If there is one dish I crave the most, it is chaat. Blame it on the city I grew up in, but I never met a chaat I didn’t like. This Baingan Pakora Chaat is a nontraditional version of the widely popular Indian street snack. It is also a gluten-free alternative to satisfy your chaat cravings. Shallow-fried eggplant fritters (with a crispy coating of chickpea and rice flour) are drizzled with seasoned yogurt, sweet & spicy chutneys and garnished with an array of crunchy toppings… so good!

Recipe

Baingan Pakora Chaat (Eggplant Fritter Chaat)

(Serves 4)

Ingredients

For the batter -
3/4 cup Bengal gram/chickpea flour (besan)
1/4 cup rice flour
1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp roasted cumin powder
1/8 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Pinch of asafoetida
6 tbsp water

2 medium sized eggplants (use the large, round variety)
Oil for frying

To serve -
1 1/2 cups yogurt, whisked well with 2 tsp powdered jaggery
Date and tamarind chutney (sonth)
Cilantro and mint chutney (hari chutney)
Steamed sprouted mung beans
Pomegranate arils
Bhujia sev/Khara boondi
Chopped cilantro and mint leaves
Red chilli powder
Roasted cumin powder
Chaat masala

Method

In a bowl, whisk together all the ingredients for the pakora batter. Cover and set aside to rest for 15 minutes.

In a frying pan heat 3 tbsp of oil over medium heat. Whilst the oil is heating, slice the eggplant into round slices 1/8” in thickness.

Once the oil is hot, whisk the batter once more. Dip the eggplant slices in the batter and shallow fry in batches until they turn golden brown and crisp (add more oil to the pan if needed). Remove and drain the eggplant pakoras on a plate lined with a paper towel.

To assemble -
While the eggplant pakoras are warm, arrange them in a platter and spoon the sweetened yogurt and the chutneys over them. Garnish with the sprouts, pomegranate, sev, chopped cilantro and mint. Sprinkle a little red chilli powder, roasted cumin powder and chaat masala on top and serve immediately.