SEV PURI FIESTA- CHAAT TO RELISH..!

BY: DR. KAVIRAJ KHIALANI – CELEBRITY MASTER CHEF.

Sev Puries, one of those tempting words which makes us feel hungry and gets our appetite charged up wanting to have the delicious and world famous street side favorite food.

If we look back in time I have been enjoying it since my childhood and we were always so excited and waiting for the evenings to come by so that we could find a reason to go down looking for a break from studies to the nearby sev puri wala who would be all set with his pre-prepared ingredients waiting for the line of people to start post sunset.

Being a chef today when I look back, it was such a mesmerising moment to see him make these sev puries, he was so good and accurate at portioning the toppings on each puri and without even having a taste of them it would turn out to be just perfect each time we had it, that was one of the things to learn about being organised, keeping things in place, how to carry out standard portion size of the preparation and how to maintain taste, the crowd and the fan- following as well.

I truly believe that there is something to learn from every day and every person we come across. To me sev puries then became a dish to innovative with and I started working on it in my home kitchen initially trying out fancy and weird combinations at times which would somehow turn out to be nice once the toppings, loaded with chutneys, chaat masala, sev etc were all dressed up.

Working on using leftovers on sev puries, mix- n- match combinations, getting into fusion varieties and then creative global gastronomy with this concept has ever since been a great journey.

Here are some of my twists on the regular sev puri concepts which I am sure you all will love trying out in your kitchens as well:

“Sev Puri, the term itself is not only tempting but also brings about a number of ideas and concoctions which can be prepared and served. It is one good way to de-stress, pamper, excite your taste buds & treat your palate”- Dr. Kaviraj Khialani- Celebrity Master Chef.

Recipe-1] INDO – CHINI SEV PURIES

Ingredients

• Sev puries/ flat puries- 10-12 no

For the topping:

• Oil-1 tsp
• Garlic-1 tsp chopped
• Ginger-1 tsp chopped
• Green chilies-1 tsp chopped
• Onion-1 small chopped
• Boiled chicken cubes-1/2 cup
• For veg- use paneer cubes-1/2 cup
• Khara boondi-1/4 cup
• Green capsicum-1/2 chopped
• Tomato-1/2 chopped
• Manchurian sauce-3-4 tbsp.
• Schezuan chutney-2-3 tsp
• Tamarind chutney-1-2 tsp
• Chaat masala powder-1 tsp
• Coriander leaves- 2 tbsp. chopped
• Lime juice-1-2 tsp
• Salt to taste
• Nylon sev- 2-3 tbsp.

Method:

1. Prepare all the ingredients for the sev puri recipe.
2. In this case we are trying a fusion of indian and Chinese flavors so we can adjust them to our taste.
3. Keep all the ingredients ready, try and serve this immediately for best results, ideally make it live in front and serve.
4. To saute the topping for the sev puries, heat oil and add in the ginger, garlic, chilies, onions and saute for 2 mins, add in the chicken cubes, capsicums, and mix well, add Manchurian sauce and mix, adjust seasonings with salt and pepper as needed, lastly add khara boondi, tomatoes and mix well.
5. Remove and cool the mixture, place the mixture on the sev puries and top with some more Manchurian sauce, a little tamarind chutney, schezuan chutney, dash of chaat masala, coriander, lime and top with nylon sev and serve.

Recipe-2] INDO-FUSION SEV PURIES

Ingredients

• Flat puries/sev puries- 10-12 no

For the topping :

• Maggi – 1 packet cooked up dry and add little soya sauce and chili sauce to the noodles once cooked, mix and keep aside.
• Boiled mashed potatoes-1/2 cup
• Onions-1/2 chopped
• Green chili-1 tsp chopped
• Salt to taste
• Cheese-2 tbsp. grated
• Tomato-1/2 chopped
• Chaat masala-1/2 tsp
• Lime juice-2 tsp
• Boiled sweet corn-1/4 cup
• Tamarind chutney-1-2 tbsp.
• Tomato ketchup-2 tsp
• Soya sauce-1 tsp
• Chili sauce-1 tsp
• Nylon sev- 2-3 tbsp.
• Chopped coriander-2 tsp

Method:

1. First step here is to use leftover noodles or to prepare a packet of ready to eat noodles to a dry texture, add in 1 tsp soya sauce and 1 tsp chili sauce, add cheese and mix well.
2. To assemble the sev puries, arrange them on a serving platter, place the noodle mixture first, boiled corn mixed with mashed potatoes, top with other ingredients as well of your choice to add more color.
3. Sprinkle chaat masala, add in the chutneys/sauces as per taste and finally top with nylon sev or we can also use sev bhujiya for a change.

Recipe-3] INDO- ARAB SEV PURIES

Ingredients

• Sev puries/ flat puries- 10-12 no

For the topping:

• Boiled chickpeas/chana- ½ cup
• Garlic-1 tsp chopped
• Lime juice-2 tsp
• Salt to taste
• Chaat masala-1/2 tsp
• Black pepper powder-a pinch
• Peanuts-2 tsp roasted and crushed
• Olive oil/ oil- 2 tsp
• All above ingredients to be made into a paste.

