Sev Puri – a classic Indian Chaat Dish

Sev Puri, a vegan dish by default, is a popular Indian street food and consists of deep-fried flour discs (puris) topped off with veggies, chutneys, and other garnishes. Think of it as an Indian canape!

My ideal evening routine in India would always involve some form of chaat food, and I make no apologies for spending my youth addicted to Mumbai street food. 😀 Not only is chaat food (Indian street food) irresistible, but it also is easily accessible and cheap. As a CA intern who makes peanuts (no pun intended), surviving on dishes that cost no more than INR 20 (like Sev Puri) has been the norm these past few years.

Update in 2023: It’s been over 2 years since I moved away from home to another country, and I’m feeling the lack of good street food options now more so than ever.

What is Sev Puri?

The name of this dish is derived from 2 key ingredients that form the base and garnish: “Sev” or the fried gram flour noodles and the Puri or the fried flour discs.

While it may seem like there are only 2 ingredients involved in making this dish, nothing could be further from the truth. While assembling a sev puri takes less than 5 minutes, there are a lot of different components that you’ll need to prep ahead of time, so that your sev puri assembling experience goes smoothly.

Your palate is going to truly enjoy this dish, with salty, spicy, sweet, and tangy flavors all coming together in one bite-sized puri.

What are the components of a Sev Puri?

You’ll need some flat Puris or Papdis. They’re easily available in Indian stores in the snack section or online. You can also make your papdi with flour, salt, and water. But they have to be rolled or cut out to bite-sized portions, and it is easier to just buy!

Boiled Potatoes and finely chopped Onion (and optionally, some tomatoes) add volume to the Sev Batata Puri.

Green Chutney, or Cilantro Mint Chutney adds freshness and tang to the dish.

Sweet Chutney or Khatti Meethi Chutney balances the spice.

Optionally, some Garlic Chutney to build the flavor profile. Some vendors add this while some don’t. You can just make sev puri with the green and sweet chutneys too.

Chaat Masala Powder or Black Salt, to spruce up the potatoes and lift the dish up.

Sev – obviously! These are fried chickpea flour noodles. And while you can make these at home too, it is just easier to buy online or from a local Indian store.

Finely chopped cilantro adds freshness to the sev puri. And a squeeze of lemon for the hint of freshness and sourness.

And optionally some fried split chickpeas (chana dal) and peanuts for the crunch.

And lastly, if raw mangoes are in season, do add some thinly cut slices of them as a garnish!

Some quick tips

• Buy easily available components like the papdi (puri), sev, and chana dal than making it from scratch. This will save a tonne of time, effort, and money.
• Make the chutneys ahead of time and refrigerate them. The green chutney lasts for up to a week while the sweet chutney lasts for 6-12 months. If you have them ready, assembling should take no time.
• Boil your potatoes, mash them well and cool them before you add it to your chaat. You can also get creative and add mashed sweet potatoes, yam or even guacamole here! The idea is to get something creamy between 2 crunchy textures.
• I sometimes add chopped tomatoes or cucumbers to increase my veggie intake. While this isn’t traditional, it is still fun to eat.
• Although you can finely chop your onions a day in advance, we recommend doing it right before you want to assemble the chaat. Onion tends to release moisture, and you want them to be crunchy while eating.
• Sev Puri can be a great idea for a party or get-together. You can batch-cook the components and let your guests assemble their own sev puri platters!

I’ve made two recipe videos on Sev Puri. If you’re looking for a 30-second version, check out this link. Or, here’s the original recipe video I posted –

If you enjoyed Sev Puri, make sure to check out some other delicious Indian dishes: