Easy Samosa Chaat With Chole

Crispy samosa bites topped with tender chana (spicy chickpeas) and served with smooth yogurt, a medley of zesty chaat spices and assortment of hot & tangy chutneys - feeling hungry already? Let's learn how to make samosa chaat to satify our cravings!

This easy indian chaat is a crowd pleaser! All you need is a box of ready to use samosas, boiled chickpeas and few condiments that you could either make at home (recipes linked in this post) or purchase from store!

Chaat has this magical ability to get me excited, every single time, I mean it! Indian chaat recipes offer a delightful array of spicy, tangy, and savory flavors and I often find myself daydreaming about them. Well, maybe not every single moment, but it does occupy my thoughts on most days.

Be it the indulgent aloo ki chaat or aloo tikki chaat or slightly lighter versions such as sprouted moong dal chaat, matar ki chaat or chana chaat, I haven't met a chaat that I don't adore.

What is Samosa Chaat

Samosa- the iconic snack from the indian subcontinent is a deep fried, triangle shaped pastry stuffed with a spiced potato and peas filling (most commonly), and sometimes meat or other fillings.

Samosa chaat is a flavor packed popular indian street food combining crispy samosa with the mouthwatering tangy and spicy flavors of chaat. Crunchy samosa is broken into small pieces and then toppings such as creamy yogurt, coriander chutney, sweet tamarind chutney, sev (crunchy gram flour noodles), chaat masala, cumin powder, chopped onions, green chilli etc are added on top.

Though you could simply add a handful of boiled chickpeas, I like to prepare flavorful chickpeas that have been seasoned with a blend of aromatic spices. You will find samosa chaat variations found across different states of North India. In state of Uttar Pradesh, samosa chaat is often adorned with spicy dried peas (matar or ragda), whereas in Delhi or Punjab, chole or white chickpeas are frequently used.

Whether you're hosting a gathering, looking for a quick bite, or simply craving something delicious and satisfying, this samosa chana chaat recipe will come in handy. It is my go-to option for parties and never disappoints!

Samosa Chaat is

• Quick to Make - If you take help from store, this samosa chaat is super quick to make with store bought samosas and canned chickpeas.
• Vegetarian Friendly and easily veganized (omit the yogurt).
• A Crowd-Pleasing Hit - Samosas are irresistible, making this chaat a guaranteed favorite at any gathering.
• Burst of flavors - and textures. The different textures and flavors in each and every bite overwhelm you, but in a nice way! I mean this is one of the most satifying chaat there can be!

Ingredients

Chaat is a deeply personalizable dish and offers you a lot of room for creativity and including your taste preferences. While I am marking some ingredients below as optional, my chaat mantra is "the more, the merrier." 

Feel free to load up your chole samosa chaat with whatever delights your senses. And when I say that, I don't just mean pleasing the tastebuds, rather think vibrant colors and how they will make the chaat look appetizing.

Here, contrasting colors of the green chutney, chopped red onions, yellow colored sev noodles and ruby pomegranate arils scattered over ivory yogurt with golden samosas peeking here & there add immensely to the visual appeal of this chaat.

1. Samosas - I use store-bought samosas on most days. I mean, yes, you can very well make samosa at home, but that will turn this samosa chaat into a 1-2 hour endeavor. Though, I must admit that homemade samosa will taste amazing! The choice is yours. I use store bought potato & pea frozen samosas. You could also use leftover samosas too from a homemade batch.
2. Chickpeas - You could use canned chickpeas or boil chickpeas from scratch, either work great. When it comes to seasoning the chickpeas, I avoid using onion, tomato, garlic, or prepare typical chana masala to prevent the chaat from tasting like curry. I make chana similar to how I prepare them in my chana chaat recipe and they are simple and flavorful! That said, if you have leftover chana masala in the fridge, go ahead and use it up!
3. Chutneys - Both green chutney and tamarind chutney add elements of freshness, heat, tang and sweetness. You could make tangy chutneys at home or purchase from indian grocery store. If you cannot find sweet tamarind chutney, mango chutney is a good substitue to add a burst of sweetness.
4. Yogurt - I whisk greek yogurt with kala namak(rock salt/ indian black salt), and a touch of sugar - creamy & delicious! You could use plain yogurt too. 
5. Sev or Bhujia(Optional)- Sev or nylon sev are thin crunchy fried gram flour noodles that are commonly sprinkled on top of indian chaats for added texture.
6. Ground Chaat Spices - These spices add a salty, smoky & tangy kick to the chaat. I love to add chaat masala, roasted cumin powder and red chili powder. Skip if you wish or dont have in your pantry.
7. Other Ingredients (Optional but they add a refreshing kick & textures to chaat) - Chopped red onions, fresh herbs such as cilantro leaves or mint leaves, green chillies, pomegranate arils

