Festivals of India are as colourful as the country itself. Holi was more colourful when we were kids and lived in the old city of Hyderabad. Sadly, it just turned into a holiday as we grew up and started working. This festival of colors has made it back into our lives with the arrival of our little monster Aryan. My mom used to prepare lot of finger food or snacks for us during festivals like Sankrantri and holi as we did not have time to sit and eat a proper meal. This is one of them. Katori chaat (Savory Tarts if you like a fancy name). Here is a healthy version of the katori chat that my mom used to prepare for us during festivals.

Traditionally, katori chaat is filled with potatoes and chana, but I like it with the sprouts. Since I was baking the tarts instead of frying them, I decided to go with this healthy filling that is made at my place. You can prepare the sprouts in advance to save time. Steam, boil, or pressure cook the sprouts with salt.

Readymade tarts are easily available at supermarkets in India so if you live in India, you can save yourself the time and effort of making these tarts. But if you want to try these baked tarts, these are not tough to make. You can make them in advance and can even freeze them for later use.

Toppings in chaat are always as per taste. You can add the sweet chutney, chilli powder, and other spices as per your taste. If you are making this for a group of people, you can just keep the toppings, filling, and tarts together and people can make their chaat as they like. Do not prepare the whole tart with filling and topping in advance or else it will get soggy. This Indian chaat is perfect for a DIY snack when you have a group of people with different tastes. Happy Holi!

Ingredients

• ½ cup mung sprouts boiled
• ½ cup moth sprouts boiled
• 2 inch piece ginger grated
• 2 tsp oil
• 1 green chilli finely chopped
• ½ cup yogurt
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1 small tomato chopped
• 3 tbsp tamarind chutney
• 3 tbsp mint chutney
• 4-5 tbsp sev (nylon sev)
• 2-3 tbsp chopped coriander
• 1-2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1-2 tsp cumin powder
• Salt to taste

For Tarts (makes 12-14 cups)

• 50 gms all-purpose flour (maida)
• 2 pinches baking powder
• 25 gms butter
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp carom seeds
• 2 -3 tbsp milk

Recipe

Combine flour, baking powder, carom seeds, and salt. Rub in the butter using your fingertips. The mixture should resemble bread crumbs. Add 2 tbsp milk and make a stiff dough. Add little more milk if the dough is too dry to combine. Cover with a damp cloth and keep aside for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, knead again and roll out the dough into a sheet (approximately ¼ inch thick). Cut rounds using a cookie cutter (appx 3 inches) or small bowl. Press the rounds in a tart mould or a cupcake mould. Prick at 2-3 places using a fork.

Preheat oven to 230 degrees and bake at 230 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

Heat oil in a kadhai or non-stick pan. Add grated ginger and green chilli. After 30-40 seconds add the sprouts and salt. Mix well. Cook for 2-3 minutes and switch off the gas. Cool the sprouts and keep aside.

Whisk the yogurt with salt and keep aside.

Just before serving, fill the tart with appx 1tbsp of sprouts. Top it up with yogurt (appx 1 tbsp), tamarind chutney (as per taste), mint chutney (as per taste), chilli powder (1-2 pinches), cumin powder (1-2 pinches), chopped onions and tomato (few pieces), sev (3-4 pinches), and chopped coriander. Serve immediately.