Aloo Chaat

Any Indian who has eaten Aloo chaat (potato chaat) in Delhi would swear by it’s taste. Unfortunately we now are in a phase where roadside food is a big “no no”, thanks to Covid 19.

But wait…Hungry? Just find a couple of boiled potatoes and you can soon create the magic at your home!

Pair it with a chickpea salad if you wish to have a filling an balanced meal. Indeed the trio with fruit chaat thrown in is my favourite kind of no-cooking meal!

And of course, all the people thinking that potatoes are harmful… well, unless you have a medical condition, boiled potatoes are actually not calorie intensive. Read more for understanding this… yesss, boiled potatoes can actually aid weight loss.

Frankly, I choose this salad whenever I want one that is suited to an Indian menu! I do have the western salads that are my favourites too, like the Cold Pasta Salad. But this one is a good one to add to the healthy meal list, just like the bean sprout salad.

Preparations for the Aloo Chaat

Boil the potatoes till soft and cooked through. I usually add a few in my rice cooker when the rice is cooking. In this way, I always have a couple of boiled potatoes in the fridge for dishing out a quick sabzi or this chaat.

A homemade tamarind chutney like this one will really help to boost the taste.

But not to worry if you do not have it, just soak 3 tbsp tamarind in 1/4 cup water for an hour and pass it through a sieve to remove any thick fibres. Now boil gently with 2 tbsp brown sugar till it thickens. You can stock this in the fridge for a quick shot of tang whenever needed. If you don’t have tamarind, you can replace it with slices of dry mango.

You can also use amchur (dry mango) powder. Simply mix 1 tbsp in water, add 1/2 tbsp sugar and cook for a minute till it thickens.

The roasted cumin (bhuna jeera) powder is a prime flavouring agent here. Ensure that you heat a thick pan. Now roast the cumin seeds on gentle heat for around 4-5 minutes, until the cumin seeds turn just a shade darker. Switch off the burner and let the seeds stay in the hot pan for a few more minutes, until cool.

Now you can use a pestle and mortar or even crush it directly in the pan if the quantity is small. I keep a batch of this in stock, and replenish it when it gets over. Needless to say, the fresher it is the better the aroma and the taste!

Aloo Chaat

Recipe by Sheetal RabindranCourse: SaladsCuisine: IndianDifficulty: Easy

Servings

2

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Ingredients

• 2 boiled potatoes, peeled and cubed

• 1/2 tsp chilli powder

• 1/2 tsp pink himalayan or rock salt

• 1/4 tsp roasted cumin powder

• 1/2 cup of your favourite namkeen (sev or mixture or bhujjia)

Directions

• Take a large mixing bowl and add the potatoes to it.
• Sprinkle all the dry ingredients.
• Drizzle the tamarind chutney.
• Adjust all seasonings according to taste.
• Sprinkle with your favourite namkeen just before serving.

Notes

• Keep cooked potatoes in your fridge for sudden hunger pangs! It stays good for a couple of days if you leave the skin on.
• If you add tamarind chutney made with my recipe, you can avoid the salt and chilli powder unless you do want to add more. It is delicious as it is an will tickle your taste buds!