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⭐ Origin Story
Samosa chaat is a popular Indian street food made of crunchy samosas combined with various spices. It usually contains a spicy chutney or yogurt-based sauces, tangy tamarind sauce, onions, and sometimes potatoes or chickpeas. It’s very affordable and widely available in Indian restaurants and street sides stalls, so it’s a popular snack that everyone can enjoy without breaking the bank and now you can make it at home.
💭 Why you’ll love this recipe
It’s flavorful, balanced, and versatile. This samosa chaat recipe is a perfect balance of flavors in each bite. The sweet tamarind chutney balances the green chutney, while cooling yogurt brings all the flavors together in one tasty bite. Plus, the crispy samosa and soft chana masala combination is irresistible. Super easy to make. This dish only takes 45 minutes to make. All you need to do is prepare all of your ingredients, assemble them together, and voila! It’s healthy. Samosa chaat is also surprisingly light - you won’t feel weighed down after eating it, making it a guilt-free indulgence on any day of the week!
📋 Ingredients and Notes
To make this samosa chaat recipe, you’ll need samosas, the chickpea base, and then toppings (i.e., the “chaat”) You can make your own samosas or buy your favorite ones from the store. For the chickpea curry (chole or chana masala), you will need vegetable oil, cumin seeds, onion, garlic, ginger, green chili peppers, tomatoes, chickpeas, turmeric, ground coriander, Garam masala spice mix, salt, and hot water. Tip: If you have an Indian grocery store nearby, you can also get chaat masala, and roasted cumin powder, both of which are great additions to this recipe. For the toppings (chaat), you’ll need plain yogurt, cilantro chutney, sweet tamarind chutney, red onion, cilantro leaves (i.e., coriander leaves), and sev (optional, an Indian chickpea snack).
Notes and Variations
Substituting Sev: Sev is a popular Indian snack made from gram flour. It’s fried in hot oil until it puffs up and becomes crunchy, then seasoned with spices. Sev is often used as a crunchy topping in samosa chaat, but this is optional. You can also use fried shallots or onions, crushed peanuts instead.Make this vegan. Replace the yogurt with a vegan version or omit it altogether to make this recipe vegan. Adding other vegetables. You can also add different vegetables such as onions, carrots or peas to bulk up the dish!
📖 How to Make Samosa Chaat
If you are making your own samosas, check out my recipe for baked or air fryer samosas so you can make crispy samosas without nearly as much oil. Follow package directions to cook frozen samosa. You can also buy fresh samosas (or frozen samosas!) from your local Indian restaurant or grocery store!
Make chickpea base (chana masala)
First, heat vegetable oil in a medium saucepan and add the cumin seeds. Once it starts sizzling, add chopped onions, garlic, ginger, chilies, turmeric and coriander. You can also add a pinch of red chili powder here if you want to kick it up a notch. If you have made my chana masala in the past, this is basically the same recipe! Make a large batch, portion and freeze if you wish! Cook for 6-7 minutes over medium to low heat, stirring occasionally until the onions are golden brown. Pour pureed tomatoes and salt. Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, covered. Stir a few times to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add chickpeas, water, and garam masala powder and cook on medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes to thicken. This is your chickpea curry base (or if you would like, you can make a big batch of this chana masala and use it in a number of ways!)
Make chutneys
Most samosa chaat recipes need two types of chutneys - cilantro / mint chutney and a sweet tamarind chutney. You can buy both of those at your local Indian grocery store or they’re quite simple to make from scratch too! My samosa chaat recipe assumes that you’ll buy the chutneys from the store, but have included instructions below in case you want to make them at home. I personally prefer cilantro and tamarind chutney in my samosa chaat! To make the cilantro chutney: add about 2 small bunches of cilantro and remove the stems (about 120 grams or 4 oz of cilantro), 1 green chili pepper (Indian chili or Thai bird’s eye chili or jalapeño) along with half a teaspoon of ginger paste, salt, cumin powder, and a tablespoon of yogurt to a blender or food processor and process until smooth. To make the sweet tamarind chutney: Add 1 cup of tamarind pulp to a medium sauce pan and cook over medium heat until it thickens. Then, stir in half a cup of brown sugar or date syrup. Finally, add in 2 teaspoons of minced garlic, a pinch of cumin powder and salt, reduce heat to low and cook until thickened.
Assemble the samosa chaat
Serve a layer of chole (chana masala) into each serving bowl. Top with dollops of yogurt, and break two samosas per person, add more chole, cilantro chutney, and tamarind chutney. Garnish with chopped red onions, chopped cilantro leaves, and sev (or other crunchy toppings). Once cooked, serve samosa chaat hot!
👩🏽🍳Top Tips for Making the Best Samosa Chaat
🍴 Serving and storage suggestions
I suggest storing samosa chaat as its component parts instead of storing it after assembly. Store chole in a sealed container, in the fridge for 2-3 days. If you’re looking to preserve your chutney, keep in mind that they are only good for 2-3 days in the fridge. I don’t recommend storing samosa chaat after it’s assembled though it is technically fresh for a couple of days in the fridge (it just gets super soggy!)
Pick the right samosas. If you’re buying them fresh, get ones that are fresh and crunchy. I prefer the traditional potato samosas, but you can also get other types (e.g., cheese, paneer, etc.) Or better yet, if you have extra time on your hands, make a large batch at home to freeze and air fry or bake them as you need. Use fresh spices. Using fresh spices and chutney is critical, so don’t skimp on these ingredients! If possible, try to use freshly ground spices as they will add an extra layer of flavor to your dish. Sprinkle chaat masala (available in grocery stores) or a pinch of Garam Masala over your samosa chaat for extra depth of flavor.Don’t skip the tamarind chutney. I know it’s a unique flavor profile, but tamarind chutney is what brings all of these ingredients together—it adds tanginess and sweetness that no other ingredient can replicate quite as well! To get an extra punch of flavor with each bite, warm up your chutney before adding it.Simmer the chana masala. You can use canned chickpeas or cook from dry beans, but simmer them slowly to bring out the flavors, and then add them before other toppings like yogurt or chutney.Garnish with fresh herbs. Don’t need to say this twice, but fresh herbs like cilantro add brightness and an extra zing to your dish! You can also serve samosa chaat with crispy add-ons like sev, boondi, and puffed rice to give some contrast in texture.
Check out some of these delicious Indian snacks and sides as well:
Healthy SamosasSavory Bombay Toast (Masala Toast)PakorasEasy Homemade Raita (Indian Yogurt Sauce)Mango Lassi
If you tried this recipe, don’t forget to comment and rate! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
📖 Recipe
