Nippat Masala..Karnataka Chaat variety

Chaats take a different dimension in South India especially in Karnataka.Though you get the usual chaats like pani poori,sev poori,bhel etc in every chaat center there are some unusual chaats which are quite popular in Karnataka but not known to many(outside Karnataka).You can see lots of chaat gaadis(carts) and small shops spread across Bangalore which serves these awesome chaats. The various chaats which are quite famous are nippat masala, churmuri, tomato slice, chakli masala, chips masala, bele masala,tikki puri and many more items.You can find these kind of small gaadis especially in front of schools,colleges and parks. They are pretty cheap and also a good time pass snacks for those lengthy chit chats.Today I would like to introduce one of those chaats/snacks called nippat masala.The crisp rice flour discs (nippat / thattai) that are topped with carrot-onion mixture and is generously sprinkled with chaat chutneys and masalas and layered with crisp murmur and congress kadalebeeja(spiced up peanuts).This is really a delight to the taste buds with the balance of flavors and textures of the various ingredients in the recipe.

Nippat Masala Recipe:
(Serves 2)

Ingredients:
16 small Nippat/Nippattu/Thattai (or 4 big ones)
1 Tomato,finely chopped
1 Onion,finely chopped
1 Carrot,grated
1/4 cup fine Sev
1/4 cup Congress Kadalekayi(spiced Peanuts)
1 cup Puffed rice/Murmur
2-3 tbsp finely chopped Coriander
4-5 tbsp Green Chutney
4-5 tbsp Sweet Chutney(meetha)
1 tsp Red chili powder
1 tsp Chaat masala
Salt to taste
2 tsp Ghee
Method:

• Mix finely chopped onions with grated carrot and chopped coriander and keep it aside.
• Keep all the items ready before plating them as these are supposed to be make quick and eat immediately.
• Arrange 7-8 pieces of small nippats in a plate and spread a drop of ghee on each nippat.
• Apply 1/2 tsp green chutney and 1/2 tsp meetha chutney on each nippat.This quantity is personally your choice and according to your taste buds.
• Sprinkle a pinch of salt,red chili powder and chaat masala all over the nippats.Sprinkle them according to your taste buds.
• Take a handful of onion-carrot-coriander mixture and place 1 tbsp of mixture on each nippat.
• Sprinkle few chopped tomatoes all over.
• Next comes the layer of sev and congress kadalekayi.Be generous with this as it gives a nice taste to the masala.
• Finally top it with a big handful of murmur.Repeat with another plate or simultaneously prepare both the plates.If you are using big nippat instead of the smaller ones follow the same process and slightly press at the end to break the nippat into pieces.

Serve the plate immediately.Lift each nippat with all the masala over it and dump into your mouth and enjoy the taste.
Notes:

• There is no hard rule for the measurements in the recipe.You can play with those ingredients and also can tweak in the recipe according to your taste buds.
• Using ghee is optional,but it enhances the taste of nippat masala.
• You can use jeera powder instead of chaat masala in the above recipe.
  
• You can follow the same recipe and replace nippat with small chakli which makes it 'Chakli masala'.
• You can follow the same recipe and replace nippat with tomato slices which makes it 'Tomato slice masala'.This is a guilt free snack for those who are really calorie conscious.You can add avoid ghee in tomato masala recipe.