Fatima's Fabulous Kitchen

I don't eat to live. I live to eat.

Ramadan

Ramadan Chaat

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I make this bold and colorful dish at least 10 times every Ramadan. It has become a staple on our iftar kitchen table. And oh my god, is it a crowd-pleaser!

And the best part is that it is quick to make and requires minimal effort, thus making it perfect for a weekday after a long fast where you really don’t have the energy to stand around a stove frying pakora or rolling up spring rolls.

It’s got all the right elements – sweet, salty, spicy, savory.

Ingredients – chickpeas, hot sauce, tamarind chutney, turmeric, chaat masala, garam masala, pita chips, yogurt, tomato, cucumber, potatoes, cilantro, sev (not pictured here)

 

Channa Masala

To start the dish off, I make a quick chana masala for the base – just a little bit of caramelized onions, garam masala, and canned garbanzo beans. (If you’re really in a rush, you can even skip this step and just toss in the garbanzo beans.) To add some starch, I use potatoes. Some chaats I’ve noticed add boiled potatoes. But I like to cut them up into bit-size pieces and roast them in the oven with a little bit of salt and turmeric until they’re lightly crispy.

 

turmeric potatoes to be roasted

 

Then I add a quick refreshing salad – a mix of tomato, cucumber, cilantro, and red onion. For crunch, I add some sev (a fried indian snack made of chickpea flour that looks like thick yellow strings) and broken up pita chips (if you want to go the traditional route, add in papdi – you can find them usually at indo-pak grocery stores.)

cucumber, cilantro, tomato, red onion

Layer it up

Lastly, I top it off with some yogurt, tamarind chutney, red-chili sauce (or harbenero), chaat masala, and cilantro chutney. I layer the dish so that you get a little bit of everything in each bite. And there you have it – an easy weekday iftar appetizer that’s healthy and a great alternative to anything fried!

***This is best made within twenty-minutes of serving. If you let it sit for too long, it will get soggy!

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Ramadan Chaat

Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 1 15.5 oz chickpeas
  • 1 potato
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1/4 tsp salt (for potatoes)
  • 1/8 tsp black pepper
  • 1 1/2 tsp oil
  • 1 small onion (divided)
  • 1/2 tsp garam masala
  • 1/4 tsp salt (for chana masala)
  • 1 small cucumber
  • 1 tomato
  • 1/4 tsp salt (for salad)
  • 2-3 handfuls paapdi or pita chips
  • 1/2 cup sev
  • 3-4 tbsp tamarind chutney
  • 2-3 tsp cilantro chutney
  • 4 tbsp yogurt
  • 1-2 tbsp red hot chilie sauce (or to taste)
  • 1/4 tsp chaat masala (optional)

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat your oven to 400 F. Peel and wash your potato. Cut into bit size pieces.

  2. Add potato, 1/4 tsp of salt, turmeric, black pepper, and oil into a baking dish. Bake until lightly brown and slightly crunchy. This should take about 25-30 minutes.

  3. In the meantime, prep your salad. Dice your cucumber, red onion, tomato, and cilantro. Divide the onion - half will be for the salad, the other half you will use for the chana masala.

  4. Work on your chana masala. Drain your chickpeas and rinse well. Add your oil to a hot pan and 1/2 of your small onion to the pan. Once they are brown and caramelized, add in your chickpeas, garam masala, and salt. Sautee for a few more minutes or until flavors are well combined.

  5. Once your potatoes are done roasting, your salad is prepped, and your chana masala is done cooking, you are ready to assemble the dish.

  6. In your serving bowl, add a thin layer of yogurt to the bottom. Then crush a handful of pita chips/paapdi and add that on top.

  7. Add your potatoes and add a few teaspoons of sev. Take a tablespoon or so of your tamarind chutney and drizzle that around the dish. Do the same with the cilantro chutney and the hot sauce.

