Samosa chaat
An Indian street food classic, this snack is an explosion of flavours and textures, with crispy deep-fried samosas and sev combining brilliantly with the creamy yoghurt and tangy tamarind.
Ingredients
For the chickpea curry
- 1 black tea bag
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- ¾ tsp cumin seeds
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- ¾ tbsp ginger and garlic paste
- ½ bird’s-eye green chilli, very finely chopped or made into a paste
- 200g tin plum peeled tomatoes, puréed
- ¾ tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp chilli powder
- ¾ tsp ground cumin
- ¾ tsp salt, or to taste
- 20²µ/¾´Ç³ú butter (optional)
- 250g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- ¾ tsp anardana powder (pomegranate seed powder)
- ¼ tsp amchoor powder (mango powder)
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
- ¾ tsp garam masala
For the samosa chaat
- 5 tbsp plain yoghurt
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 6 meat or vegetable samosas, deep-fried (homemade or shop-bought)
- ½ red onion, finely chopped
- 5 tbsp tamarind chutney (homemade or shop-bought)
- 8 tsp Bombay mix
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander, or fresh micro-coriander, to garnish
- ¼ pomegranate, seeds picked, to garnish
- 1 tbsp nylon sev, to garnish (optional)
Method
To make the chickpea curry, soak the tea bag in 100ml/3½fl oz just-boiled water from the kettle in a mug or bowl for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the cumin seeds and sizzle for about 30 seconds. Add the onion and cook over a medium heat for 5–7 minutes or until the onions are golden brown.
Add the ginger and garlic paste and bird’s-eye chilli and cook for about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, turmeric, chilli powder, ground cumin, salt and butter, if using. Add the black tea and 80ml/2½fl oz water. Cover the saucepan with a lid and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add more water if the masala starts to look a bit dry.
Once the masala is sizzling and the butter and oil has seeped from the edges, add the chickpeas, anardana powder and amchoor powder, together with the water. Cook for 3–4 minutes.
Add the coriander and garam masala, cook for a final 1–2 minutes and remove from the heat. Set aside.
To make the chaat, mix the yoghurt, cumin, salt and pepper in a bowl and set aside.
Cut each samosa into 3–4 pieces and put into separate bowl. In each bowl sprinkle over 1 tablespoon of the chopped red onion. Spoon over a tablespoon of chickpea curry and drizzle over 1 tablespoon of the seasoned yoghurt. Top this with 1 tablespoon of the tamarind and a spoon of the Bombay mix. Garnish with the coriander and a few pomegranate seed and nylon sev if using. Any remaining curry serve it as left overs with rice or bread.
Recipe Tips
This recipe makes two large portions or five medium portions. If making the larger portions, cut up 2½ samosas per bowl and top with the fillings accordingly.