Hash Brown Chaat Recipe - Hetal Vasavada

Hash Brown Chaat

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Sweet, spiced apple butter chutney and an herbaceous green chutney, crunchy toppings, and plenty of spices and herbs make this potato-based snack, which blogger and cookbook author Hetal Vasavada serves at her Diwali celebration, a riot of texture and flavors that is so essential to chaat (a category of Indian cuisine that roughly means “snacks”). Don’t skip out on the black salt, which adds distinct funkiness to the dish. Save leftover green chutney to top scrambled eggs, tacos, or grilled chicken.

Hetal Vasavada

Updated on August 2, 2023

Tested by

Food & Wine Test Kitchen

Total Time:

55 mins

Yield:

Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

1 cup apple butter
1/3 cup plus 6 to 8 tablespoon water, divided
5 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 3 limes), divided
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground coriander (such as Burlap & Barrel Nile Coriander), divided
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground cumin (such as Burlap & Barrel Wild Mountain Cumin), divided
1 1/4 teaspoons red chile powder (such as Diaspora Co. Ground Sannam Chillies), divided
2 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt, divided
1 bunch fresh cilantro, leaves and tender stems roughly chopped (about 3 cups), plus finely chopped cilantro, for garnish
1 cup packed fresh mint leaves
1 large fresh serrano chile, unseeded, finely chopped, divided
1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger, divided
1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes (about 2 large potatoes), peeled and grated on large holes of a box grater
1 1/2 teaspoon madras curry powder (such as Spicewalla)
1/2 teaspoon black salt (kala namak) (such as Rani) (optional)
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion, rinsed, divided
1/3 cup chickpea flour (fine besan) (about 1 ounces) (such as Bob’s Red Mill Chickpea Flour)
3 tablespoon whole milk
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
Finely chopped plum tomatoes, pomegranate arils, sev (fried chickpea noodles) (such as Deep), and chaat masala (such as Spicewalla), for serving

Directions

Stir together apple butter, 1/3 cup water, 2 1/2 tablespoons lime juice, 1 teaspoon coriander, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon red chile powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Set aside up to 2 hours, or cover and refrigerate up to 3 days.
Combine cilantro, mint, 6 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon serrano, 1/2 tablespoon ginger, 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, and remaining 2 1/2 tablespoons lime juice in a blender. Process until smooth, about 45 seconds, adding up to 2 tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed for blender to process. Transfer to a small bowl; set aside up to 1 hour, or cover and refrigerate up to 1 day.
Place grated potatoes in a colander; rinse under cold water until water runs clear, about 1 minute. Drain well. Transfer potatoes to a clean towel; squeeze to remove as much moisture as possible. Stir together potatoes, curry powder, black salt (if using), 2 tablespoons onion, remaining serrano, remaining 1/2 tablespoon ginger, remaining 1 1/4 teaspoons fine sea salt, remaining 1/2 teaspoon coriander, remaining 1/2 teaspoon cumin, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon red chile powder in a large bowl. Stir in chickpea flour and milk until well combined.
Shape potato mixture evenly into 8 (2-inch) balls. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a large (12-inch) cast-iron skillet over medium. Arrange 4 potato balls 3 inches apart in skillet. Using a spatula, gently press each ball to flatten into a 3 1/2-inch disk. Cook until golden brown and crisp, 6 to 8 minutes, flipping once halfway through cook time. Transfer hash browns to a plate lined with paper towels; let drain 30 seconds, and transfer to a serving plate. Repeat process with remaining oil and potato balls.
Spoon about 1 tablespoon apple butter chutney and 1 tablespoon green chutney onto each hash brown; reserve remaining chutney for another use. Sprinkle evenly with remaining 6 tablespoons onion. Top with tomatoes, pomegranate arils, sev, and chaat masala. Garnish with cilantro. Serve immediately.

Andria Lo

Make Ahead

Apple butter chutney can be made up to 3 days ahead. Green chutney can be made up to 1 day ahead. Ungarnished hash browns can be kept warm in a 200°F oven up to 20 minutes.