I don’t fry foods very often. But when I do, I make sure its damn good – like this Indian street food inspired idli chaat. This Idli chaat recipe turns fried idlis into a crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, sweet and tangy snack.

An idli is a fluffy, steamed rice cake from India. It is a common breakfast item in South India. Chaat is the umbrella name for Indian street food.

This idli chaat recipe is best made with left over idlis. Don’t use fresh idlis, they will get too oily. If you must use freshly made idlis, leave them out for a few hours so that they are thoroughly cool and dry before using.

It is important to use medium-high heat when frying idlis. If your oil is not hot enough, the idlis will absorb too much oil and get soggy. So use medium-high heat and fry the idlis till they are lightly golden.

I’m giving you the bare bones version of this recipe – fried idlis tossed with tamarind (imli) chutney and sprinkled with sev (fried chickpea flour noodles). You can vary this recipe however you like by adding your favorite chaat garnishes. See the recipe below for suggestions.

For a variation on this recipe try using cooked polenta. The kind that comes pre-cooked in a tube shaped package is best. Just cut it into discs, and shallow fry.

Idli Chaat Recipe

serves about 2

Ingredients
5 regular sized idlis*
vegetable oil for frying
Salt
2 tablespoons tamarind date chutney or tamarind sauce for chaat, available at Indian stores
2 tablespoons sev, available at Indian stores

*Left over idlis are best. Dont use freshly made idlis, they will get soggy. If you must use fresh idlis, cool them thoroughly before using. Idlis are available frozen in Indian stores.

Method
Quarter the idlis.

Pour enough oil in a heavy bottom or non stick skillet to coat the bottom. Shallow fry the idlis on medium high heat till one side is lightly golden. Gently flip the idli pieces and cook till the other sides is golden.

Make sure the oil is hot enough. When you put the idlis in the oil, they must immediately sizzle. If they dont, your oil is not hot enough and the idlis will become too oily. The trick to frying idlis so that they are crisp and golden on the outside, but fluffy on the inside is to use hot oil and fry them quickly.

Drain idlis on several layers of paper towels. Dab the fried idlis gently to take out the oil.

Sprinkle salt over the hot idlis.

Place them in a bowl, add the tamarind chutney and toss gently.

Arrange the idli chat on a serving dish and sprinkle sev on top. If you wish, also use a few of the below garnishes.

Optional garnishes
A sprinkle of chaat masala
Chopped cilantro
Chopped mint
Pomegranate seeds
Chopped tomatoes
Chopped red onion
Chopped cucumber
Roasted peanuts

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A chance to win THREE complete Indian Recipe Kits from Veena’s Market!

Kits include all the spices, rice, and recipe instructions. Veena’s Market starts with the best quality spices, organic where available, and hand crafts each blend. The rice is certified Basmati rice from the foothills of the Himalayas.

The kits include the whole and blended spices, rice and a tested recipe. Since you get all the difficult-to-find ingredients, all you have to buy from your neighborhood grocery store or farmer’s market are the vegetables and other easy-to-find ingredients.

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Giveaway ends Monday, November 21st 2011, 9pm PST.  One random winner will be picked. US residents only.

Chaat always brings back memories of carefree childhood weekends spent at my parents’ beach house in India. I’d walk over to the beach in the afternoon when the tide is low enough to pick sea shells. I’d return home with my pail full and stomach empty. A gorgeous bowl of chaat would be waiting for me  – crunchy, sweet, tangy, spicy, filling all at the same time. I’d sit on the verandah eating chaat, listening to the waves crashing near by and watching the kites sail over me.

Chaat on weekends still transports me back to those balmy evenings in India. Sev puri is my favorite kind of chaat (‘chaat’ is a general name for this Indian street food; there are several variations). Sev puri are little puffed, fried rounds of dough (puri) stuffed with  crispy noodles (sev), potatoes, onion, yogurt, tamarind chutney and mint chutney. The whole thing is then finished with a sprinkling of amazingly zestful chaat masala – a blend of salt, red chilli, coriander, cinnamon, ginger, anise, pepper, cumin, cardamom, clove, mace, carom and dried mango.

Above: Armando, the man who works at the local Indian store. He is El Salvadorian and his kowledge of Indian ingredients is encyclopedic. He watches all the bollywood movies and gets offended if they dont offer spanish subititles! Gotta love DC/VA!

You will need to make a trip to the Indian store for this recipe. You could attempt to make all the ingredients at home, but that would be time consuming. Why bother when you can buy the same thing at a store!

This is a basic recipe for sev puri; I encourage you to  be creative with it..you are limited only by your imagination. When pomegranates are in season, I like to sprinkle some on top for a colorful, refreshing sweetness. A little chunk of pineapple tucked into the sev puri is divine (toss the pineapple chunks in chaat masala for a delightful sweet-savory flavor).  To make these sev puris vegan, simply leave out the yogurt and use hummus, tahini or cashew butter instead. If you don’t have pani puris, try making this with tortilla chips instead; Scoops! will be perfect for this.

Finally, there is only one way to eat a sev puri – put the whole thing in your mouth! Don’t try to bite into it, just pop the whole thing in your mouth!

Sev Puri (Chaat) Recipe
Serves about 6

1 medium potato, boiled, peeled and diced
½ cup canned chickpeas, drained
3-4 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
40 pani puris* (fried rounds of dough)
½ cup yogurt
½ cup sev* (crispy noodles)
¼ cup date-tamarind chutney*
¼ cup mint chutney*
1 tablespoon Chaat Masala*
1/4 tablespoon red chilli powder or cayenne or paprika
A few sprigs of cilantro

*easily available at any Indian store

Mix together the boiled diced potato, chickpeas, red onion, ¼ teaspoon chaat masala and salt. Set aside. Gently poke a hole on one side of a pani puri. Make it large enough so you can stuff it with the potato mixture. Place some potato mixture inside the pani puri cavity. Top with about ½ tablespoon of yogurt. Sprinkle some sev on top of the yogurt. Then add date-tamarind and mint chutneys. Finish by sprinkling a little chaat masala and chili powder over the top.  Repeat with all pani puris. Serve immediately.