An iconic street food snack from northern India, this recipe highlights fresh water caltrops served straight from a steaming pot. The crisp, slightly starchy white flesh is enlivened with a bright squeeze of lime, sulfurous black salt, and tangy chaat masala spices.
Ingredients
- 1200 g whole fresh water caltrops (singhara)
- 2 l filtered water
- 1 tbsp coarse grey sea salt
- 1 tsp chaat masala spice blend
- 1/2 tsp ground Himalayan black salt (kala namak)
- 1 piece fresh lime
Method
- Scrub and rinse the water caltrops thoroughly under cold water to remove any residual mud trapped in the crevices of their shells.
- Place the cleaned water caltrops in a deep pot, cover them with filtered water, and stir in the coarse sea salt.
- Bring to a rolling boil at 100 °C over high heat for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to medium for a steady simmer, cover the pot, and cook for 15 minutes, until the shells darken and a paring knife easily pierces through to the center of the flesh.
- Drain the water caltrops in a colander and let them cool at room temperature for about 10 minutes until they reach around 40 °C, so they are comfortable to handle without burning your fingers.
- Trim off the side horns or slit the base of each caltrop with a small paring knife, then pry apart the hard shell halves to release the whole white kernel inside without breaking it.
- Transfer the warm kernels to a serving bowl, squeeze fresh lime juice over them, sprinkle with chaat masala and ground kala namak, and toss gently to coat.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 9.1 kcal
- Protein
- 0.27 g
- Carbohydrate
- 2.42 g
- Fat
- 0.14 g
- Fibre
- 0.87 g
- Calcium
- 15.02 mg
- Iron
- 0.04 mg
- Magnesium
- 12.86 mg
