Ingredients

Method

• For the hung curd:
• 500 g Woolworths plain double-cream yoghurt
• icing sugar, to taste
For the murmura:
• 3 T Oil
• 1 t cumin seeds
• 1 t mustard seeds
• 1–2 green chillies, chopped (optional)
• 1 T raw peanuts
• 1 T ground turmeric
• 1 T curry leaves
• 22 g (2 cups) puffed rice
• ½ t chaat masala
• ½ t black salt (kala namak)
• ½ t sea salt
• 2 t sugar
For assembling the bhel:
• 2 potatoes, boiled and chopped
• 100 g chickpeas, boiled (or use canned)
• 100 g green moong beans (¼ cup), boiled or sprouted
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tomato, chopped
• ¼ cup fresh coriander
• 2 – 4 chillies, (or to your preference)
• 2 t black salt
• ½ lemon, juiced
• 2 cups murmura
• 12 Woolworths pani puri
For the chilled spiced water, mix:
• 1 litre iced water
• 1 t jeera powder
• 2 t chaat masala
• 1 t mint chopped
• 1 t coriander chopped
• ½ t garlic powder
• ¼ t chilli powder
• 1 t black salt
• sea salt, to taste
• 1 T green chutney
• 2 T Woolworths tamarind-and-date chutney
• ½ t garlic-and-chilli sauce
For serving:
• savoury biscuits or crackers
• fine sev
• 1 whole avocado
• 10 curry leaves, fried
• pomegranate rubies

Method

Ingredients

1. To make the hung curd, place the yoghurt in a muslin cloth, tie the corners together, then place in a colander over a plate and chill overnight (minimum 6−8 hours) to drain the excess water. Once drained, transfer the thick yoghurt to a bowl. Add icing sugar to taste and churn thoroughly until smooth using a wooden spoon or spatula. Chill until ready to use. This will be the chilled, sweet dahi (yoghurt) element.

2. To make the murmura, heat the oil in a pan over medium heat, then add the cumin and mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add the chillies and peanuts and sauté until the nuts turn light brown. Add the turmeric and curry leaves. As soon as the curry leaves change colour, add the puffed rice, then toss to coat well. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chaat masala, black salt, sea salt and sugar. Once mixed, allow to cool and store in an airtight jar.

3. To make the bhel, combine the potato, chickpeas and green moong. Add the chopped onions, tomato and coriander. Mix in the chillies (if using), a pinch of black salt and lemon juice, then fold in the braised puffed rice and set aside.

4. To assemble the chaat board, using the back of a spoon, generously spread the chilled hung curd onto a board. Arrange the different biscuits, crackers and puris in a neat ring or clusters around the yoghurt.

5. Immediately before serving, fill the puris with the bhel (or only potato or sprouts as you desire) and top with coriander, tamarind-and-garlic chutney and a small dollop of the sweetened strained yoghurt. Serve with a little spiced water (pani) in a shot glass. This is poured into the puri before popping the whole puri in your mouth.

6. Decorate the platter with the fine sev, avocado, nuts, fried curry leaves and pomegranate rubies.

Cook’s note: Black salt or kala namak is volcanic rock salt that is fired in a kiln. It has a deep, salty, slightly sulfurous taste that pumps up the umami and is commonly used to lend an eggy flavour to vegan dishes. It can be found at speciality Asian stores. If you can’t get it, substitute with regular salt, or a mix of regular salt and asafoetida.

Serve the bhel as part of a chaat board, as a filling for pani puri, or like the Kapoochka boys, in a neat stack with spiced potato at the bottom and a South African topping of fresh avo.
Some woollies crackers of your choice & Puris. Some samosas of your choice from woolies, some crackles and woollies nuts like almonds and walnuts. Sweetened hung curd to be used as a base for the platter to use as cheese to enjoy with the woolies crackers

Find the recipe for the green coriander chutney here.

Find the recipe for the aloo tikki here.

Find more Diwali recipes here

Videographer: Barry de Villiers
Photographer: Jan Ras
Food Assistant: Bianca Jones