Experience a fusion of Indian and Mexican food with vegetarian Chaat-Style Indian Nachos, which blends the components of a flavorful chaat with cheesy nachos. Corn tortilla chips are layered with classic nachos toppings as well as elements from chaat - chickpeas, potatoes, chutneys, and bold spices. This unique twist on a classic favorite is perfect for entertaining or snacking.
Desi Nachos Chaat is a fusion appetizer that combines the chips and toppings from Mexican nachos with the vibrance and flavors of Indian chaat. It starts with a base of crispy corn tortilla chips, similar to traditional nachos, which are then layered with a variety of flavorful toppings inspired by Indian street food.
Growing up, one of my favorite snacks my mom would give me was salty chips tossed with her freshly made cilantro-mint chutney. We could eat a whole bag of it in one sitting. That's why you'll want to be careful with this Nachos Chaat... I may or may not have eaten half the pan for dinner one time.
Nachos Chaat sticks to the concept of chaat that we love - the harmonious blend of sweet, tangy, spicy, and crunchy elements. It's a crowd-pleasing party appetizer and or snack for the whole family.
Jump to:
Why You'll Love this Recipe
What's not to love about Indo-fusion?!
- These vegetarian and gluten-free Indian Nachos are so flavorful and a wonderful fusion of Indian and Mexican cuisine.
- Nachos Chaat is perfect for game days, Cinco de Mayo, and generally hosting friends and family for a casual party.
- I provide you with instructions on how to make cilantro-mint chutney and tamarind-date chutney at home. I almost always have a batch of homemade chutneys in my refrigerator, but you can also purchase them from an Indian grocery store or from your favorite Indian restaurant.
- The post gives you all the substitutions! If you don't like beans, if you prefer meat, other options for sauces, etc.
What is Chaat?
A popular street food in South Asia, chaat translates to the verb "to lick" and also happens to describe an entire category of finger-lickin' good Indian snacks. They're the preferred vegetarian starter at any desi restaurant. It hits every flavor profile and texture that makes it craveable - sweet, spicy, tangy, salty, crunchy.
Chaat is essentially a quick snack you can make at any time with things that are already in your pantry. It starts with something crunchy that's then layered with chutneys, spices like chaat masala, and toppings like fresh pomegranates and red onions. Usually, family and friends sit over a tablescape of different chaats with a cup of freshly brewed chai to gossip. A popular pun is, "let's chat over chaat."
A few staples are Samosa Chaat, Papdi Chaat, Sev Puri Chaat, Fruit Chaat, Peanut Chaat, Aloo Tikki Chaat, Gol Gappa or Pani Puri, Raj Kachori, Bhel Puri, Dahi Vada... the list goes on and on.
Ingredients - Notes and Substitutions
- Tortilla Chips - While I love store-bought or homemade yellow corn tortilla chips for this recipe, there are many Indian replacements for the crunch! You can use mini papadums or papdi.
- Chickpeas - Use up to a full can of chickpeas, being sure to drain and rinse them really well. Substitute with black beans.
- Jalapeños - You can use fresh jalapeños but pickled jalapeños are a must for me on nachos.
- Spices - A sprinkle of roasted cumin powder, chaat masala, and mild Kashmiri chili powder add those delicious chaat-style flavors to the nachos.
- Chutneys - We're using a cilantro chutney and date tamarind chutney which are typical to chaats. They're always best when homemade, but you can find both of them at Indian grocery stores. You may find the date tamarind chutney labeled as date chutney, meethi chutney, or imli chutney.
- Pomegranate molasses is also tangy and slightly sweet so it would work as a substitute for tamarind chutney.
- Chamoy is tangy and spicy and would be delicious as a substitute for tamarind chutney.
- Cheese - I use shredded Mexican cheese but sharp cheddar cheese is also another delicious option.
- Red Onion - Raw diced red onion is common to chaat, but you can also use pickled red onions.
- Toppings - Of course, nachos need guacamole and sour cream. Fire-roasted corn would also be delicious.
- Instead of sour cream, try drizzling Cucumber Mint Raita. I'd recommend grating or omitting the cucumber.
Instead of beans, you can also cook boneless skinless chicken thighs in your favorite Indian simmer sauce or seasoning blend. When the chicken is tender, shred it with a fork. Top the nachos with the shredded chicken.
How to make Cheesy Nachos Chaat
1. Make the Chutney
To make the best Nachos Chaat, I always make my own chutney at home for the best, freshest flavor. If you choose to as well, these recipes make several servings, more than you'll need for just the nachos. Be sure to scale it down if you don't plan on using it up.
To make the cilantro-mint chutney:
- Prep the herbs. Remove all the mint leaves from the stems and toss the stems. The cilantro stems are okay to use, but if it's really stem heavy then cut some off.
- Toss all the ingredients into a blender. Blend, blend, blend! Use a high quality blender, like a Vitamix. The chutney may come out a bit textured depending on how well your blender can break down the fibers. If you want it less fibrous, add more avocado or yogurt.
- Taste and adjust. Be careful when opening up the blender, the spice will waft into your eyes. Give the chutney a taste and adjust for salt, spice, and lemon as needed.
- Store the chutney is a sanitized squeeze bottle or mason jar.
To make the imli chutney:
Step 1 - Soak the tamarind and dates in 2 cups of hot water for 30 minutes. Remove the seeds.
Step 2 - Blend the tamarinds and dates into a smooth puree with 1 cup of soaking water.
On low heat:
- Transfer the remaining soaking water, about 1 cup, into a saucepan with the 2 tablespoons of jaggery. Stir the mixture until the jaggery has completely melted.
