A street food item that is widely loved, ragada chaat is extremely popular in Maharashtrian cuisine. Ragada chaat is prepared from deep fried ragada puris and ragada gravy. A great snack item, homemade ragada chaat is much better than store-bought ones. A snack that is easily prepared and requires the most basic ingredients, ragada chaat recipe serves as the perfect appetiser for house gatherings, parties or just a basic evening snack.
What is ragada?
Native to Maharashtrian cuisine, ragada is a form of curry or gravy that is prepared from dried white peas, spices and seasonings. Ragada masala is used in a number of Maharashtrian dishes such as ragada poori, ragada patties, ragada chaat, as well as pani puri.
Ragda recipe variations
Apart from the widely loved ragada puri recipe, there are a number of variations that you can try out:
- Ragada patties- A spicy ragada gravy served alongside potato patties and a variety of chutneys, ragada patties are prepared from white peas and a number of spices. It is a hugely popular dish and snack item.
- Ragada pani puri- Another variation to the popular ragada recipes, in ragada pani puri hot ragada is served as a stuffing instead of the quintessential pudina water in pani puris.
- One pot ragada- It is true that we love having ragada chaat and ragada patties as popular snack items, however, ragada can even be had for a proper meal. Make yourself an instant one pot ragada for a lazy day in, and enjoy it with paratha, toasted bread or rice.
If you too, like us, prefer the chaat over all these variations though, check out this simple and delicious ragada chaat recipe to prepare at home.
Ingredients for ragada chaat recipe
Ingredients required for ragada masala:
- 1 cup white peas
- 1 potato, peeled and finely chopped
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 tomato, finely chopped
- 1 chilli, finely chopped
- 2 tsp coriander, finely chopped
- 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
- ½ tsp coriander powder
- ¼ tsp cumin powder
- ¼ tsp garam masala
- 3 cups of water
- 3 tsp oil
- Salt
Ingredients for ragada chaat:
- 6 puri
- Finely chopped onions
- Apples
- Finely chopped coriander
- 2 tsp green chutney
- 2 tsp tamarind chutney
- Pinch of chilli powder
- Pinch of cumin powder
- Pinch of chaat masala
Instructions to follow for ragada puri chaat recipe
Follow these steps to prepare ragada chaat recipe:
- Soak a cup of white peas in water overnight.
- Drain the water and add the soaked white peas in a pressure cooker.
- Add 1 potato, ¼ tsp turmeric, ½ salt and 3 cups of water. Pressure cook these ingredients till 5 whistles, or more if not sufficiently cooked.
- In a pan then add 3 tsp oil, and add the onions, ginger-garlic paste and chilli and fry lightly.
- Along with these ingredients add in the tomato, and cook until it turns soft and mushy.
- Add the turmeric, chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala and salt.
- Cook all these ingredients on low flame to prepare the ragada masala until the oil starts coming to the surface.
- Add in the boiled peas and mix well.
- Cook for about 5 minutes more, until all the spices for the ragada chaat have been mixed and incorporated well.
- Lightly mash the potatoes and the peas in the ragada masala for the gravy to become a little thick.
- Add in the coriander leaves and give the ragada masala another good mix.
- Now to prepare the ragada chaat, make a hole in the centre of the ragada puri.
- Fill the ragada puri with the finely chopped onions, and thereafter add about 1 tbsp of the ragada masala that you had prepared for the ragada chaat. Keep in mind that the quantity of the peas in the ragada chaat should exceed the quantity of the gravy.
- To it add 1 tsp of green chutney, and over it another tsp of tamarind chutney.
- Pour over it a generous amount of ragada chaat gravy.
- Sprinkle a pinch of chilli powder, cumin powder and chaat masala.
- Add in a handful of apples, and some coriander leaves on top of the ragada chaat recipe.
- Again add in 1 tsp of green chutney and tamarind chutney respectively over the ragada puris, and serve.
Pro tip: Ragada chaat can turn soft and soggy if not consumed immediately after preparation, so make sure to devour it