Healthy Chickpea & Potato Pita Panipuri
Prep Time: 20 Mins
Cook Time: 20 Mins
Total Time: 40 Mins
Serves: 4-6
There is nothing more fun than finger food! As a kid, I would always order panipuri at our local Indian restaurant. I loved punching a hole into the little fried bread (the puris), stuffing it with chickpeas, and pouring the tasty sauce all over it. I wanted to create a flavorful and healthier version of panipuri without the elusive puris commonly unavailable at grocery stores. In this not-so-traditional recipe, mini pita breads are the base to soak up the wonderful flavours of the chickpeas, mint yogurt and tangy date and tamarind sauce.
Ingredients
Date & Tamarind Sauce
4 dates, pitted
1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon ginger, minced
Pinch of salt
Yoghurt Mint Sauce
1/4 cup mint (13g)
1 cup Greek yogurt (or full-fat yogurt)
1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon lime juice
Pinch of salt
Chickpea & Potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon black mustard seeds
Handful of dried curry leaves
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder
1 yellow onion, diced
8-10 baby gem potatoes, cut into quarters
1 540ml can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Salt and pepper to taste
Cilantro leaves
Pomegranate arils
10-12 mini pitas (or use puris if you can find them)
Directions
Make the date and tamarind dressing. In a small bowl let the dates soak in boiling water for 30 minutes. Add the dates, tamarind, lime juice, ginger, and a pinch of salt to a blender and blend until smooth.
Make the yogurt mint sauce. Combine the mint, yogurt, garlic, lime juice, and salt in a blender and blend until smooth.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mustard seeds, stirring so they don’t burn for a few minutes until they are popping and crackling. Add the curry leaves, turmeric, and chili powder and cook for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant. Add the onion and cook until softened 5-7 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook for 5 minutes, add a few tablespoons of water and cover so the steam can cook the potatoes through 5-10 minutes. Once they are fork-tender add the chickpeas and cook to warm them through for a few more minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.
To serve bring all the sauces and chickpea mixture to the table in separate bowls. Let each person create their own panipuri, taking a pita or puri (if using this punch a hole to fill it) and top it with the chickpea mixture, sauces, cilantro leaves, and pomegranate arils.
