Creamy, tangy and spicy, this dahi chana chaat is a total riot of flavors and textures.
This chaat is essentially a chickpea salad topped with some yogurt, chutneys, spices and other mix-ins.
Serve it as a healthy, protein-rich and fancy-looking side dish or evening snack.
I recently tried my hands at a tangy chickpea salad, and it was a bit hit in my household.
Inspired by its success, I decided to take it further and top a classic mix of boiled chickpeas and potatoes with some spices, veggies, yogurt and chutneys, and I have to say, it was so SO good.
I teamed it up with some cashew pakora and Pakistani fruit chaat a few days back on my Ramadan iftar table, and it was an absolute crowd pleaser!
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What's So Great About the Recipe?
The best part about this recipe has to be its simplicity.
It comes together super quick once you have everything prepped and ready to go, and you can also experiment with other mix-ins of your choice.
You can serve this chaat as a savory side dish or appetizer with almost any of your mains, or even enjoy it as a snack on its own.
Ingredients For the Dahi Chana Chaat Recipe
You’ll need just a few simple ingredients to make the dahi chana chaat.
Chickpeas: Use canned or boiled chickpeas. If you’re using canned chickpeas, make sure you drain the liquid and wash the chickpeas once before you use them for the recipe.
Boiled potatoes: I also like to add some boiled potatoes to make the chaat more filling. Chop them into small, bite sized cubes.
Yogurt: I used full fat fresh yogurt for the yogurt sauce. Just a bit to balance out the other stronger flavors.
Onion: Freshly chopped onions lend a nice crunch factor to the chaat. Feel free to use white or red onion.
Green chutney: A simple classic coriander green chutney adds that fiery spice to the chaat. Use as much as you can tolerate.
Tamarind chutney: To balance the kick of heat, I also added some tamarind chutney aka imli chutney.
Chaat masala: Chaat masala is the magic ingredient that truly makes anything and everything taste better.
Sugar: I also like to add a bit of sugar to bring some sweetness to the chaat. Use jaggery powder if you want to keep it healthier.
Green chilies: Chopped green chillies add a delightful spicy kick to the chaat. Skip this one if you want to keep it mild.
Pomegranate: I also went the extra mile and used some pomegranate arils as the topping.
Cilantro: And of course, no chaat or Indian street food is complete without a generous sprinkle of some freshly chopped cilantro.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Dahi Chana Chaat
Got everything ready? Here’s what you’ll need to do to make this popular street food snack.
Step 1: In a small bowl, combine sugar and yogurt and whisk well.
Step 2: In another large bowl, add the chickpeas, potatoes, chopped onions and green chillies.
Step 3: Add the sweetened yogurt and drizzle the chutneys.
Step 4: Top with pomegranate, cilantro and chaat masala.
Substitutions & Variations
- Don’t have chaat masala? Sprinkle some cumin powder, red chili powder and salt to add to the flavor.
- Throw in other veggies of your choice to make the chaat healthier. Tomatoes, cucumbers and raw mangoes are all great choices.
- If you don’t have cilantro, just use some chopped coriander or mint leaves to bring some freshness to the chaat.
💭Top Tip
You can also squeeze some lemon juice on the top, right before you serve, especially if you love that tartness it brings.
Equipment
How to Store Leftover Chaat
If you have any leftovers, you can store them for up to a day in the refrigerator.
Since this chaat has yogurt, it can start to get sour with time, which is why I would recommend finishing it up quickly.
Make sure you cover the container with a lid or cling wrap before you refrigerate it. This will help keep the chaat fresh.
Tips & Tricks to Nail the Recipe
- Depending on your personal preference, you can use plain yogurt or Greek yogurt to make the yogurt sauce.
- Make sure you get the consistency of the yogurt sauce right. It shouldn’t be too thick or too thin. To loosen it up, you can add a dash of water.
- To make the chaat healthier, you can swap the green chutney in the recipe for a dash of avocado chutney instead.
- If you’re using boiled chickpeas, remember to season them with a bit of salt.
- Soaking dry chickpeas overnight in some warm water can soften them up, and can quicken the cooking time.
- Also remember not to overcook the chickpeas. You’ll still want them to have a bit of bite to them.
- To add a bit of texture to the chaat, you can also sprinkle some sev (a crunchy Indian snack made using gram flour) or roughly crush some papdi (another crunchy snack) and top it over, right before you serve.
How to Serve Yogurt Chana Chaat
This creamy and tangy chana chaat tastes perfect on its own!
If you’re making it as an evening snack, you can pair it with some classic Indian tea.
It also makes for the perfect party or potluck food. You can pair it with some puris, chips or nachos to scoop up some of the deliciousness.
FAQs
You can choose to skip adding the yogurt and follow the rest of the recipe as is. This is essentially what aloo chana chaat is, and it is a great vegan take on this recipe.
Alternatively, you can just use some vegan yogurt to make the yogurt sauce.
You can! The chutneys can be prepared up to a week ahead of time and refrigerated. You can also boil the chickpeas and potatoes and have them ready up to 2 days before putting the chaat together.
Related Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Dahi Chana Chaat
Ingredients
- 1 cup chickpeas boiled or canned
- ½ cup potatoes boiled and chopped
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 green chillies chopped
- ½ cup yogurt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon green chutney
- 1 tablespoon tamarind chutney
- 1 teaspoon chaat masala
- 1 tablespoon pomegranate arils
- 1 teaspoon cilantro
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine sugar and yogurt and whisk well.
- In another large bowl, add the chickpeas, potatoes, chopped onions and green chillies.
- Add the sweetened yogurt and drizzle the chutneys.
- Top with pomegranate, cilantro and chaat masala.
