Vol-Au-Vent Chaat

A vibrant and flavourful twist on chaat, served in crispy golden vol-au-vent cases. Along with a trio of chutneys and sweet and salty yoghurt.

Vol-Au-Vent Chaat

This Vol-Au-Vent Chaat has been one of my favourite recipes of this season. You can’t go wrong with chaat served inside crispy, flaky, buttery vol-au-vents. This makes for a great vegetarian appetiser and it would also be a great dish on any festive menu.

This dish uses a simple chaat filling of a lightly spiced potato and chickpea mixture, served inside vol au vent cases (I’ll show you how to make your own!). Followed by a drizzle of sweet and salty yoghurt, a trio of vibrant chaat chutneys, and finally a touch of sev (fried gram flour ‘noodles’), and pomegranates.

What are vol-au-vents?

Vol-au-vents originated in France and are essentially flaky, light, and hollow cases made from puff pastry. They’re generally made by layering a ring of puff pastry over another round disc of puff pastry. The pastry then gets baked, allowing it to puff up into a round ‘shell’.

The ‘lid’ of the vol-au-vents can then be cut out or pressed down to reveal a hollow case, perfect for stuffing. Traditionally, these would be stuffed with chicken or fish, although plenty of variations now exist around the world.

What is chaat?

Chaat is a family of appetisers originating from India. They’re a huge part of the vibrant and diverse street food scene, and have earned their global fame and love.

Chaat exists in endless varieties and is both a flavour sensation and a textural sensation. There’s something crispy, something crunchy, and something soft. Married with the flavours of spice, saltiness, sweetness, and sourness. It really ticks all the boxes.

The flavours come from from a sweet and salty yoghurt along with a medley of chutneys, all harbouring different flavours. There’s a vibrant green coriander chutney, a sweet and sour tamarind chutney, and occasionally a fiery red chilli chutney. Along with a cooling yoghurt, these can be poured over samosas, papdi (fried crackers), inside puris (fried hollow shells) and so much more.

The key to a good chaat is in the layering

1. The crispy element – in this case, the vol-au-vents. These make up the base of our chaat
2. The chaat filling – a classic combination of lightly spiced potatoes, chickpeas, onion, and coriander. A key spice here is the chaat masala which has a complex blend of spicy, salty, sour, and sweet, along with a little bit of ‘funk’ from black salt
3. The yoghurt and chutneys – these provide heat, sweetness, saltiness, and sourness, along with respite and balance from the yoghurt
4. The toppings – some thin sev (fried gram flour noodles) and fresh pomegranate add texture and another layer of freshness

Chaat is beautifully complex, and this is all down to the impeccable layering and balancing of flavours and textures. To watch a street vendor preparing chaat is honestly equivalent to watching an artist at work.

If you LOVE chaat, try these

• My Mogo Tikki Chaat
• My Paneer and Pomegranate Parcel Chaat

This Vol-Au-Vent Chaat makes for the perfect appetiser

Vol-au-vents make total sense here. They’re hollow shells, ready to be filled with the classic chaat stuffing of lightly spiced potatoes, chickpeas, and onions.

Chaat is always a highlight of any and every menu, especially around the holidays. This vol-au-vent chaat would be perfect for any Diwali, Thanksgiving, or Christmas menus. It can even be served as a do-it-yourself station where everyone can fill their own vol-au-vents and top with as much chutney as they desire.

Like with most chaat, this is best served immediately. Vol-au-vents are robust enough to hold the yoghurt and chutneys for a fair amount of time but they will eventually turn soggy. To retain the texture, only top with the condiments right before serving.

