Try this Papdi Chaat or Papri Chaat! This chaat is a combination of complementing and contrasting textures and flavours. Papdi chaat is crunchy, spicy, tangy and sweet and can be eaten as an evening snack or as a great alternative to a meal.
Chaat can be best described as a savoury snack and believed to originate from Uttar Pradesh, North India.
We love chaat and can’t resist preparing various chaat recipes at home such as Bhel Puri , Pani Puri , Sev Puri, Potato hash brown and pineapple chaat and corn chaat .
What is Papdi Chaat
Also known as Papri chaat, aloo papdi chaat and dahi papdi chaat.
In Hindi, Papdi translates thin flat wafers and Chaat means ‘ to lick ‘.
It comprises of crispy and crunchy papdi ( deep fried thin wheat flour wafers) boiled potatoes and chickpeas, variety of sweet, spicy and tangy sauces and chilled yogurt.
Papdi are buried under fluffy boiled potatoes, tender chickpeas, chilled and sweetened yogurt, bright mint-coriander chutney, sweet and sour tamarind chutney, nylon sev (very thin gram flour noodles) and dusted with a generous amount of chaat masala.
Ingredients
Ingredients are easily available at Indian grocery stores
Papdi – wheat flour crispies or wafers, These papdis can be prepared at home or ready made.
Boiled Chickpeas and potatoes – use either canned chickpeas or follow my homemade Instant Pot Chickpeas recipe.
Sev – gram flour noodles, although best to use nylon sev which is very thin noodles but if you can’t find use medium size or one can use Bombay mix too.
Chutneys or sauces – you need Imli Chutney (sweet tamarind chutney) and Coriander and Mint Chutney (green chutney) and red garlic chutney
Yogurt (curd) – lightly sweetened, mild and chilled yogurt, vegans can use vegan yogurt or can skip totally.
Garnishing such as finely chopped red onion, tomato, freshly chopped coriander leaves, pomegranate arils, and last but not least CHAAT MASALA.
Optionally, add a dash of lemon juice or lime juice.
Air Fryer Papdi
Don’t want to deep fry or buy papdi from the store? Here is how to make Papdi in air fryer.
- Mix 1 cup wholewheat flour or all purpose flour (plain flour/Maida) in a bowl with ajwain (carom seeds) and salt in a bowl.
- Add 3 tablespoon melted ghee and rub the flour and ghee with your fingers.
- Gradually add water and knead the dough (stiff dough)
- Cover and let it rest for 30-60 minutes.
- Knead it again for a minute or so just before making papdis.
- Roll the dough into disk using a rolling pin.
- Using a cookie cutter, cut out small disks.
- Using a fork or knife prick the disks.
- Collect the leftover dough, and once again roll it out to make more disks.
- Brush the papdi disks with oil.
- Preheat the air fryer 200C for 5 minutes.
- Place the disks in air fryer basket.
- Air fry 10-15 minutes on 180C.
- Flip them after 7 minutes and brush the other side with the oil.
- Bake again.
- Since all the air work differently, you may need to change the time accordingly.
Method
Now once you start assembling the papdi chaat, you don’t have to think of what goes in order, just dump a small amount of all the ingredients on a serving plate, and start munching but if want present your dish with a WOW factor look at the pictures below.
On a serving plate first, arrange some papdi.
Then layer with boiled potato cubes, boiled chickpeas and sprinkle chaat masala to taste.
Pour a couple of spoons yogurt.
Serving Suggestion and Storage
Papdi chaat is a great tea time snack or a great alternative meal. This chaat can be served as a starter of an Indian meal, or as a potluck party item at the kitty party. This papdi chaat can be eaten on a SHEETLA SATAM day as a part of the cold food menu.
Papdi chaat cannot be assembled in advance but of course, you can prepare all the ingredients in advance ready to use later on. Papdi and sev can be prepared or bought even a week before. Both the chutneys and potatoes can be made a day before and kept in the refrigerator.
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- YouTube
Papdi Chaat
Ingredients
- 500 gram papdi
- 250 gram nylon sev
- 4 potato boiled and cubed
- 250 gram cooked chickpeas
- ½ cup full-fat yogurt
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 1 red onion finely chopped
- 1 tomato chopped
- 1 cup tamarind chutney
- ½ cup coriander and mint chutney
- 2 teaspoon chaat masala
- 1 cup coriander finely chopped
- ½ cup pomegranate arils
Instructions
- Add sugar to full-fat yogurt and mix it well.
- Between four serving plates, arrange 500 gram papdi, potato and chickpeas.
- Sprinkle some chaat masala.
- Pour over the yogurt and both the chutneys.
- Top the chaat with onion, tomato, sev, coriander, and pomegranate arils.
- Sprinkle some chaat masala, if you want pour more chutney.
- Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
Papdi Chaat
Ingredients
- 500 gram papdi
- 250 gram nylon sev
- 4 potato boiled and cubed
- 250 gram cooked chickpeas
- ½ cup full-fat yogurt
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 1 red onion finely chopped
- 1 tomato chopped
- 1 cup tamarind chutney
- ½ cup coriander and mint chutney
- 2 teaspoon chaat masala
- 1 cup coriander finely chopped
- ½ cup pomegranate arils
Instructions
- Add sugar to full-fat yogurt and mix it well.
- Between four serving plates, arrange 500 gram papdi, potato and chickpeas.
- Sprinkle some chaat masala.
- Pour over the yogurt and both the chutneys.
- Top the chaat with onion, tomato, sev, coriander, and pomegranate arils.
- Sprinkle some chaat masala, if you want pour more chutney.
- Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
BAKED TOFU MANCHURIAN is a vegan, easy and delicious Indo Chinese recipe which is prepared with marinated baked tofu and simmered in a spicy, tangy and sweet Indo-Chinese sauce. A perfect gravy to serve as a main but comes with a caution, it’s moreish!
