Chaatpata, also knows as chaat are savoury street-food snacks, served from carts and vendors throughout India. Chaat masala is a blend of spices that is often sprinkled over dishes to perk them up – it’s funky, spicy, tangy and I use it a lot in my cooking. Thanks to the perfectly balanced flavours of chaat masala, it’s completely addictive so which better snack to sprinkle it over than moreish popcorn.
When used in Indian food, the word chaatpata describes hot and sour flavours – the kind you find in chutneys and pickles. If you’re a fan of salty popcorn or the kind of gourmet flavoured corns that started popping up everywhere a few years ago then you’ll love this chaat masala popcorn. Of course you can buy some pretty great spice blends nowadays but as always, homemade is always better. Making the masala is super simple but some of the spices might be a little hard to come by in your chain supermarket but you’ll be sure to find them in any Indian grocery store or you could always order them online. Get the recipe for my own chaat masala spice blend here.
Chaat Masala Popcorn
Course: SnacksCuisine: IndianDifficulty: Easy4
servings5
minutes10
minutesFor a fun, savoury Pick N Mix, add Bombay Mix and spiced nuts into your chaat masala popcorn!
Ingredients
1 tbsp coconut, vegetable or sunflower oil
1 cup corn kernels
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp chaat masala, shop bought or homemade
Directions
- Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan on a medium high heat.
- Add the corn kernels, mix to coat them and put the lid on. Let the corn pop and splutter until you can hear no more.
- Remove the pan from the heat and transfer popcorn to a bowl immediately.
- Melt the butter in the (now empty) popcorn and allow to brown just slightly. Drizzle the melted butter over the popcorn, toss to cover. Finally sprinkle over the chaat masala and mix.
- Serve immediately, preferably with a good movie.