- Strain the tamarind date puree into the saucepan.
- Mix the sweetened soaking water with the puree.
- Add the black salt, roasted ground cumin, garam masala, Kashmiri chili powder, ground ginger, and half of the ground black cardamom into the puree. Stir everything together.
- Let the mixture continue to simmer at low heat for another 15-17 minutes, stirring in intervals. It's done when the chutney is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and it's a dark brown.
- Let the chutney cool completely before bottling it in a sanitized jar.
If you can't grab tamarind chutney from a grocery store and want to make a quick version:
- In a hot sauce pan, dry roast a ¼ teaspoon of ground cumin for 30 seconds, or until fragrant.
- Add a ¼ cup of date syrup and ¼ cup of tamarind paste into the sauce pan with a ½ cup of water. Stir in a ¼ teaspoon of black salt, ½ teaspoon garam masala, and ½ teaspoon chili powder.
- Simmer on low heat until thick.
- Taste and adjust for salt and sweetness.
2. Assemble the Nachos
To prep:
- Heat the oven to 425℉.
- Dice the tomatoes.
- Dice the potato. Put the diced potatoes in a heat safe bowl and cover it with cling wrap. Microwave on high for 5 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
- Rinse and drain the canned chickpeas.
- Dice the red onion.
- Fill a half sheet tray with a single layer of corn tortilla chips.
Cover the tortilla chips with the shredded cheese.
Melt the cheese in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven.
Split the nachos into quarter sheet pans to make smaller batches in the oven. This is especially helpful if certain guests have dietary restrictions. Alternatively, microwave the chips with shredded cheese on a heat-safe plate in the microwave for 1-2 minutes until the cheese has melted.
- Top the cheesy tortilla chips with the diced tomatoes, diced potatoes, diced red onion, drained chickpeas, pickled jalapeños, and pomegranate arils
- Sprinkle the roasted cumin powder, chaat masala, and Kashmiri chili powder.
- Drizzle the cilantro-mint chutney and tamarind date chutney.
Lastly, add ½ cup of guacamole and ¼ - ½ cup of sour cream on top of the nachos. Then, you're ready to enjoy with your friends and family!
Expert Tips and Tricks
- Chaat is one of those things where you can customize the flavor and toppings however you like it. Check out my section on the Ingredients for my notes on substitutions.
- Prep and store the toppings in an airtight container in the refrigerator a day beforehand if you are planning to tackle a large spread for a party. The cilantro-mint chutney can be prepped a week beforehand, and the date-tamarind chutney a month in advance.
- These nachos are really filling, especially with the potatoes and chickpeas. Ideally, you share it between 4-6 people.
- Keep the chutneys to the side until you're ready to serve so that the chips don't get soggy. You can also have the guests spoon chutney over the chips if you are anticipating leftovers.
- Storage - Leftovers obviously don't store very well for nachos. The chips get soggy from the chutney. I'm not here to judge you, though. You can reheat it for 5-10 minutes at 350℉ to rewarm the cheese.
Serving Suggestions
For a Indian Mexican-inspired night, enjoy these nachos as an appetizer with a Spicy Passion Fruit Margarita or Chai Horchata if it's earlier in the day. Follow it up with these Vegetarian Bean and Corn Enchiladas. For dessert, you'll love this cozy Masala Chai Tres Leches Cake.
More Indian Snacks to try
Recipe
Want to Save This Recipe?
Thinking about making this recipe? Enter your email and I'll send it straight to your inbox to save for later. Plus, get new recipe inspiration from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Masala and Chai.
Indian Cheesy Nachos Chaat
Equipment
Ingredients
- 10 ounces tortilla chips
- 2 cups Mexican cheese, shredded
- ½ cup Russet potatoes, boiled and diced into cubes
- 4 oz chickpeas, drained
- 1 roma tomato, diced
- ¼ red onion, diced
- ¼ cup pomegranate seeds
- ¼ cup pickled jalapeños
- ½ teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder
- ½ teaspoon chaat masala
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin, roasted
- ¼ cup tamarind date chutney
- ¼ cup cilantro-mint chutney
Toppings
- guacamole
- sour cream
- cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- Prep - Preheat the oven to 425℉. Dice the tomatoes. Dice the potato. Put the diced potatoes in a heat safe bowl and cover it with cling wrap. Microwave on high for 5 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Rinse and drain the canned chickpeas. Dice the red onion. Fill a half sheet pan with the tortilla chips.
- Top the tortilla chips with the shredded Mexican cheese. Pop the sheet tray in the oven for 5 minutes, or until the cheese has fully melted. Remove the tray from the oven.
- Being careful of the hot tray, top the cheesy tortilla chips with the diced tomatoes, diced potatoes, diced red onion, drained chickpeas, pickled jalapeños, and pomegranate arils.
- Sprinkle the roasted cumin powder, chaat masala, and Kashmiri chili powder. You'll especially want to hit the areas that have chickpeas and potatoes to make sure they're seasoned.
- Drizzle the cilantro-mint chutney and tamarind date chutney.
- Add large dollops of guacamole and sour cream in the middle when you're ready to serve. Enjoy!
Notes
- Checkout the section How to Make Nachos Chaat for instructions on how to make homemade cilantro-mint chutney and tamarind-date chutney.
- These nachos don't store or reheat well due to the chutney. However, you can reheat it at 350℉ to melt the cheese again.
Sevananda Padilla says
Can paneer be used instead of potatoes?
Shweta Garg says
Absolutely! Could be delicious lightly pan fried or shredded.