Chatpata Puri with Sookhi Chana Dal and Jeera Aloo; spicy, tangy and mildly sweet chana dal curry and a simple dry potato curry with cumin, served with puris (whole wheat deep fried Indian bread). Topped with a crunchy onion relish and spicy and pungent pounded garlic chutney; it is a complete meal in itself! As a food blogger, you tend to spend most of your time either scouting new ideas to create new recipes, updating the blog or browsing cooking videos just for fun because you are a hardcore foodie! On one of those video binging days, I came across a guy cooking up simple vegetarian dishes in the middle of a farm. I could hear birds chirping, water gushing in the nearby river and sometimes, I did see a stray dog walk by!

But what really fascinated me was the simplicity of his cooking using a wood-burning stove under the skies and using fresh ingredients freshly picked from the fields nearby. One of the dishes he prepared was puris (whole wheat, unleavened deep fried Indian bread) with a thick chana masala curry and some amazingly simple potato curry. I was fascinated by the chana dal curry as I had not made any dish with chana dal to go with my rotis and parathas till date! Inspired by his cooking, I decided to recreate his dish but in my way.

It involves making 3 simple and quick dishes:

Puris Chana Dal Dry aloo curry

To add more oomph to the dish, he also made this amazing garlic chutney by smashing a lot of garlic with red chilli powder using a stone mortar and pestle. I found the pounding to be so therapeutic that I made my chutney the same way. The whole process of pounding was meditative and calming! If you do  not have one, feel free to use the blender to make the paste but leave it coarse.

Or, make some of my homemade chili-garlic paste made easily in a blender; would taste awesome; must try this next time! Soaking chana dal to make this semi-dry curry is optional but facilitates the cooking process and saves time. Once it is soaked, I pressure cooked it and made a curry with some simple spices and tomato. Do add some tangy element like chaat masala powder, amchur powder (dry mango powder) or even some tamarind paste. Aloo curry is a simple and quick dry stir fry with cumin and turmeric to bring color and flavor to the dish.  

Puris are easy to make with just some whole wheat flour and oil for deep frying. A quick mix of finely chopped red onions and cilantro with a splash of lime or even lemon juice, elevates each mouthful of this dish to a heavenly crunchy bite! I prefer red onions always for Indian food and lime gives a lovely tang, more than lemon juice  Once all the components of this unusual street food like dish are ready, you can serve the chana dal curry and jeera aloo as a side dish for hot and puffy puris with a drizzle of garlic chutney and topped with the onion relish. For a no onion-no garlic option, just omit the onion relish and garlic chutney and enjoy!

Or, you can just top each puri with the aloo, chana curry, relish and chutney, fold it like a taco and munch away; no plates or bowls needed for that! Isn’t this a great idea for a picnic or party? Time to enjoy some street food at home! We enjoyed this dish immensely and so will you. For more similar street food like dishes, try these other culinary creations from my kitchen: Cheesy Bread Bondas Masala Pav Chatpata Pani Puri  
Let us head on to the recipe right now!

Enjoy!! Cook Time: 30 minutes

For puris: 2 cups whole wheat flour ½ tsp salt Oil for deep frying Flour for dusting or you can use oil For jeera aloo: 3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes 1 tsp jeera/cumin seeds ½ tsp hing/asafetida powder 1 large green chilli/jalapeno, sliced ½ tsp turmeric powder Salt to taste 2 tbsp oil For the Sookhi Chana Dal: Check the recipe here For the chili-garlic topping: ½ cup peeled and roughly chopped garlic 1 tsp red chilli powder for the heat 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder for color Salt to taste For onion relish: ½ cup finely chopped red onions 3 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves/cilantro ½ tsp lemon/lime juice Wedges of lime or lemon

Instructions

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