Katori Chaat Recipe | Tokri Chaat

grating and soaking potatoes

1. Firstly in a bowl take 2 cups water.
2. Rinse 250 grams potatoes or 3 medium sized potatoes and then peel them.
3. Grate potatoes using a medium sized grater. Do not make fine potato gratings.
4. Add the grated potatoes in the bowl containing water. Keep them soaked for 15 to 20 minutes.

making aloo tokri

1. Later from the bowl, take some portion of the grated potatoes in your palms and squeeze all the water very well.
2. Place them on a kitchen paper towel so that all the moisture is absorbed. Do this with the remaining grated potatoes as well. Spread the grated potatoes evenly on the kitchen paper towel.
3. Add 1 tablespoon rice flour. You can also use corn starch. mix very well.
4. Now take two tea strainers. One strainer should be slightly large. In the large strainer, place some portion of the grated potatoes.
5. With your fingers press and make an even layer of the grated potatoes all around the strainer.
6. You can even use a spoon and press with it to get an even layer. Spread the grated potatoes evenly all over the sides and center. The center should not be thick.
7. Meanwhile heat oil for deep frying in a heavy kadai. To check if the temperature is correct, add a few grated strands of the potatoes. They should come up steadily in the hot oil. If they take time to come up, the oil is not hot. If they come up too fast, the oil is very hot.
8. Now place the small strainer on top of the grated potatoes and gently press it.

frying aloo lachha tokri

1. Hold both the strainers. Carefully and gently keep them in the hot oil. Fry in medium flame.
2. Hold and keep the top strainer for a minute in the oil. Some oil will collect in the top strainer.
3. After a minute remove the top strainer draining the extra oil. Keep it aside. Continue to keep the strainer with the potatoes in the oil and fry.
4. With a ladle, you can even pour some oil all over the potatoes. You can do this method if you have used less oil while deep frying.
5. When the potatoes are getting fried, you will see lot of bubbles in the strainer. Use a good quality strainer so that its handle does not become hot or very hot while frying.
6. While frying you can take the strainer up to check if the potatoes are done or not.
7. Continue to Fry till the oil starts to sizzle less and you can see the potatoes becoming crisp and light golden. The potato basket will also move if you shake the strainer. This happens when the potatoes are completely fried. If the potatoes are not fried completely, there will be still some stickiness in them and they will stick to the strainer.
8. Fry till the potatoes are crisp and light golden.
9. Slowly and gently slid the strainer on kitchen paper towels.
10. The potato basket will easily slid on the kitchen paper towel. You don’t need to use a fork or knife to remove the potato basket. If fried well, it separates from the strainer easily.
11. Now using the same strainer, add the grated potatoes and press with a spoon. Don’t use your fingers as the strainer will be hot. you can also use another tea strainer. 
12. Make potato baskets with the remaining grated potatoes in the same way. Slowly and carefully fry in the oil. When you are placing and shaping the grated potatoes basket in the strainer, that time reduce the flame to medium-low. This is done so that the oil does not become very hot. later you fry at the same medium-low flame. Since by the time you make and fry each katori, the oil will be hot.

making chana stuffing

1. In a bowl take 1 cup boiled safed chana (white chickpeas). You can even use canned chickpeas. Also add 1 cup chopped boiled potatoes.
2. Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon red chili powder, ½ teaspoon roasted cumin powder, ½ teaspoon dry mango powder and ½ teaspoon black salt or add as required.
3. Mix very well.

assembling and making katori chaat

1. Before you begin to assemble, keep all the ingredients ready. Take one aloo lachha basket and keep it directly on the serving plate or a chopping board.
2. Fill the aloo katori with the boiled chana and aloo (potato) mixture.
3. Now top with some beaten curd, sweet tamarind chutney (meethi imli chutney) and coriander chutney (hari chutney).
4. Sprinkle some chaat masala and black salt as per taste.
5. Add some sev (gram flour vermicelli) and pomegranate arils as required.
6. Lastly garnish with some chopped coriander leaves. This way assemble and make all aloo katoris.
7. Serve aloo katori chaat straight away.