Chotpoti: A Bowl of Spicy Peas and Potato, with Tamarind Water on the Side
Chotpoti is eaten from a bowl. It is not stuffed into a shell. Its center is tender peas mixed with mashed potato and chaat masala. Chopped egg and raw vegetables go on top, and a tamarind water is poured over or served beside it. Crushed fuska shells are an optional crunchy garnish.
The Daily Star's My Dhaka street-food feature describes fuchka carts that set up in Dhaka's neighborhood alleys and in front of parks and lakes. Some stalls in that city scene are fuchka-chotpoti carts that sell the two snacks side by side, and some offer combined plates. Fuchka are hollow shells filled and dipped. Chotpoti is the bowl next to them.
This article follows one written recipe for Chotpoti, published by the Bangladeshi recipe author Rownak. Rownak describes it as a spicy mix of peas and potato served with tamarind water. In a reply to readers, Rownak says the peas are yellow peas. Rownak also says a version made with chickpeas is a different dish, chole chat. Other cooks make it differently, so treat this as one cook's version and not a fixed national standard. Sekai Gohan has not kitchen-tested this recipe as a whole.
In English it is usually written Chotpoti. In Bengali it is চটপটি. The sources used here do not establish where the name comes from or what it literally means, so this article does not guess.
Ingredients
The amounts below are the recipe's own, in its own units (cups, teaspoons, tablespoons, grams). The recipe does not say which cup or spoon standard it uses, so no conversions are given. It also does not state a yield or number of servings.
Equipment
- A bowl for soaking the peas overnight
- A colander for washing the soaked peas
- A pot for boiling the peas
- A bowl for soaking the tamarind and mixing the tamarind water
- A large bowl for mashing the potato and mixing the base
- A knife and cutting board for the egg and vegetables
- Small serving bowls, plus a small bowl or cup for the tamarind water
Choosing and Substituting: What the Recipe Does and Doesn't Allow
Peas. Look for dried peas labeled as yellow peas. That is the pea Rownak names for Chotpoti. In a later reply, Rownak says other peas can be used. Rownak also says chickpeas are not traditional, so this article does not treat chickpeas as an equal swap. A package that just says "peas" may not tell you which kind of yellow pea it holds, or how large the peas are. Because of that, no cooking time is given for any particular product.
Chaat masala. The recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of chat masala but does not name a brand or list its contents. Garam masala, curry powder and other spice mixes are not equivalents. If you cannot find chaat masala, find it before cooking rather than improvising a blend.
Tamarind. The recipe says 50 gram of tamarind and does not say whether that means a block, pulp or paste. The photos here show plain brown tamarind flesh without the hard outer shell. That is a visual choice for this article. It does not mean a concentrated paste can replace the 50 gram one-for-one. Lemon, vinegar and other sour ingredients are not offered as substitutes.
Black salt. The recipe lists black salt for the tamarind water as optional, with no amount. The basic version here leaves it out. If you add it, the recipe gives no quantity to follow.
Oil. In its introduction, the recipe mentions that you may use a little oil to fry onion and cook the potato and peas together. No amount is given, and neither the ingredient list nor the method uses oil. This version leaves it out, and the onion stays raw.
Method
The peas need to soak overnight, so start the day before. The tamarind water and the pea mixture are made separately and only meet in the serving bowl. The recipe does not give a total time, so none is given here.
Common Sticking Points
| Situation | What the recipe says | How to handle it |
|---|---|---|
| The peas are not tender yet | Boil "until tender"; no time given | Keep boiling and test again. There is no fixed time to follow |
| You are unsure whether to dice or mash the potato | The list says diced, the method says mash | This version mashes it, following the method |
| You don't know how many bowls this makes | No yield or serving count is given | The 6 eggs and 12 fuska shells are list amounts. They do not set the number of servings. Use 1 egg and, if using, 2 fuska per bowl |
| You aren't sure how much salt to use | 2 tsp for the peas (method). The tamarind water salt is unmeasured | Use 2 tsp for the peas. Season the tamarind water to taste |
| The tamarind water looks cloudy or has pieces of flesh in it | No straining or heating is mentioned | This version does not add a straining or cooking step |
| You only have chickpeas | The author calls chickpeas nontraditional and their chickpea dish chole chat | Look for dried yellow peas instead |
Variations: Other Cooks, Other Bowls
Chotpoti is not made one way. A home cook, Khaleda Akther, posted a "restaurant-style" Chotpoti on Cookpad Bangladesh, and it differs in several ways:
- It uses different amounts of peas and potato.
