Nothing brings more colors in our life than Holi and this Channa Chaat in Potato Nest is not only very colorful but a composition of many wonderful taste. In every bite, you will feel the crispy outer layer of the nest / basket and the tasty, tangy, spicy & flavorful chaat in your mouth. You will definitely enjoy every flavor of all the different ingredients. Wish all the viewers of www.funloveandcooking.com a very Happy Holi !! Papdi Chaat in Potato Nest is a special recipe I have made, just to celebrate this very special day with all of you.
What is appreciated is the grace and diginified manner in which Basanta Utsav is celebrated in Santiniketan as compared to boisterous Holi witnessed in most parts of India. Boys and girls joyfully welcome Spring, the season of hope not just with colors but with songs, dance, chanting of hymns in the serene ambiance of Santiniketan. Anybody who got a chance to witness this elegant way of celebrating Holi in Santiniketan remembers it with fond memory for the rest of his life.
Here is a link I would like to share (its link to google) to share my memories of Basant Utsav, aka Holi from my childhood.
You need to have two metal strainers in order to make the nest / baskets, they should be in two different sizes so that one can properly fit into other one. You should be able find them in local super market.
Mix all the spices to the potato cubes one by one and then gently mix everything. Here are the step by step photo of that.
Below you can see the final version of the recipe . You can refer these picture to get an idea on them. I didn’t add too much water in the Tamarind Chutney, otherwise the crispy potato would become soggy.
The Potato Nest / Baskets are are most essential part of the recipe, both in taste and decoration perspective. You need to have enough oil so that the entire nest / basket could fully be dipped into the oil. Candidly the Potato Nests / Baskets are the most exciting part of the recipe. I tried baking them in oven in order to find alternative way, however sometimes there are no alternative way to get the best taste out of a recipe. Deep frying the potato to make the nest was the only best option in my opinion. The entire basket / nest was very crispy even after I finished taking the photographs.
Everyone in the family, from kids to elders would just love this recipe very much. We were very excited while having this Channa Chaat in Potato Nest. Hope this recipe and many more like this from www.funloveandcooking.com will bring many colors of happiness and joy in your family. Wish you again a very Happy Holi !!!!
- 1 Large Potato ( shredded )
- Salt
- Black Pepper
- 1-2 ts Corn Starch (for Binding)
- Oil
- 200gm Soaked & Boiled Chickpeas (kabuli chana chola)
- 1 Onion Finely Chopped (Small Size)
- ½ Tbs Ginger Paste
- 1 Medium Sized Tomato (Chopped)
- 1 tbs Vegetable Oil
- Red Chili Powder
- Sugar ( Pinch of )
- Salt
- 3 Boiled Medium Sized Potato
- 11/2 ts Roasted Cumin & Coriander Powder
- ½ ts Amchur Powder
- ½ Chaat Masala
- 1 ts Lime Juice
- Red Chili Powder
- Black Salt
- ½ tbs Vegetable Oil
- 70gm Tamarind
- ½ Teaspoon Roasted Cumin Powder/Jeera Powder
- pinch of Salt ( as per taste )
- 4-5 tbs Sugar ( adjust as per your taste )
- Chopped Red Onion
- Chopped Cilantro
- Thin Sev
- Papdi
- Teaspoon Red Chili Powder
- Let’s first make the Chhole Chat. You need to soak & boil the Chickpeas/Chhole. You can also buy the canned Chickpeas from local grocery store. They are all ready to be cooked.
- Heat a skillet, add Vegetable Oil. Once the oil is hot enough, add the onion and stir for few mins. Once the onions become transparent add the ginger and stir for few more mins.
- Add the chopped Tomato and red chili powder. Stir for few mins.
- Add the Soaked & Boiled Chickpeas, mix everything. Add Salt and pinch of sugar.
- Let everything cook, stir frequently. Once all the water (if any from the tomato) has been evaporated and the Chhole is dry enough turn off the flame and keep the Chhole Chat aside.
- You need to adjust the salt and sugar as per your taste here.
- Cut the boiled potato in small cubes. Mix all the ingredients expect the oil with the potato cubes.
- Heat a skillet, add ½ tbs Vegetable Oil, add the potato mixture and stir gently [be careful not to smash the potato cubes] for few mins.
- Keep the Potato Chat aside.
- Once the Potato has been shredded, wash it in cold water few times.
- Squeeze by hand to extract all the water. Use paper towel to soak the excess water and transfer the shredded in a bowl.
- Add Salt, Black Pepper Powder and Corn Starch, mix gently.
- Heat enough oil in a deep frying pan. In order to make the nest I have used two metal strainers. You need to get them in two sizes so that they can fit in each other properly with a small gap to hold the potato.
- At first, take the larger metal strainer, make a thin layer of potato, then place the relatively smaller strainer on top of it, so that it will help to hold the potato layer in the shape of the strainer.
- Now once the oil is hot, you need to dip both the strainer together in oil. Once the potato if fried it will be crispy. Take the strainer out of the oil and keep it for a moment to cool it down.
- Then gently take the strainers out of the potato, and you will have the next/basket ready. Repeat this process to make as many as nest/baskets required. The first one may take time, however the consecutive ones will be much faster.
- Soak the Tamarind in the water for a few minutes and then squeeze the pulp from the tamarind, keep it aside. Then heat the cooking pan/skillet in a lower heat and put the tamarind pulp into it. Add sugar, pinch of salt and stir the pulp continuously. Put roasted cumin powder/jeera powder when it has almost completed.
- Its time to serve your Papdi Chaat in Potato Nest / basket.
- Take one Nest, arrange few chhole (Chickpeas) chaat. Arrange the Potato Chat on top of it, next break & add the Papdi. Add Tamarind Chutney on top of it.
- Finally add the Thin Sev,Chopped Cilantro and pinch of red chili powder for decoration.
- Serve your Papdi Chaat in Potato Nest few at a time.