April 24, 2016

Chickpea Tostada

Chickpea Tostada

As Indians living here in the US of A there are days when my wife and I are craving foods that we grew up eating in Mumbai. This weekend we found ourselves wanting Mumbai street food, specifically chaat. But people who know me well will attest that I just cannot resist twisting things up. Which meant I ended up putting chickpea chaat I made on a crispy tostada instead. Sounds delicious!!! You Bet it does.

One of the pleasures of living in Mumbai is the typical roadside stall serving pretty much everything from the tangy panipuri, spicy chaat to the piping hot pakoras. Heck. stalls have sprouted up on the streets serving pizza and pasta also. I have started drooling just writing about these delicacies. (CHUCKLES!!!) Every true Mumbaiite will agree that these stalls and the food they serve are an integral part of the daily life.

Being born and bought up in Mumbai my wife and I both miss this street food immensely. Wifey dear especially misses the panipuri a lot, which means yours truly has to step up and fulfill her wishes. (LAUGHS!!!!) To be honest I have tried.. At least 10-15 times. For the love of GOD I cannot figure out how oil ends up getting into my puris while they fluff up and the end result is an oily mess.

Finally I had enough and I decided to literally burst the bubble. By that I mean I changed the dough recipe and flattened out the puris to make papdis instead. Papdis are basically crispy, fried wafers topped with a whole bunch of delicious goodies. Don’t you think that description sounds suspiciously similar to a “TOSTADA”?? Well I thought so too!!! So I strutted over to my wife to proudly announce that she is having Mexican chaat today instead of Indian chaat. She didn’t know what to make of that but being a smart cookie did not comment till she got to taste the final product. As for me it was now time to put my plan to action.

Instead of the regular potato I decided to make the humble chickpea the star of the show. For the chickpea topping first soak chickpeas in sufficient water overnight. Then cook them until they are soft and tender. Allow it to cool. Drain the water and mash coarsely leaving behind a few chunks.

Now it is time to add the ingredients which give the chaat its typical flavor.  So add onion, tomato, roasted cumin seeds, red chili powder, chat masala, tamarind and salt.

Now its time for a twist in my story. I am going to add a little mexican influence in my chickpea chaat with a roasted tomatillo salsa.

Apply oil to tomatillos, serrano chilli and unpeeled garlic clove. Broil until charred (about 7 min). Let it cool. Peel the garlic, remove the stem of serrano chilli and purée with tomatillo and cilantro. Season with lime juice and salt.

If you thought I was done with my craziness then you were wrong!!! (LAUGHS!!!) I added salsa to my chickpea chaat so I had to add a bit of an Indian flavor to these tostadas.. RIGHT!!! (LAUGHS HARD!!!)

In a dish mix all purpose flour, corn flour, roasted jeera, turmeric, red chili powder and salt. Add water and knead slowly to form a soft dough. Divide the dough into 10 equal portion. On a floured surface, roll out each portion into thin circle using rolling pin. Heat oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot. Gently slide the tostadas into the oil and fry till golden brown on each side. Drain on an absorbent paper.

The spicy, tangy chaat as well as the crispy tostadas are ready for their holy reunion…

Chickpea Tostada

For assembly simply layer the chaat onto the tostadas. Top it with tomatillo salsa, pomegranate seeds and sev for a bit of extra crunch. Your ‘CHICKPEA TOSTADAS” are ready!!!

Chickpea Tostada

Now that’s how you make some Indian-Mexican fusion. What do you think folks????

P.S Do I need to tell you that wifey was pretty happy with this fusion dish????

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Chickpea Tostada

Chickpea Tostada

Rahul
Classic Indian Chickpea Chaat on a crispy Masala Tostada.
5 from 3 votes
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Ingredients
  

Chickpea Chaat

  • ½ cup Chickpeas
  • 1 Small Onion chopped
  • 1 Tomato chopped
  • 1 tsp Roasted Cumin Seeds
  • ½ tsp Chat Masala
  • 1 tsp Red Chili Powder
  • 4 tbsp Tamarind Water
  • Salt as per taste

Tostada

  • 1 cup All Purpose Flour
  • 1½ tbsp Corn Flour
  • ½ tbsp Roasted Cumin Seeds
  • ¼ tsp Turmeric
  • ¾ tsp Red Chili Powder
  • Salt as per taste
  • Water for kneading

Tomatillo Salsa

  • 3 Tomatillos
  • 1 Small Serrano Chili
  • 1 Unpeeled Garlic Clove
  • 4 Cilantro Strands
  • 1 tsp Lemon Juice
  • Salt

Topping

  • 1 cup Pomegranate
  • 1 cup Thin Sev

Instructions
 

Chickpea Chaat

  • Soak chickpeas in sufficient water overnight. Then cook until they are soft and tender. Allow it to cool.
  • Drain the water and coarsely mash leaving behind a chunky texture.
  • Add onions, tomato, roasted cumin seeds, red chili powder, chat masala, tamarind and salt and mix well

Tomatillo Salsa

  • Apply oil to tomatillos, serrano chilli and unpeeled garlic clove.
  • Broil until charred (about 7 minutes). Let it cool.
  • Peel the garlic, remove the steam of serrano and purée with tomatillos and cilantro.
  • Season with lime juice and salt .

Tostada

  • Mix all purpose flour, corn flour, roasted jeera, turmeric, red chili powder and salt.
  • Add water and knead slowly to form a soft dough.
  • Divide the dough into 10 equal portions. On a floured surface, roll out each portion into thin circle using rolling pin.
  • Heat oil in a fryer and fry till golden brown on each side. Drain on an absorbent paper.

Assembly

  • Fill each tostada with chickpea mixture,
  • Top with tomatillo salsa, pomegranate and sev

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