“Just like the moon your greatest magic will come in times of darkness when you have no choice but to trust your own power.” -Pinterest
Is it just me or do things feel uncertain lately? I mean, I am pretty sure it’s not just me who is feeling this way right now. Things are extremely uncertain for many of us. We are living in unprecedented times. We are all experiencing some of the same emotions day in and day out. In an eccentric way, that sort of connects us all right?
Going through a pandemic, together, all of us. Experiencing fear, uncertainty, confusion, anger, boredom, frustrations, irritations … whatever your emotion may be, I am certain more than just a handful of people are feeling the same way you are.
Often during times like this is when we need to take a step back. Fall back into what makes us happy. Keep our selves busy as we quarantine ourselves. Which is exactly what I did.
For some time, I knew I wanted to try out a spinach and brussel sprout chaat. I had it at a restaurant months ago and just knew I had to recreate it. During my pre quarantine trip to Whole Foods, I decided to pick up a bag of shaved brussel sprouts. Because why not? I picked up a bag of spinach, a container of pomegrante ($5 yall! but it had to be done) and some cilantro. The beginnings of my chaat ingredients were already forming.
Well, as you would have it …. the ingredients just remained in my fridge for 5 or so days. I was going stir crazy at home and that is when I pushed myself to get up and do something that makes me happy. And so I did!
I do think this is one of my favorite recipes thus far! It was really just an experiment I wanted to try and ended up falling in love with it. Albeit there may more ingredients in this recipe, but it is well worth it. Some of you may already have some of these ingredients in your pantry! And if not you can easily substitute or omit certain ingredients.
Air Fryer Spinach & Brussel Sprout Chaat
Ingredients
For the batter
- 1 1/2 cups Chickpea flour
- 1/4 cup rice flour
- 2 tbsps oil +1/2 tsp oil as needed
- 1/2 tsp hing
- 1 tsp eno
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 2 1/2 tsps red chili powder
- 1/2 tsp chaat masala
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 1/4 cups water as needed
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 12 oz bag shaved brussel sprouts loosely chop the bigger chunks in half
- 1 5 oz bag baby spinach loosely chopped, some big chunks are fine
Garnishes for the chaat:
- 1 cup full fat or low fat desi yogurt can substitute any other yogurt
- 1/2 tsp chaat masala
- 1/4 tsp red chili powder
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1-2 tsps water
- 1 small red onion diced
- 1/3 cup pomegrantes more as desired
- 1/4 cup cilantro packed and chopped
- 2 tbsps + more Tamarind chutney
- 2 tbsps + more Zhoug sauce from Trader Joe’s substitute with any green chutney such as a cilantro chutney
- 1 tbsp + more Sev
Instructions
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In a large bowl (make sure bowl is big enough to hold and mix the spinach and brussel sprouts together) mix together chickpea flour, rice flour and oil. Next add in hing, Eno, turmeric, red chili powder, chaat masala, ground black pepper and salt to taste. Mix together to incorporate the spices with the oil and flour. Next add in water a little at a time, while continuing to mix. Using a whisk will help. You should have a semi thick consistency batter. Fluid enough but not too thin. If you find that your batter is too thin, add in a tbsp of flour. If you find that your batter is too thick, add in a tsp of water at a time or a tsp of oil. Perform a slight taste test to make sure the spice is according to preference. Lastly, add in lemon juice and whisk.
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Add in brussel sprouts, a little a time, folding to incorporate into the batter. Repeat a couple more times. Then add in the spinach, performing the same steps. You want to add in little at a time, so the batter gets coated onto all of the brussel sprouts and spinach.
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Air fryer time! If you are using an air fryer toaster oven, using your basket pan plus the tray underneath it, spread 1/2 of the coated brussel sprouts and spinach mixture onto the pan. Do not overflow or pack together. It will take two attempts, but it will be worth it! Slightly spray the mixture with an oil spray – this is optional. And sprinkle some chaat masala on top. Air fry on 350°°F for 15-20 minutes. Half way through take the pan out, using a spatula mix everything together and spread out across the entire pan. At this point the ingredients will be sticking together that is okay. Place back into the air fryer and continue the timer. Depending on the speed of your air fryer check in around 15 minutes to make sure desired crisp is there. Repeat again for second half of the batter.
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To assemble the chaat: In a small bowl, combine yogurt with chaat masala, red chili powder, sugar and water. You want the yogurt to thin up a bit so it is easier to spread onto the chaat, so mix appropriately with 1 tsp of water at a time. Once mixed set aside. Empty the air fried brussel sprouts and spinach into a large plate / serving bowl. First start with yogurt and start to spread a tbsp at a time across the air fried mixture. Make sure to coat most of it. Then spread a tbsp and more of tamarind chutney on top, as desired. Then spread a tbsp and more of cilantro chutney on top, as desired. Lastly, sprinkle on onions, pomegranates, cilantro and sev.
Recipe Notes
- For premade chutneys: check out Swad Coriander Chutney, Swad Mint Chutney, Trader Joe’s Zhoug Sauce (my fav for green chutney), Swad Tamarind Chutney, Laxmi Tamarind Chutney (available at wegmans). You can find Swad chutneys at a local Indian grocery store and Laxmi chutneys at Wegmans.
- If you are using an air fryer basket, you may want to try it on 350F first for 15 mins, if it is not crisping up, I would suggest increasing the temp to 450F. You will need about 3-4 tries with this, depending on how big your basket is. Do not dump everything on top of each other, as it will not crisp up.
- This is a very versatile recipe. You can pretty much purchase much of the ingredients pre made. So it is quicker to assemble!
