Indian Snacks – Our Top 5 Picks
So, it’s games night and it’s your turn to host! Your friends are coming over and you’ve got to cater for the ‘Indian theme’. You’re thinking, ‘yikes!’ You can only think of those frozen samosas, but anyone could fry a samosa, you want to make something a little more fun and interesting! Don’t worry – there are many Indian snacks you can make and there’s always something for everyone, even your bestie who’s vegan!
You see, the world of Indian snacks is more than just samosas and onion bhajis! Indian snacks come in all shapes, sizes and flavours… whether you fancy something crunchy with spice or a sweet, biscuit alternative to enjoy with a cup of tea.
We’ve listed our top 5 Indian food snacks below. Giving you a taste of the different flavours and textures of what Indian food snacks have to offer. Whether you need to make something for a party, or you want a quick snack for yourself, the below will help you decide and give you a taster of Indian food snacks that will make you feel like you are on the streets of Mumbai.
Chandra Foods Top 5 Indian Snacks
Bhel puri is a favourite with the market vendors on the streets of India. A classic savoury dish made with vegetables, chutneys and crispy sev to create a fusion of tangy flavours.
What you need to do is make a mixture of vegetables, we say its best to use, boiled diced potatoes, onions and tomatoes. Add spices to them, red chilli powder, salt and chaat masala. Once this mixture is made up, lay it out onto the puris (you can buy those here smother with chutneys and then add your sev mix and garnish with pomegranate, coriander and a few diced red onions!
This one is a good’un for vegans too – however, if you don’t need to be vegan-friendly, then why not add a yoghurt and mint chutney – delicious!
Do you have a sweet tooth? These little bites of heaven are fantastic with a cup of tea! Sugar coated diamond shapes which just melt in your mouth. Sweet Para are great to serve up when you have friends coming over for a cuppa, definitely beats a digestive biscuit! Perfect to satisfy that sugar craving. And a great option for the kids too!
You may have heard of Pani Puri/ Gol Gappa?
There’s actually a lot you can do with these puris As great as they are for pani puri – they also make great dahi puri, giving your friends something a little different to try.
Most chaat recipes have a base of boiled potatoes – so similar to the above, dice up some boiled potatoes and add a little salt and red chilli powder to flavour.
Get your puris and poke a hole in the top. Then add in the boiled potatoes and some sprouted moong beans (you can steam these a little to soften)
Make yourself a yoghurt chutney which will consist of a little sugar, salt and a teaspoon of ground cumin powder.
Add this yoghurt chutney into each puri and lay out in a plate – you can then smother with imli chutney and coriander chutney. The yoghurt chutney will overflow and that’s ok, it’s sort of the point!
Now sprinkle chilli powder, chaat masala and ground cumin powder generously over the whole dish. Garnish with diced red onions and coriander
We wouldn’t suggest eating these like you would pani puri, so grab yourself and your guests a spoon and enjoy!
You’re enjoying a pint of beer, or maybe even a glass of wine… it’s always nice to have something to nibble on with a beverage or two. You’re likely to go for some crisps or maybe even those salted nuts. But how about something with a slight kick?
Chakri are the perfect option for this exact situation. Made with rice flour, spices and sesame seeds, these golden spirals are sure to give a tasty kick with lots of crunch making them the perfect snack with drinks. A great appetiser before you serve up your chaat specials!
At Chandra Foods, we have classic Chakri, as well as Methi Chakri which have fresh fenugreek to give that extra flavour.
Samosa… Chaat!
You didn’t think we would write about the top 5 Indian snacks and not include samosas, did you?
Well of course they are on our list, but we would say samosas are more fun to eat when they are part of a chaat – another classic for the Mumbai locals!
You see anyone can fry a samosa and serve with some chutney – but imagine if you make this into an explosion of flavours making taste buds tingle! Samosa Chaat can be made as a snack or if you’re loving it, then enjoy as a meal (you just don’t share!)
Similar to the puri dishes mentioned above – chaat is a case of adding yoghurt, boiled potatoes and chickpeas which have been flavoured and then smothering it all with delicious tangy, spicy chutneys!
At Chandra Foods, we are lovers of snacks and with so many Indian snacks to choose from, these top 5 snacks are some of our favourites! We hope that you enjoy them as much as us!
Keep an eye out on our blog for detailed recipes to come soon!