The chaat chutneys are the stars of the show

1. Cooling yoghurt – the yoghurt has a slight hint of sweetness and saltiness which balances out the strong flavours of the chutneys and provides some respite from the heat
2. Fresh coriander and mint chutney – my go-to simple green chutney recipe that takes minutes to prepare and is bursting with a herbaceous freshness
3. Red chilli and garlic chutney – a personal favourite chutney that’s not used as often as it should be. A little goes a long way but it really gets your tastebuds going
4. Sweet and sour tamarind chutney – I will stand firmly on the hill that a chaat without this chutney is incomplete. It’s a KEY chutney that provides necessary balance and a burst of sourness. I’m using my shortcut tamarind chutney here that bypasses the traditional method and is far easier and quicker to make without compromising on ANY flavour

Let’s talk about some of the ingredients

I’ll cover the main ones below but the full recipe can be found at the end

• Puff pastry OR vol-au-vent cases – if you’re able to get a hold of pre-made vol-au-vent cases, feel free to use them to save time. Otherwise make your own using puff pastry as I have in this recipe
• Chaat masala – a spice blend that has a complex blend of spicy, salty, sour, and sweet, along with a little bit of ‘funk’ from black salt
• Mango powder – also known as amchur/amchoor. This provides an additional sourness
• Ground spices – ground cumin and fennel add a more complex flavour to the tamarind chutney
• Tamarind pulp/concentrate – this is 100% tamarind that is used in my shortcut tamarind chutney
• Fresh herbs – fresh coriander and fresh mint are essential for the chutney
• Dried red chillies – long dried red chillies (the milder variety) are used in the fiery red chutney after being rehydrated and de-seeded

The KEY tips for making this Vol-Au-Vent CHaat

1. Bake the vol-au-vent cases till golden all over – this means the base too, we want these to stay crisp
2. Make the tamarind chutney in advance for best results – the flavours of the spices will continue to infuse
3. Only assemble RIGHT before serving – this is best served immediately to avoid the pastry from going soggy. The potato and chickpea mixture can, however, be placed inside the cases in advance, but avoid adding the yoghurt and chutneys until you’re ready to serve

How to make this Vol-Au-Vent CHaat

1) Start by cutting discs out of the puff pastry with the larger cookie cutter

2) Then cut inside half the discs with the smaller cookie cutter to create a ring of pastry

3+4) Brush the glaze (see full recipe at the end for details) on to the disc of pastry, then carefully place the ring on top

5) Make sure the ring is aligned with the pastry disc, then place very gentle pressure on the top of the ring to ensure it’s sealed. Avoid squashing the sheets together as this will prevent the vol-au-vents from rising properly. Just a simple light tap all around the ring is all that’s needed

6) Cover the tray of pastry cases loosely with clingwrap, then place into the fridge to chill for 30 minutes

7) Next, brush the top of the ring of pastry with a light layer of glaze. I find using a finger tip to apply the glaze to be the best method here

8) Place the vol-au-vent immediately into the oven until puffed up, golden, and crispy like 9)

9) Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool. Don’t worry about the puffed up centres, we’ll remove these later

Next, the chaat filling

1+2) To make the vol-au-vent filling, simply mix the potato, chickpeas (I’m using kala chana, also known as black or brown chickpeas), onion, coriander, and spices

For the chutneys and yoghurt

1+2) Both the coriander and mint chutney, and the red chilli and garlic chutney just require a simple blend until they’re both smooth

3) My shortcut tamarind chutney uses tamarind concentrate/puree and dark brown sugar. Simply mix all the ingredients and bring to a boil. Continue to boil for 10-15 minutes to allow the spices to infuse and for the chutney to reduce to your desired consistency

4) Whisk the yoghurt with a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar. Gradually add the water, 1/2tbsp at a time until the yoghurt reaches a thick but pourable consistency

Assembling the Vol-Au-Vent Chaat

1+2) Either press down the lid of the vol-au-vents or cut around it using a sharp knife. I’d actually advise the knife method due to the delicate nature of the cases. You’ll then be left with a hollow case like 2)

3) Spoon the chaat filling into the vol-au-vents, add as much or as little as you like

4) Top with the yoghurt, chutneys, and sev (fried gram flour noodles)

5+6) Followed by plenty of pomegranate. Best served immediately

If you enjoyed this recipe

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Until then, happy cooking!