  8. Now add your chana masala, a few more teaspoons of your various chutneys, and another handful of pita chips/paapdi.

  9. Add your salad on top (makes sure it is combined and that you seasoned with a little bit of salt.) Add your yogurt in dollops as well as your remaining chutneys. Add your last handful of chips/paapdi and your remaining sev.

  10. Serve this within 20 minutes! If you let it sit for too long, it will become soggy!

Onion and Potato Pakora

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Onion and Potato Pakora

Are you even desi if you don’t have some crispy fresh-out-of-the-oil pakora on your iftar table? These spicy and crispy fritters are sure as hell to add to your waistline. But hey it’s Ramadan. After a long fast you deserve to indulge a little bit. (At least that’s what I keep telling myself anyway). They aren’t the most glamorous-looking things by any means; nonetheless they are sure to satisfy your deep-fried desi-food cravings.

People make all sorts of pakora – eggplant, different mirchis (peppers), even fish! But if you ask my opinion, I think onion pakora are the truly the best. The onions add a sweetness that counters the spicy batter creating something so phenomenally good.

Pakora spices 

aromatics for pakora (left to right), cilantro, mint, ginger, curry leaves

For this recipe, mash up some boiled potatoes. Then chop up some onions into moon-shaped slices and add in some grated ginger, curry leaves, mint, cilantro, and chopped green chilies to some chickpea (gram) and rice flour. For spices use all your classics – turmeric, chilli powder, coriander, cumin, a tad bit of garam masala and a few heaping tablespoons of fennel powder (according to my Mom, that is the secret ingredient that makes these so damn flavorful).  Fry them up slowly until they are nice and dark golden brown. Serve these with your favorite chutney or hot sauce and the whole fam will be gobbling these down at iftar until there are absolutely none left.

Potatoes, Chilies, Spices

Pakora Batter

Frying Pakora – getting them nice and golden brown

Print

Onion Pakora

Course Appetizer
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 7 people

Ingredients

  • 1 potato (about 2/3 cup mashed)
  • 4-5 serrrano chillies
  • 2 cup onion (sliced)
  • 1/4 cup cilantro (chopped)
  • 5-6 curry leaves
  • 1 tbsp mint (chopped)
  • 3 tbsp ginger (grated)
  • 1 cup chickpea flour
  • 1/2 cup rice flour
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 quart canola/vegetable oil (for frying)

spices

  • 1.5-2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp crushed chili pepper (or to taste)
  • 2 Tbsp fennel powder
  • 1 Tbsp coriander
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 3/4 tsp tumeric
  • 1/4 tsp ajwan seeds

Instructions

  1. Peel your potatoes and put them in a pot of water. Turn on the heat to high and let them boil.

  2. In the meantime, prep all your ingredients for the batter. Slice up your onions into crescent-shaped slices.

  3. Finely dice your chilies. (If you can't tolerate spice that well, then use less or feel free to de-seed them.)

  4. Chop up your cilantro and mint and grate your ginger with a microplane zester. If you don't have one, you can place the ginger in a mini-grinder or food-processor.

  5. Once your potatoes are fork-tender, drain them and add them to a bowl. Mash them up with a fork or a potato masher or your hands. (Just make sure they are cool enough before if you do use hands!)

  6. Add in your salt, spices, chilies, cilantro, mint, ginger and combine. Then add in your flours and continue to mix until everything is evenly distributed.

  7. Add your water. Mix well. Your batter should be the consistency of a thick banana bread (not thin like cake batter but not thick enough to be a bread dough).

  8. Fill either a heavy-bottom pot, dutch oven, or wok with oil and let it come to a medium-high temperature.

  9. Using a metal spoon, drop spoonfuls of batter into your oil.

  10. Fry until golden brown. Once done, remove with slotted spoon or tongs and lay on a paper-towel lined plate. (Pakora take their time to fry. If they are turning brown too fast, they'll end up being raw on the inside. And so you'll have to slightly turn down the temp and/or add more pakora to the pot in order to decrease the temperature. If they are taking too long, then your temp is too low. Raise the heat and add less to the pot.)