India’s love affair with snacks is unparalleled, and the beauty of Indian cuisines lies in its ability to create incredible dishes using simple, everyday ingredients. Whether you’re enjoying a cup of chai in the evening or need a quick bite between meals, Indian snacks always come to the rescue. But what if you’re short on time? Don’t worry! There are plenty of easy Indian snacks to make in 5 minutes that will leave you satisfied without spending too much time in the kitchen.
There are many quick-to-make Indian snacks that are not just convenient but also packed with flavors—from spicy and tangy to sweet and savory. The beauty of these recipes lies in their versatility, allowing you to customize them based on what you have on hand. Be it a simple chaat, a crispy papad, or a quick paneer dish, you can always find a snack that fits your mood and the time you have.
In this blog, we will take you through a list of easy Indian snacks to make in 5 minutes. These recipes are perfect for those busy days when you need a quick pick-me-up or want to impress guests with minimal efforts. Each recipe is a blend of taste, health, and convenience, making them perfect for your next snack break. Let’s dive into these quick and mouth-watering recipes!
Bhel Puri
Bhel Puri is the most popular street food of Mumbai. Crispy puffed rice is tossed with sweet tamarind chutney, spicy green chutney, hot pungent garlic chutney, onions, tomatoes, roasted peanuts, sev and chaat masala. Then, at the end, it is garnished with coriander leaves, crunchy sev and crushed papdis.
There are many ways to make bhel puri. The simplest being the dry bhel, known as sukha bhel, is made with only one kind of chutney, known as sukhi chutney or dry chutney.
The most popular version is known as geeli bhel, which is made with just 2 chutneys: sweet tamarind chutney and spicy green chutney.
Preparation for Bhel Puri Recipe
Always prefer serving fresh, homemade food to everyone. So, try to make all chutney on the same day you intend to make the chaats. Then you can refrigerate the left-over tamarind and red chutney.
You can also use them to make other types of chaat, like papdi chaat, aloo chaat, & dahi vada.
Next, roast the peanuts and store them in an airtight jar to retain the crunch. You can buy the puffed rice, papdis, & sev from the Indian grocery stores.
Before you start to make the bhel puri, chop the potato to half-inch cubes. Boil them with water in a small pot. Simply air fry them until golden and crisp. Meanwhile, chop the onions, tomatoes, coriander leaves, & green chillies.
Once the above preparation is done, you will finish making bhel puri under 5 minutes.
How to make Bhel Puri
- Cut and open a fresh packet of puffed rice when making chaat recipes, bhel puri, churumuri, or jhaal muri. If the puffed rice is not crispy, then dry roast them until crisp. Cool and then add them to a mixing bowl.
- Add the boiled potatoes. Cube the potato and boil in 2 cups of water until just cooked. Drain the water and cool it completely. Potatoes must be dry and not moist. Then I added them here.
- Then add in onions, tomatoes, coriander leaves, & green chilies.
- Toss them well. Then add tamarind chutney. Begin with a small quantity of chutneys, as you cannot undo if it becomes too sour or sweet. Also, too much chutney or too thin chutney will make the bhel too soggy very quickly. So, add them as needed after tasting.
- Add red chutney. If you don’t have red chutney, just replace it with some chilli powder.
- Next, add green chutney.
- Mix to coat the chutneys all over the puffed rice. Sprinkle chaat masala and salt if needed.
- Add roasted peanuts, crushed papdis, & sev. Gently mix.
Transfer bhel puri immediately to serving plates. Top with more sev and papdis.
Bread Upma
Bread Upma is a creative and tasty snack that can be made with leftover bread slices. It is a great way to transform simple bread into a flavorful snack. Bread Upma is a South Indian breakfast made with bread, onions, tomatoes, spices, nuts, and herbs.
If you are a tea drinker, then a good cup of Masala Chai is all you need! Bread upma with masala chai is the best combo! Well, the dish can be made with any kind of bread, but you get the best results with white bread, pav, or French baguette.
