Sprouts Chaat (Sprouted Moong Dal Chaat)
In less than 15 minutes, you can have a street food-style dish that’s vibrant, irresistibly flavoursome, and loaded with nutritious ingredients such as moong sprouts, freshly chopped vegetables, crunchy papdi, plus fabulous chutneys. Sprouts chaat, coming right up!
Like any foodie, I’m obsessed with chaat dishes. Give me palak patta chaat, dahi puri, or ragda pattice any day, and you’ll find me happy as can be. The problem? Chaat dishes typically involve fried ingredients, meaning they’re not exactly a healthy snack and although there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s not something I want to eat regularly.
On the other hand, moong sprouts chaat is one of the most wholesome, nutritious, and mouth-watering dishes I can think of. Sprouts are notoriously good for digestion!
Made with entirely fresh ingredients, it’s so bright and herby. While other recipes using moong bean sprouts like misal pav and matki usal are homely, comforting, and spicy, this sprout chaat is light and uncomplicated.
It’s also naturally vegan, nut free, and gluten free — as if you needed more reasons to get cooking!
🥗 Ingredients for Sprouts Chaat
This healthy chaat is packed with fresh vegetables, accounting for most of these ingredients! You’ll be able to find most of them at your local store, although you may need to visit a specialist store for flavour-boasters like chutneys and two vital spices.
- Moong sprouts are the cornerstone of this chaat recipe! I always make moong sprouts at home. All you need is whole moong beans, a cheesecloth (or thin un-dyed cotton cloth) and a few days. They’re healthy, nutritious, and unbelievably tasty.
- Red onion adds a punchy hit.
- Puffed rice (murmura) bulks the moong sprout chaat with extra crispness.
- Cucumber provides a cooling, crunchy element. Use one without seeds.
- Fresh coriander (known as cilantro in the U.S.) adds a lovely citrusy flavour and herbiness to that chaat. It’s a must!
- Cherry tomatoes add bursts of juicy brightness.
- Avocado isn’t a traditional ingredient in chaat, but it adds a deliciously creamy texture and subtle nutty flavour. If you don’t have access to avocados where you live, feel free to skip this ingredient.
- Cumin powder adds a toasted earthiness. I love using it in all my chaat recipes.
- Chaat masala is pungent, sharp, and piquant. It’s a spice mix that’s worth having in your pantry!
- Green chutney coats the chaat in a herby, citrusy, spicy layer of flavour. I prefer homemade hari chutney, but you can also buy it.
- Tamarind chutney is deliciously tangy, with elements of sweetness from added jaggery. It balances the flavours of this chaat perfectly; don’t skip it.
- Papdi are crunchy, savoury crackers spiced with carom seeds. I love using them as a spoon to scoop up the sprouts chaat, but you can omit them to make this dish gluten free.
- Sev are thin fried noodles made from chickpea flour. They’re a popular topping for all varieties of chaat dishes!
🔄 Allergies and Ingredient Substitutions
As I mentioned in the introduction, this moong sprout recipe is 100% vegan and dairy free.
The healthy dish is also nut free, making it ideal for people with allergies. Despite this, the dish still boasts a subtly nutty flavour from the sev topping (made from chickpea flour).
While the recipe isn’t gluten free as written, you only need to make a tiny swap to make sprout chaat suitable for a gluten free diet: leave out the papdi. These little savoury crackers are made with wheat flour, meaning they’re not suitable for a gluten free diet. But, don’t worry! You can substitute them for your favourite gluten free crackers or leave them out entirely.
If you can’t find murmura (puffed rice), swap it for plain rice krispies (cereal).
🧑🍳 How to Make Sprouts Chaat
If you have the moong sprouts to hand, making this sprouts chaat recipe takes no time at all. You don’t need any cooking experience — it’s one of the easiest recipes I know!
- Prepare all the vegetables by chopping them into equal-sized pieces. Tip into a large bowl.
- Flash-cook the sprouts in a large kadai or wok with a splash of oil. We want to retain their crunch, but lightly heat them through. If you prefer, you can also steam the sprouts!
