Matar Pao|Black Vatana Chaat

Matar Pao or the black vatana chaat is a classic street food dish from Ulhasnagar, my home town!
It is made by cooking dried black peas (Kaala Matar/Vatana) with salt and water and the curry is generally flavoured with just pepper. A spicier version is made by adding garam masala powder by many vendors.
The rustic flavours of the dish come from cooking vatana for longer duration, till soft and then by mashing some to make the gravy more thicker, homogenous and flavourful.

Dried black peas take forever to cook and hence soaking these for 12 – 24 hours is a must. Also adding a little of baking soda is highly recommended or else the peas would take ridiculously long time to cook well.

The Matar pao chaat is easy to assemble. Just top the pao with boiled vatana, chutneys, chaat masala (optional), pepper (optional), boiled potato cubes, chopped onions and sev/papdi/dalmoth.

Check this recipe video :

If you happen to visit Ulhasnagar, particularly, camp number 5, during Chaliha festival, you will spot many vendors around Puj Chaliha Sahib Mandir, selling this chaat on the carts. The chaat during those 40 days of festival is made without using any garlic or onions (in curry and in chutneys) and is usually topped with grated cabbage, boiled kachalu (Arbi) / potatoes. Pao is optional for the devotees. Also no Farsan is used for those who are observing Chaliha fast.

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Matar Pao|Black Vatana Chaat

Dried black peas curry and Pao chaat

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried Black peas
• Salt as per taste
• 1 tbsp black pepper powder
• ⅛th tsp cooking soda (Pakode waali soda)

For Chaat

• 5 Pao
• 2 boiled potatoes
• 1 large onion
• Chaat masala (optional) to garnish
• Mint coriander chutney (5-6 tbsp or as much preferred)
• Sweet Tamarind chutney (3-4 tbsp or as much preferred)
• Farsan (Papdi/Dalmoth/Nylon sev) to garnish
• Coriander leaves to garnish

Method

1. Pick, wash and soak dried black peas in enough water for 12 to 24 hours. Change water once if soaking for more than 12 hours.
2. Rinse well with water before cooking.
3. In a pressure cooker add soaked peas, 3 cups of water, salt and cooking soda. Close the cooker with the lid.
4. Cook on high heat till 1 whistle . Cook under pressure, on lowest heat for around 30 minutes.
5. Turn off the flame.
6. When the pressure subsides, open the lid of the cooker and check if the peas are cooked well. Pinch few peas in between your fingers and thumb and if easily mashed, the peas are ready to eat. Else, add some water, if needed and cook further.
7. Using back of the ladle, mash some peas so as to thicken the gravy.
8. The gravy should not be too watery. If the gravy is very loose, heat it further and if there is barely any gravy then add some hot water.
9. Add black pepper powder. You can add some garam masala at this stage.
10. For assembling the chaat, take a serving platter and place pao cut into bite sized pieces.
11. Pour piping hot vatana/matar curry over it. Add boiled potatoes cut in cubes/pieces and chopped onions.
12. Pour some mint coriander chutney, sweet tamarind chutney ( Cheat version:I took half a cup of tamarind water and added 3 tbsp of jaggery and microwaved it for 3 minutes. Added some salt, kala namak, chaat masala, chilli powder and hing to it).
13. You can garnish with some chaat masala and pepper (I didn't use any). For the recipe of home made chaat masala, check this video of mine.
14. Top the chaat with some farsan of your choice. Papdi, Nylon sev and dal moth are the popular choices.
15. Garnish with coriander leaves and consume immediately.

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