For additional topping:

• Mint and coriander leaves-2 tsp chopped
• Roasted chicken cut into slices/chopped-1/2 cup
• Tandoori chicken/ paneer etc -1/2 cup cut
• Mint-coriander chutney-2-3 tbsp.
• Lime juice-1 tsp
• Fresh anardana- ¼ cup for garnish.
• Namkeen sev- 2-3 tbsp. for garnish.

Method:

1. Prepare all the ingredients for the recipe.
2. In a mixing bowl chill the prepared chickpea paste.
3. In another bowl mix together the chicken or paneer pieces with little mint and coriander chutney and keep chilled.
4. To assemble the sev puries, arrange them on a platter, top with the chicken and chutney topping first then cover it with the chickpea mixture, then top it with other chaat ingredients, chaat masala, lime, coriander, mint, fresh anardana and some namkeen sev and serve immediately.

Recipe-4] INDO- MEXI SEV PURI PLATTER

Ingredients:

• Flat puries/sev puries- 10-12 no

For the topping:

• Potato cubes -1 cup deep fried and tossed in mexican seasonings or in a combination of masalas like cumin, coriander, red chili powder, black pepper powder and salt to taste, with a touch of mixed herbs in a little oil/butter.

Additional ingredients:

• Tomato pepper salsa sauce
• Tomato ketchup-2 -3 tbsp.
• Red chili sauce-2 tsp
• Chopped green capsicums-2-3 tbsp.
• Sliced black and green olives-2-3 each
• Parsley/coriander/mint-2 tbsp. chopped
• Tamarind chutney-2-3 tbsp.
• Chaat masala-1/2 tsp
• Cream cheese- 2-3 tsp
• Onion-1/2 chopped
• Tomato-1/2 chopped
• Lime juice-2 tsp
• Jalapeno peppers- 1-2 no sliced if available

Method:

1. Prepare all the ingredients for the Indo-Mexi sev puries.
2. In a mixing bowl combine together the ingredients for the salsa and mix- chill for 20 mins or we can also cook it in 1 tsp oil and then use a cooked version of a salsa sauce as well.
3. To assemble the sev puries, apply a little cream cheese on the puries and then top it with the mexican spiced potato cubes, then place the salsa and other chaat ingredients as desired one by one.
4. Sprinkle chaat masala, add a dash of lime juice, green coriander/herbs etc, finally a touch of sev/ bhujiya or fried crispy noodles for garnish and serve these yummy bites immediately.

Recipe-5] MAVEDAAR SEV PURIES

Ingredients

• Sev puries/ flat puries- 10-12 no

For the topping:

• Oil/ ghee- 2 tsp
• Onion-1 small chopped
• Green chilies-1 tsp chopped
• Paneer-1/4 cup grated
• Mava- 50 gms, grated
• Cheese-1-2 tbsp. grated
• Carrot-1/2 grated
• Cabbage-1/4 cup fine chopped
• Capsicum-1/4 chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Tomato ketchup-2-3 tsp
• Red chili sauce-2 tsp
• Peanut butter- 2 tsp

For the garnish:

• Nylon sev- 2-3 tbsp.
• Tamarind chutney-2-3 tsp
• Schezuan chutney-1-2 tsp
• Coriander and mint- 2-3 tsp chopped
• Lime juice-2 tsp
• Red/green capsicums-2-3 tbsp. chopped
• Or use tomato- ½ no chopped

Method:

1. Assemble all ingredients for the recipe and keep ready.
2. Heat oil/ghee and saute the ingredients with onions, chilies and mava, all veggies, paneer, salt, pepper, cook on a medium flame for 2-3 mins, add in the sauces, peanut butter and mix well, remove and add cheese.
3. Assemble the puries on a serving plate and top it with the mavedaar mixture, then using the additional ingredients garnish with sev puries and serve immediately.

Recipe-6] KUCH KHATTI KUCH MEETHI SEV PURIES

Ingredients

• Sev puries/ flat puries- 10-12 no

For the topping:

• Batata vada- 1-2 no, fried hot, crushed lightly.
• Or use onion bhajiyas/ kanda bhaji- 4-5 no broken
• Or use moong dal Kachories- small ones- 5-6 no broken
• Onion-1 small chopped
• Tomato -1 small chopped
• Green chili-1 tsp chopped
• Coriander and mint- 2 tbsp. chopped
• Chaat masala-1/2 tsp
• Tamarind chutney [sweet and sour]- 2-3 tbsp.
• Chilled beaten sweet curd- 2-3 tbsp.
• Roasted crushed jeera- ½ tsp
• Red chili powder-1/2 tsp
• Salt to taste
• Green chutney-2-3 tbsp.
• Nylon sev/ fried noodles/ bhujiya- 2-3 tbsp.

Method:

1. Prepare all the ingredients as needed for this recipe.
2. We can use variety of toppings in this case, even sliced seekh kababs, or malai tikka, cooked soya chunks etc can also be used.
3. Arrange the sev puries on the serving plate/platter and top with the choice of toppings- veg or non-veg, I personally like the vada/ pakoda combination for an evening snack.
4. Top with the other garnishes for the chaat and top it up with chutneys, curd, sev and serve immediately.