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Tokri chaat

टोकरी चाट (tokri chaat): a fried potato-straw basket filled with tikki, chickpeas, papdi, yoghurt and chutneys

Tokri chaat was made famous by the chaat counter of Royal Café in Lucknow's Hazratganj, where families queue on winter evenings for an edible basket of crisp fried potato straws heaped with crushed aloo tikki, chickpeas, papdi, sweet yoghurt, chutneys, sev and pomegranate. It is as much a show-piece as a snack: you break the basket into the filling as you eat. You need two metal strainers or a nest-basket frier to shape the baskets. Chef's tip: rinse and dry the grated potato thoroughly; wet potato spatters and the basket falls apart.
Total time
50 min
Difficulty
medium
Serves
4
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Ingredients

Serves4

For the baskets

  • 14 oz large potatoespeeled
  • 2 tbsp cornflour
  • 4 ¼ cups sunflower oil2 tbsp for the tikki, the rest for frying

For the tikki

  • 10 ½ oz potatoesboiled, peeled and mashed
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp chaat masala

To fill

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Method

0/8 done
  1. Step 1: Grate 14 oz large potatoes into long, thin straws. Rinse well in cold water, then squeeze and pat completely dry in a clean tea towel. Toss with 2 tbsp cornflour and a pinch of salt.

    8 min
  2. Step 2: Mix 10 ½ oz potatoes with ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp chaat masala and shape into 4 small flat patties. Shallow-fry in 2 tbsp of the 4 ¼ cups sunflower oil in a frying pan over a medium heat for 3 minutes a side, until crusty.

    6 min
  3. Step 3: Pour the remaining oil into a deep pan so it is no more than a third full and heat to 350°F on a thermometer, or until a bread cube browns in about 70 seconds. Never leave the oil unattended.

    5 min
  4. Step 4: Line a 10–12 cm metal strainer with a quarter of the potato straws in an even layer, press a second strainer on top and lower both into the oil. Fry for 4–5 minutes, until the basket is golden and rigid. Common mistake: lifting it too soon; a pale basket softens and collapses under the filling.

    5 min
  5. Step 5: Ease the basket out onto kitchen paper with a knife tip. Make 3 more.

    15 min
  6. Step 6: Whisk 9 oz thick plain yoghurt with 2 tsp sugar until smooth.

  7. Step 7: Sit each basket on a plate. Crumble in a tikki, add a quarter of the 5 ½ oz cooked chickpeas and 3 broken 12 papdi (flat crisp puris).

  8. Step 8: Spoon over the yoghurt, then 4 tbsp sweet tamarind-date chutney and 3 tbsp green coriander-mint chutney. Sprinkle with 1 tsp roasted cumin powder, ½ tsp red chilli powder and 1 tsp chaat masala, then top with 1 ⅜ oz fine sev, 1 ¾ oz pomegranate seeds and ⅓ oz fresh coriander. Serve immediately.

Nutrition per serving

Calories
540 kcal
Protein
13 g
Carbs
70 g
Fat
24 g
Fibre
8 g

Nutrition values are estimates.

K
Recipe by

KrazyBadal

All recipes by this chef →

Good to know

How long does tokri chaat take?
About 50 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
How many people does it serve?
4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
Is it vegetarian?
Yes. It has no meat or fish.
What can I use instead of large potatoes?
Sweet potato, same weight (sweeter, cooks a little faster).
What can I use instead of cornflour?
Arrowroot or potato starch, same amount.

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