Ingredients
Base
- 200 gpuffed rice
- 100 gdried instant noodles, crushed
- 1boiled potato, cubed
- 100 gcooked white peas or chickpeas
Fresh
- 1red onion, finely chopped
- 1tomato, chopped
- 1carrot, julienned
- 2green chillies, minced
- a handful of coriander
Seasoning
- juice of 2 limes
- 1 tspchaat masala
- ½ tspground timur
- ½ tspchilli powder
- ½ tspsalt
- 1 tbspmustard oil
To finish
- 2 tbspsev, optional
Directions
- Have absolutely everything chopped and within reach before you begin. Chatpate is assembled and eaten inside about ninety seconds, and there is no point at which it waits for you.
- Put the puffed rice and the crushed noodles into a large bowl.
- Add the potato, peas, onion, tomato, carrot and green chillies.
- Add the chaat masala, timur, chilli powder, salt and the mustard oil, which goes in raw and pungent rather than heated.
- Toss it with your hands or two spoons, lifting from the bottom, for about ten seconds.
- Add the lime juice absolutely last, and toss once more.
- The lime goes in at the end and never earlier. The moment acid meets puffed rice the crunch begins to go, and a chatpate that has stood for five minutes is a bowl of wet cereal.
- Tip it into paper cones, scatter with coriander and sev, and eat immediately, standing at the cart.
Technique
- There is no cooking and almost no technique. The entire skill is in the order of assembly and the speed of it.
- It is the default Kathmandu after-school snack, and every cart has its own balance of sour, salty and hot.
- Timur gives the numbing tingle that distinguishes it from Indian bhel puri, which it otherwise resembles.
Substitutions
- Any plain puffed rice or puffed wheat.
- Tamarind chutney in place of some of the lime, for a sweeter version.
Variations
- With crumbled fried momo wrappers folded through.
- Heavier on the instant noodles, in the direction of wai wai sadeko.
- With a spoonful of pani puri water added, which some carts do on request.
History
The default Kathmandu after-school snack, assembled in a bowl at the cart and eaten from paper cones.
Frequently asked questions
What is Chatpate?
Chatpate is a street food from Nepal: puffed rice tossed with noodles, lime, chilli and raw onion, mixed to order. The default Kathmandu after-school snack, assembled in a bowl at the cart and eaten from paper cones.
How long does Chatpate take to make?
Chatpate takes 15 min of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Chatpate?
Yes, within limits. Any plain puffed rice or puffed wheat. Tamarind chutney in place of some of the lime, for a sweeter version.
What is the most important thing to get right in Chatpate?
Add the chaat masala, timur, chilli powder, salt and the mustard oil, which goes in raw and pungent rather than heated.