Preparation for making Bread Upma
- Toast 2 to 3 slices of bread until crisp either on the tawa or in a toaster. If you are making use of more than 2 slices, it is convenient to do it in an oven. Do not skip this step if you are using brown bread, whole meal bread or sprouted flour breads. You can skip toasting if you are using pav, white bread or French baguette.
- Cool completely and cut to cubes. Or simply team them
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan. Add 10 cashews or 2 tablespoons peanuts to the hot oil. On a medium heat, fry until golden and aromatic. Set these aside with bread.
- Add ½ tsp mustard and ½ tsp split urad dal (optional). Saute until the daal turns lightly golden.
- Then add 1 chopped green chili and 1 sprig curry leaves. Saute until the curry leaves turn crisp. Add a pinch of hing.
- Add ¼ cup finely chopped onions (1 small onion).
- Saute until they turn golden. Add ¾ tsp. ginger paste or 1 teaspoon grated or chopped ginger.
- Next, sauté just until you get the aroma of ginger. Do not overfry; ginger turns bitter.
- Add ½ cup ripe tomatoes (1 medium), salt, and 1/8 teaspoon turmeric. Your bread is already salted, so add salt only a little. Saute until the tomatoes turn completely mushy.
- Next, put in ½ tsp red chili powder and ½ tsp sugar. Skip sugar if using white bread or pav.
- Saute for another 2 minutes. Pour 3 to 4 tablespoons of water. Cook until the masala turns thick. Check the taste and adjust salt and spice if needed.
- Add bread and cashews.
- Mix everything well but gently till the masala coats the bread pieces well. Do not stir a lot; bread gets mushy. Add some coriander leaves.
Serve bread upma hot with some lemon juice sprinkled on top.
Instant Paneer Tikka
If you love paneer but are short on time, this quick instant Paneer Tikka will satisfy your cravings. It’s a protein-packed snack perfect for a midday boost.
Ingredients:
- 100g paneer (cubed)
- ½ tsp red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ tsp garam masala
- ½ tsp. cumin powder
- Salt to taste
- Oil for cooking
- Lemon juice
Method:
- In a bowl, mix the paneer cubes with red chili powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder, garam masala, and salt.
- Heat oil in a pan and sauté the spiced paneer cubes for 2-3 minutes until golden.
- Sprinkle some lemon juice before serving.
This quick Paneer tikka is flavorful, and it requires fewer efforts. This makes it an ideal 5-minute snack.
Aloo Chaat
Aloo Chaat is a popular Indian street food snack made with patotoes, sweet, sour, spicy chutneys, sev, and coriander leaves.
How To Make Aloo Chaat
- Prepare Potatoes
- Wash, peel, and boil the potatoes. They must be cooked properly and not turn mushy. Cube them and steam them in a cooker but don’t overcook.
- While the aloo boils, Add 1 tablespoon oil to the pan. Add 1 teaspoon minced ginger or garlic and 1 chopped green chili.
- Add the potatoes and sauté on a high flame, stirring often.
- Then will turn golden in few minutes. They will also turn slightly crisp. Turn off the stove.
- Add chaat masala powder as required and very little salt. There is salt also in chutney so make sure you don’t add more here. You can add about ¼ to ½ tsp chaat masala. Also add red chili powder as required and jeera or cumin powder as required. Add about ¼ to ½ tsp red chili powder and ½ tsp cumin powder.
- Make Aloo Chaat
- Mix everything well and transfer to a bowl.
- Add green chutney & tamarind chutney or lemon juice as required.
- Mix everything. Do adjust spice, chaat masala, cumin powder, green chutney, salt and lemon juice to suit your taste buds. If needed, add more at this stage.
- Transfer to a serving plate. Sprinkle some coriander leaves, sev and pomegranate seeds. Serve aloo chaat immediately.
