Make Delhi Style Aloo Chaat in the air fryer with this easy recipe! Spicy, tangy air fried potatoes are tossed with spices and garnished with fresh cilantro. Drizzle some cilantro chutney on top for extra flavor.

One of the things that I look forward most to when I go back home is my beloved chaat. It’s my favorite thing in the world and there’s truly nothing like Dilli ki Chaat.

I grew up around Delhi so I have had the good fortune of eating some of the best chaat out there. I don’t think any place makes a aloo tikki or samosa as good as Delhi, just like there’s no match for Mumbai vada pav. One of my other favorite chaat item from Delhi is the famous Aloo Chaat.

There’s this chaat stall in Noida (my hometown) and I absolutely adore their chaat. It’s probably the first place I go to after landing in India. I love their tikki, golgappe and their aloo chaat is also spectacular. It’s crunchy, spicy, tangy and oh so good!

I tried making similar chaat but in stead of deep frying, I air fried the potatoes. It actually turned out really well. It was crispy, tangy and just what I was looking for in Dilli style Aloo Chaat.

This makes a great vegan/vegetarian appetizer to serve at your parties. It will be a great addition to your Diwali menu too.

Tips To Make Crispy Potatoes in Air Fryer

Following few simple tricks, the potatoes turn out perfectly crispy for the chaat in the air fryer.

Choose the right potato: I highly recommend using russet potato. They have low moisture and hence they crisp up nicely in the air fryer.

Soak in warm water for 20 minutes: soaking in warm/mildly hot water for 20 minutes pre-cooks the potatoes a bit. Then the second cooking that happens in air fryer makes them extra-crispy. Don’t use cold water and see the difference!

Air fry in single layer: this way the potatoes crisp up evenly. If your air fryer is small, you might have to do this in batches. I could do it all in 1 batch in a 8qt air fryer.

Ingredients

Russet potato: you can use whatever potato you have on hand for this recipe but russet potatoes work best for this recipe. They are low in moisture so they crisp up really nice and are perfect to be used in this recipe.

Spices & herb: I have used the most common spices that we use in chaat for this recipe like chaat masala, cumin powder, kala namak. Fresh cilantro and mint add freshness to the chaat.

Lime/Lemon juice: this chaat is supposed to be quite tangy and fresh lime/lemon juice is what brings those flavors together. Don’t use bottled juice for this recipe, fresh works best. I have used lime juice here but lemon juice also works perfectly well.

Serving with julienned ginger is optional. Sarvesh hates it but I do like it. If you are not a fan, just skip.

Step by Step Instructions

1- First soak some ginger juliennes for garnishing. Cut 1-inch ginger into juliennes. Add it to a bowl with 2 teaspoons lime juice, pinch of salt and chaat masala. Set aside while you make the chaat. Skip this step if you don’t want to garnish with ginger juliennes.

2- Peel and cut russet potatoes into around 3/4 to 1-inch cubes. Soak in warm water (not boiling but warm enough) for 20 minutes. Soaking in warm/mildly hot water for 20 minutes cooks the potatoes a little. This way when you air fry them, they become super crispy when cooked for the second time. We also soak to remove excess starch so don’t skip the step of soaking the potatoes.

3- After 15 minutes, drain the potatoes using a colander.

4- Then transfer them to a kitchen towel and pat dry (rub with towel) until they are completely dry.

5- Transfer the potatoes to a bowl and add oil to it. I have used avocado oil but you can use any oil of choice. Stir well until potatoes are coated with the oil. Pre-heat air fryer at 380 F degrees for 2 minutes.

6- Once pre-heated, add the potatoes to the air fryer in a single layer (you may spray with air fryer with a oil-spray if you like). I have a large enough air fryer so I was able to do this in a single batch, if you have a small one, you might have to do this in 2 batches because you need to place them in a single later.

7- Air fry at 380 F degrees for 20 to 22 minutes shaking them twice in between. The potatoes get done sooner but we cook for more time to get them really crispy. Start checking around 15 minutes mark. You know they are done, when they have this golden brown color and you can hear the crispiness when you shake the air fryer basket.

8- Transfer to a large bowl and add lime juice (or lemon juice). Start with adding 2 tablespoons and add an extra tablespoon after taste testing. This is a tangy chaat so I usually add the entire 3 tablespoons.

9- Add the spices- cumin powder, chaat masala, Kashmiri red chili powder and kala namak. Also add the chopped green chili, mint and cilantro.

10 & 11- Mix until everything is well combined

12- Transfer to serving bowls, garnish with prepared ginger juliennes and serve immediately. I used these dona (leaf bowls) to serve the chaat.

Serving Suggestions

This chaat has to be served immediately. You can serve it as such or for extra flavor drizzle with some cilantro chutney on top. You can also add some sweet tamarind chutney if you like.

Making Ahead & Re-heating

If you make this ahead, best would be to just air fry the potatoes and then keep them refrigerated. When it’s time to serve, re-heat them in air fryer at 350 F degrees for 10 minutes until they are crisp again. Then toss with lime juice, spices and herbs and serve.

If you want to make multiple batches of this for a party, you can keep a batch in the oven at 200 F degrees so that it stays warm and then continue to make more batches.

Oven & Stove-top Instructions

If you don’t have an air fryer and want to make this recipe, follow these for cooking the potatoes in the oven or on stove-top.

For Oven: follow the same steps and bake at 400 F degrees for 25 to 30 minutes until crisp. I have tp admit though, they turn way crispier in the air fryer.

Stove-top: either deep fry or shallow fry the potatoes in oil.

Rest of the steps will remain same.

Tips & Notes

• I highly recommend using russet potatoes. They are perfect for chaat but if you don’t have them, you can use other potatoes like yukon gold.
• You can use ghee in place of oil for air frying the potatoes.
• If making these for fasting- use ghee and do not add the spices that you don’t eat during fasting/Navratri.
• Amount of chilies in the recipe can be adjusted to taste.
• You can also garnish the aloo chaat with thinly sliced onion and radish.

More Chaat Recipes

• Samosa Chaat
• Sweet Potato Chaat
• Matar Chaat

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