How to Make Samosa Chaat

Prepare The Spicy Chana Masala

There are different ways in which you can make chana for chaat. I keep them simple yet flavorful. Personally, I do not like to spend 20-25 minutes to make chana masala (chickpea curry). Secondly, I don't want my chaat to taste like curry. Here's what I do.

1. Soak the dried chickpeas in excess water overnight(or for 8-12 hours). Once soaked, drain & discard the water. Add the chickpeas to a pressure cooker. Add 2 cup water,salt, a teaspoon of oil and two pinches of baking soda. If you want, you can add few whole spices like black cardamom and bay leaf while boiling.
2. Close the lid of pressure cooker, place on a stove on medium high and cook for 2-3 whistles. Then, lower the heat and cook for 8-10 minutes or until the chana are tender but hold shape.
3. While the chole are boiling, you can start dry roasting whole spices- coriander seeds, dried red chillies, green cardamom, black peppercorns and cumin seeds. This scratch made spice blend is optional, you could conveniently use store bought chole masala. You can also do rest of the preperation like chopping the ginger and gree chillies and measuring out ingredients while the chickpeas are boiling.

4. Once cooled, add the roated spices to a blender and grind to a powder.
5. In a cooking pan (I use a 10 inch skillet), on medium heat, add oil and let heat up (I use avocado oil). 
6. Add chopped ginger and green chillies to the hot oil. Fry for 8-10 seconds but dont brown.
7. Then add the boiled chickpeas along with the chickpeas stock. If you are using canned chickpeas, add water.
8. To the chickpeas add the spice powder that we made and a bit of kashmiri chilli powder(for color). Mix and let the chana cook for 8-10 minutes. You can smash a few chickpeas while they cook with spices - this step helps in thickening the chole.

9. Finish the chana with fresh chopped coriander leaves and unsweetend tamarind paste for tang. Your chana masala is ready for samosa chaat.

Assemble Samosa Chaat

10. While the chole are simmering, heat up your aloo samosa.  I crisp them upto golden brown in air fryer or you could deep fry. Gather the rest of the ingredients such as chutneys and yogurt and lets assemble samosa chaat now.
11. In a serving plate(I like using a shallow low bowl), add warm samosa pieces. I use 2 potato and peas samosas per plate.
12. Add spoonfuls of warm spiced chickpeas that we just made. I add about ¾ cup 1 cup chole.

13. Then add the cold yogurt and drizzle the green chutney and sweet imli chutney.
14. Add chopped onions(and green chilies if you want) and sprinkle bhuna jeera and chaat masala powder next. Adding ground spices at this stage seasons the raw onions.
15. Scatter sev on the chaat and finish with some pomegranate arils and fresh cilantro. Your chana samosa chaat is ready!

Make Ahead Tips (Storage)

Here is how you can plan ahead when serving samosa chaat for party.

• Prepare the chole a day ahead or a few hours ahead and store refrigerated.
• Make the green chutney and tamarind chutney 2-4 days ahead if you are using homemade.
• You can also chop the onions, cilantro and green chilies(if using) and keep refrigetated.

Serving

Samosa chaat is best served with piping hot samosas, warm chana and drizzle of cold yogurt(dahi). It is a beautiful combination of warm and chilled bites along with the different textures. As soon as you prepare the chaat plate, serve it immediately since you don't want the samosa pastry to get soggy.

Alternatively, you can serve all the chaat components buffet style and the guests could prepare their chaat plates themselves. Makes for a really customized experience and prevents soggy samosas.

If you are having a chaat party, consider making drinks such as jal jeera or mango shikanji (indian mango lemonade) on the side. And before you ask, yes, chai is a perfect accompainment too. If you are serving samosa chaat on Holi festival, consider serving with drinks such as thandai and rose falooda.