Name: Kara boondi chaat (Crispy chickpea flour snacks)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: Serves 6–8 as a snack
Cuisine: Pakistani
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons chopped roasted peanuts; 1–2 tablespoons Chaat masala; 4 tablespoons Tamarind chutney; ¼ bunch coriander (cilantro), leaves chopped; 2 tablespoons lemon juice; 2 teaspoons rice bran oil; 1 Indian green chilli, finely chopped; 1 tablespoon broken cashews; approximately 1 litre (35 fl oz/4 cups) vegetable oil, for deep-frying; 1 fresh curry leaf sprig, leaves picked; 60 g (2¼ oz/¼ cup) seeded chopped tomatoes; a pinch of salt, to taste; 2 teaspoons chilli powder; 120 g (4¼ oz/1 cup) chickpea flour (besan); 2 tablespoons rice flour; 4 tablespoons raw peanuts; 40 g (1½ oz/¼ cup) finely chopped onion; 45 g (1½ oz/¼ cup) diced cucumber (peeled and seeded)

Preparation info

Serves
6–8
as a snack

Difficulty
Medium
Ready in
25 min

Appears in

Lands of the Curry Leaf

By Peter Kuruvita

Published 2018

About

Kara boondi are crisp little pearls of spiced chickpea batter, enjoyed as a snack; I also use them as a garnish in our restaurant. They are tasty enough on their own, but when you mix them with the chaat they become deliciously reminiscent of the snacks on the beach in Sri Lanka.

Some people want perfectly shaped balls of kara boondi, which takes a bit more practice. I prefer them all the size of puffed rice.