Chai, Chaat and Chutney recipes by Chetna Makan: From dal chilla to chilli paneer

Chetna Makan’s second cookbook is all about the street food of India, focusing on the country’s four biggest cities, from Delhi to Chennai

Makan’s book covers typical street cuisine from the north, south, east and west of India

Dal chilla

Makes 16

Chilla – light and healthy savoury pancakes – are a popular snack in Kolkata and many other parts of India. They taste wonderful with coriander and spinach chutney or chilli and garlic chutney, and with dal or a potato curry. Try making them with different varieties of lentils, if you like.

For the batter

250g (9oz) split yellow lentils (moong dal)
​600ml (20fl oz) water
2.5cm (1 inch) fresh root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1 small green chilli
Handful of coriander leaves
1 tsp salt
50g (13/4oz) semolina

For the topping

1 large onion, finely chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1 green chilli, finely chopped

Sunflower oil, for cooking
Chutney of your choice, to serve

To make the batter, soak the lentils in 250ml (9fl oz) of the water for about 1 hour, until they absorb it all. Transfer the lentils to a blender and add the ginger, chilli, and coriander and blend until smooth. Tip the paste into a bowl and stir in the salt, semolina and the remaining 350ml (12fl oz) water, mixing well.

Combine all the topping ingredients in a bowl. To cook the chilla, heat a frying pan and, once it is very hot, pour a serving-spoonful of the batter into the pan and spread it into a 13-15cm (5-6in) circle. Top with 1 tablespoon of the topping mixture and drizzle 1 tablespoon of oil around the edges of the batter. Cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, until golden brown on the underside, then turn the chilla over and cook for a further 2 minutes, until golden brown on both sides.

Repeat to make 15 more. Serve hot with the chutney of your choice.

Pav bhaji

Serves 4

This is another very popular dish from Mumbai, which is now found across India. My version is simple and healthy, but there are many other ways you could make it. When eaten on the streets, what makes this dish amazing is all the extra butter they put on the pav and bhaji, but I have tried to keep this to a minimum.

For the bhaji

2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 tbsp salted butter, plus extra as desired
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
1/4 cauliflower (about 5-6 florets), grated
1 green pepper, finely chopped
​600ml (20fl oz) water
1½ tsp salt
2 tbsp pav bhaji masala
5 floury potatoes, boiled, peeled and grated
Handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped

To serve

4 tablespoons butter
4 small soft bread rolls (pav), split horizontally
lime wedges

To make the bhaji, heat the oil and butter in a wide saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, until it begins to soften. Stir in the tomatoes, grated cauliflower, green pepper and 250ml (8fl oz) of water.

Bring to a boil, then cover the pan with a lid and cook for 20 minutes, until the vegetables are cooked. Stir the salt and pav bhaji masala into the pan and cook for 2 minutes, until well combined. Now stir in the grated potatoes and the remaining 350ml (12fl oz) water and cook for 10-12 minutes, until everything is cooked through.

Use a potato masher to mash the whole mixture while it is still in the pan, then cook for a final 2 minutes. Sprinkle over the coriander and as much extra butter as you would like and keep hot.

To serve, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Put the 2 halves of 1 bread roll into the pan. Cook for 1 minute on each side, then remove from the pan. Repeat with the remaining rolls and butter. Serve the rolls with the piping-hot bhaji and lime wedges for squeezing over.

Chilli paneer

Serves 4

This yummy recipe is not only simple, it goes well with a lot of other dishes, such as dal and rice, soft kachori or, indeed, any Indian flatbread. It makes a fabulous filling for plain dosa, too. You can also serve it as a party nibble – just offer cocktail sticks alongside to help your guests pick it up, as you would for marinated olives.

For the paneer

50g (13/4oz) plain flour
¼ tsp salt
6 tbsp water
2 tbsp sunflower oil
​300g (101/2oz) paneer, cut into flat slices

For the sauce

1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 small green chillies, finely chopped
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp chilli sauce
1 tbsp ketchup
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper

To prepare the paneer, put the flour and salt into a bowl and gradually stir in the water to make a smooth batter. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Line a plate with some kitchen paper.

Dip the cheese pieces in the batter, transfer them to the pan and fry for about 1 minute on each side, until golden brown. Remove the cooked paneer pieces with a slotted spoon and transfer to the paper-lined plate to drain excess oil.

To make the sauce, add the sunflower oil to the same frying pan in which you cooked the paneer and heat over medium heat. Add the onion and green chillies and fry for about 5 minutes, until the onion is light golden.

Add the soy sauce, chilli sauce, ketchup, salt and pepper and mix well. Transfer the battered paneer to the frying pan, mix the pieces into the sauce well, then take the pan off the heat, transfer the mixture to a serving bowl and serve hot.

Chai, Chaat & Chutney by Chetna Makan. Published by Mitchell Beazley, £20