- It adds ginger and garlic pastes and a packaged chotpoti masala.
- It mixes a boiled egg into the base.
- It is finished with grated egg and a separately prepared tamarind sour.
That version is a separate recipe. None of its amounts or steps are mixed into the one above. It shows that cooks in Bangladesh make the dish their own way.
Within Rownak's recipe itself, the flexible parts are the fuska shells, which are optional, and the black salt, which is optional and unmeasured. The bowl stays a dish of peas and potato either way.
In Dhaka: Where Chotpoti Sits Beside Fuchka
The Daily Star's Dhaka feature presents fuchka-chotpoti carts as part of the city's street food, set up in neighborhood alleys and near parks and lakes. It notes that fuchka sellers vary their tamarind water in many ways: some sweeten it, some offer mint or yoghurt versions, and one makes a version with Naga chilli. Those observations are about fuchka, not about how Chotpoti is seasoned. The feature also treats Dhaka's fuchka-chotpoti pairing as distinct from the Kolkata panipuri it mentions.
Chotpoti is also a different preparation from Panipuri. Panipuri is a hollow shell that is filled. Chotpoti is a bowl of peas and potato. The fuska shell appears only as a crushed garnish on top. For more dishes from the country, see Bangladesh.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many servings does this make?
The recipe does not say. It lists 6 boiled eggs and 12 optional fuska shells. Its method uses 1 chopped egg and 2 crushed fuska shells per bowl. Those numbers describe what goes into each bowl, not how many bowls the batch makes.
Can I use chickpeas?
Rownak says the peas for Chotpoti are yellow peas. Rownak calls a chickpea version chole chat and says chickpeas are not traditional. Rownak also says other peas can be used, but no specific substitute or cooking time is given.
Do I need a pressure cooker?
No. The method only says to boil the peas until tender. The author prefers a pressure cooker to save time but gives no setting or time, so this article does not give one.
Can I use tamarind paste or concentrate?
The recipe says 50 gram of tamarind without naming its form. It gives no conversion for a paste or concentrate, so this article does not offer one.
Are the fuska shells necessary?
No, they are optional. If you use them, crush 2 over each bowl. They are not filled with the pea mixture.
Should I fry the onion?
Not in this version. The recipe's introduction mentions using a little oil to fry onion and cook the potato and peas together, but gives no amount or method. The ingredient list and method don't use oil, so the onion here is served raw and finely sliced.
Sources
- Rownak, "Chotpoti," Rownak's Bangladeshi Recipes. The recipe followed in this article: its ingredient list, method and order, its description of Chotpoti as spicy peas and potato served with tamarind water, and the author's replies identifying yellow peas and distinguishing chickpea chole chat. https://banglarecipes.com.au/chotpoti/
- Khaleda Akther, "রেষ্টুরেন্ট স্টাইলে চটপটি," Cookpad Bangladesh. A separate restaurant-style home-cook version, cited only to show variation, and for the Bengali spelling চটপটি. https://cookpad.com/bd/recipes/14979758
- The Daily Star / My Dhaka, "Tradition meets innovation in the spicy world of fuchka." The Dhaka street-food setting of fuchka carts in alleys and near parks and lakes, fuchka-chotpoti carts and combined plates, and vendor variation in fuchka tamarind water. https://www.thedailystar.net/my-dhaka/news/tradition-meets-innovation-the-spicy-world-fuchka-3469146
