon
Salt
Method
Firstly, prepare the toppings. Dice the onion, you want small squares. Cut tomato into quarters, remove the inside membrane including the seeds. You should be left with the harder tomato wall and skin. Slice this length ways and again dice into little squares. Chop the coriander and chilli.
Mix the yogurt, 1 tsp mango chutney, squeeze of lemon and pinch of salt in a bowl and set aside.
Toss chopped potatoes in curry powder, cumin, chilli powder and pinch of salt. Then heat oil in a pan. You are essentially shallow frying the potatoes so make sure you have enough oil in the pan to cover the potatoes halfway. (You can also put these in the oven if you prefer to use less oil, but this method is quicker and more delicious).
Fry the potatoes on a medium heat, enough for the oil to almost foam. Once the potatoes are crispy and soft to touch (use spoon to test tenderness), this should take approx. 10 minutes, remove from pan onto a plate lined with kitchen towel – to drain the excess oil.
Now plate up, layering the elements as you go. Start with the potatoes, then the yogurt, followed by the onion and tomato, sprinkle with coriander, chilli and Bombay mix. Top with small morsels of chutney around the chaat. Enjoy!
Comments