- Mix everything. Add the sprouts, puffed rice, spice powders, chutneys, sev, and fresh herbs to the same bowl as the chopped vegetables. Toss everything to mix and serve immediately with papdi.
Cookware You Need
🍋 Variations for Moong Sprout Chaat
This recipe is perfect as it is 😉, and I always recommend following recipes word for word the first few times you make it. However, once you’re fully accustomed to the method, you can adjust things to your preference — including adding some fun variations. Here are a few ideas:
Want to spice things up a bit? Add chopped green chillies! I rely on the green chutney for all the fruity, fiery spice. For more of a kick, combine fresh chopped green chillies with an extra sprinkle of red chilli powder. Mmm.
Add some protein to the recipe to make this a nutritional powerhouse. Throw in some boiled chickpeas (roast them for more crunch!), chopped paneer, or homemade tofu.
Play with the toppings. I’ve already included crushed papdi and sev in the recipe, but you can have fun with it! Why not try crushed potato crisps (chips, for my U.S. readers), tangy pomegranate seeds, mixed farsan, or fried lentils?
Make things summery by adding lots of fruits. For chaat, I love sour fruits like raw mango, pineapple, or crisp green apples.
If you have any other ideas, why not let everyone know in the comments below? I’d love to try your suggestions, too!
😍 Expert Tips for Sprouts Chaat
Despite moong sprout chaat being an impossibly easy recipe, there are a few places it can go wrong — soggy chaat being one of the main issues. Read through these expert tips and I’ll teach you to make the BEST sprouts chaat, with minimum effort.
- If your puffed rice is old, it can taste stale. To avoid this, dry-roast the puffed rice in a large kadai or wok before adding it to the chaat — it makes all the difference!
- Always cook the moong sprouts. Although many claim to eat raw moong sprouts without issue, doing so can cause health concerns. I always lightly saute or steam the sprouts before adding them to the chaat. Which method you choose is up to you!
- Cool the sprouts before adding them to the chaat. Moong sprouts chaat tastes best chilled (or cool).
- Add unique ingredients and make the recipe your own! Try adding raw mango, green apples, or pineapple for a hint of sour fruitness, or topping with pomegranate seeds for extra tang. You can also add roasted nuts or seeds for extra crunch! See the “variations” above for more ideas.
- Eat the sprouts chaat immediately for the best texture. Wait too long, and the chutneys can make everything soggy! However, you can meal-prep sprouts chaat. Just keep the chopped vegetables, sprouts, and spices in a separate container, the puffed rice in another, and the chutneys in small sauce containers. Mix everything when you’re ready to eat — this also makes the dish transportable.
- I like to serve moong sprout chaat in compostable leaf bowls, which are traditionally Indian.
This Recipe Is:
Sprouts Chaat
Moong sprouts chaat is a healthy, nutritious recipe packed with fresh ingredients and bursting with flavour.
Ingredients
- 180g Moong Bean Sprouts
- 40g Red Onion, minced
- 20g Puffed Rice (Murmura)
- 80g Cucumber, chopped
- Fresh Coriander (a handful), finely chopped
- 3 Cherry Tomatoes, chopped
- 1 Avocado, chopped
- 1/4 tsp Cumin Powder
- 1 tsp Chaat Masala
- 1/4 tsp Salt (or to taste)
- 2 tbsp Green Chutney
- 1 tbsp Tamarind Chutney
- 20g Crushed Papdi
- Sev, optional
- Lemon to serve, optional
Instructions
- Prepare all the vegetables by chopping them into equal-sized pieces. Tip them into a large bowl.
- Flash cook the sprouts*. Heat a small amount of oil in a large kadai or wok over medium heat. Gently saute the sprouts for two minutes — we want to retain their crunch but heat them through. Set aside to cool.
- Mix everything. Add the cooled sprouts, puffed rice, spices, chutneys, and fresh herbs to the same bowl as the chopped vegetables. Toss everything to combine.
- Garnish the sprouts chaat with crushed papdi, sev, and lemon.
Notes
* If you want to make this moong sprout chaat a no oil recipe, you can steam the sprouts.
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