Indians all over the world are obsessed with Indo Chinese flavours which have taken the world by storm over the past few decades. In any fast food restaurants or roadside joints, you’ll find many Indo-Chinese dishes. Indo-Chinese cuisine is ranked as one of the most favourite after local food in India. Some of the traditional recipes are turned into Indo-chinese recipes such as Chinese Bhel, Chinese Samosa, Chinese Dosa, Chinese Paratha just to name a few. We have not yet adventured in making above in our kitchens, but certainly, a couple of recipes such as Soya Veg Manchurian , Baked Sesame Vegetable Spring Rolls and Burnt Garlic and Tofu Fried Rice and they are a hit amongst BAKED TOFU MANCHURIAN.
WHAT IS INDO CHINESE CUISINE AND ITS FLAVOURS?
Indo-Chinese cuisine is an amalgamation of a delicious mix of flavours with the adaptation of Chinese seasoning and cooking technique to suit Indian tastes. More than 100 years ago Chinese migrants from Hakka origin brought their rich, spicy and delicious Chinese flavours to Kolkata, India where they came for work. Indians loved their oriental flavours but they soon realised and started combining with some of India’s best most loved dishes, spices and sauces to create unique Indo-Chinese fusion cuisine. Since then enjoying Indo-Chinese dishes is a great pastime across on the street of India. Nowadays the availability of ingredients has become easier thus this cuisine has entered in almost every Indian kitchens and people enjoy fresh and good quality Indo-Chinese cuisine. Indo-Chinese cuisine is packed with bold flavours, multiple ingredients and is definitely tasty! The prominent flavours are Chilli, Manchurian and Schezwan sauce and dishes can be prepared with gravy and without gravy aka dry Manchurian.
WHAT IS MANCHURIAN?
Manchurian is the most popular, ordered and guaranteed crowd pleaser in the Indo-Chinese cuisine. Manchurian is available in vegetarian and non-veg options. In this dish, the main ingredient deep fried and then marinated in a sweet, salty and spicy thick brown gravy. The gravy of the Manchurian sauce is brown, thick and prepared with Indian chilli sauce and Chinese soy sauce along with some basic spices.
BAKED TOFU MANCHURIAN
Along with vegetable, cauliflower, paneer and soya Manchurian, tofu Manchurian is becoming popular. In this recipe, tofu can be deep fried or shallow fried but we have baked to keep calories down. We have followed the same method in this recipe as Veg Soya Manchurian the only change is TOFU.
INGREDIENTS FOR BAKED TOFU MANCHURIAN
FOR BAKED TOFU we will need Firm tofu well drained Corn flour Freshly ground black pepper Garlic powder Oil For gravy, we will need Onion, garlic, ginger and green chillies Spring onion Soy and chilli sauce Ketchup Sesame oil Vinegar Sugar salt vegetable stock Corn flour Seasoning Indian spice masala such as red chilli powder, ground cumin and coriander.
HOW TO SERVE BAKED TOFU MANCHURIAN?
Manchurian falls in the main course so it perfectly pairs with noodles, vegetable fried rice or Burnt garlic and tofu fried rice.
CAN I MAKE BAKED TOFU IN ADVANCE?
If you are making this dish in a big batch or planning to serve for the party or get together, certainly make its gravy a day in advance and keep it in the refrigerator. On the day, bake tofu then add it in the heated gravy. This delicious Manchurian can be served at a kitty party, small get together or enjoy over the weekend with friends and family and it will leave you craving for more!
Have you made our Baked TOFU MANCHURIAN?
Excellent! Glad you liked our recipe, I hope you have taken a quick pic of it. Now share a pics on our social media Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest using a hashtag #jcookingodyssey or tag us @jcookingodyssey. We are thrilled to see a recreation of this lip-smacking manchurian.
Baked Tofu Manchurian
ingredients:
2 packets firm tofu
Salt to taste
1 TSP freshly ground black pepper
1 TBSP oil
2 TBSP. corn flour
1/2 TSP. garlic powder
2 big red onions
4-5 garlic cloves
2″ fresh ginger
3-4 green chillies
5-6 tbsp. white parts of spring onion
1 vegetable stock cube diluted in 250 ml water + saved water from the soya and vegetables.
3-4 tbsp. spring onion green part for garnishing.
2-3 tbsp. vinegar
3 tbsp dark soy sauce
3 tbsp chilli sauce
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
4 tbsp sesame oil
Salt to taste
1-2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tbsp. cumin and coriander powder
1 tsp. black pepper powder
3 tbsp. corn starch + 1/4 cup water mixed
instructions:
How to cook Baked Tofu Manchurian
Drain all the water from the tofu.
Cut into the desired shape.
Preheat the oven to gas mark 6.
In a big bowl place all the baked tofu ingredients and combine gently.
Place it in a single layer on the baking tray.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden.
Use a food processor to chop onion, garlic, ginger and chillies.
Mix soy, red chilli, sweet chilli sauce and ketchup in a bowl.
Heat the oil in a wok or kadai, add chopped onion mixture.
saute for a few minutes, and add white parts of spring onion.
Add the red chilli powder, cumin and coriander powder and immediately add soy sauce mix.
Stir this mixture for few minutes and add vegetable stock.
Simmer this mixture for 2-3 minutes, or starts to bubble on the sides add cornstarch mix.
Keep stirring and mixing and cook for 4-5 minutes, if mixtures get thicken add hot water.
Now add salt and black pepper powder.
Keep stirring add vinegar and switch off the heat.
Add baked tofu and keep them in for 2 minutes.
Garnish with the spring onion greens and serve immediately with fried rice or noodles.