Chilli Cheese Toast
Chilli Cheese Toast is a popular snack and street food in India, especially in Mumbai. It has slices of bread topped with cheese and green chilies. Veggies like onions, green bell peppers, and green onions are often added to it.
Ingredients:
To make chilli cheese toast, you obviously need bread, chillies, and cheese.
Bread: white bread or whole wheat bread.
Cheese: Amul cheese or whichever you like.
Chillies: green chillies or you can also add jalapenos in place.
Veggies: You can add onions, tomatoes, green peppers, sweet corn, etc.
Seasonings: To give the toast an extra flavor, Add some dry oregano but that’s completely optional. You can also add some crushed red chili flakes.
How to make chilli cheese toast on Tawa
- Grate the cheese; you would need 1 cup grated cheese.
- Transfer the grated cheese to a mixing bowl. Add 1 chopped green chili to it (or add 2 if you like extra spicy).
- Also, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of chopped green pepper. You can also add chopped onions, tomatoes, and sweet corn. Add ¼ tsp dried oregano, freshly cracked black pepper and salt (to taste)
- Mix well using a spoon.
- Take 2 large sourdough slices (if using regular white bread, you would probably need 4 slices). Toast the bread slices on a tawa/pan on medium heat until they are toasted and crispy. Then spread some butter on the toasted slices. Spread the cheese mixture equally between the two slices.
- Place the bread slices back on the tawa/pan. Place a small bowl filled with water in the pan as well (on the side). The water evaporated and the steam helps in melting the cheese.
- Cover with a lid and let the cheese melt; it takes around 4 to 5 minutes.
- Remove the bread from the pan and garnish with cilantro. Serve hot with ketchup or cilantro chutney.
Sweet Corn Chaat
Sweet corn is a versatile ingredient and works perfectly for quick snacks. Sweet corn chaat is healthy, refreshing, and full of flavor.
How to make Sweet Corn Chaat
- If you don’t have frozen corn kernels, then you can also use fresh corn on the cob.
- Pick the corn kernels either with knife or with your fingers.
- Rinse them and add drain completely. Add fresh water and boil until tender.
- Drain them to a colander.
- Cool them and sprinkle salt, chilli powder, chaat masala and cumin powder. Mix them and then add chopped onions, tomatoes, green chilies, coriander leaves and lemon juice. Mix everything well. Taste and add more if you need.
- Transfer to serving bowl and top with roasted peanuts, sev or farsan.
Besan Chilla
Besan chilla, or gram flour pancake, is not only nutritious but also super easy to make. There are many types of chillas made in Indian homes, such as Moong Dal Chilla, Suji Chilla, and Oats Chilla.
How to make Besan Chilla
- Rinse and fine chop 1 small onion, 1 green chilli pepper and 1 small tomato. Rinse and chop handful of coriander leaves.
- Add 1 cup besan, salt as needed, half teaspoon ajwain and 1/8 teaspoon turmeric to a mixing bowl. Mix up all the ingredients.
- Then add finely chopped onions, tomatoes, grated ginger and green chilies. Make sure onions and tomatoes are very finely chopped.
- Add coriander leaves and pour ¾ cup water.
- Mix gently and make a batter of thick but pouring consistency
- Add more water if needed. If the batter is too thick, then the chili will not cook properly.
- Heat a tawa. Grease it well with few drops of oil. When it is hot enough, pour one ladle of batter in the centre.
- Spread it as thin as possible.
- Regulate the flame to medium and drizzle ½ to ¾ tsp of oil or ghee
- Within few minutes, you will see the edges begin to leave the pan.
- Flip it and cook, pressing down with a spatula for thorough cooking.
When you see brown spots on the chili, you can remove it to a plate. Serve besan chilla hot with masala tea, picklesor chutney.
Sprouts Salad
A sprouts salad can be made with many kinds of sprouts, like mung bean sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, moth bean sprouts, horse gram, whole masoor, and black chickpea sprouts.
Ingredients:
- Mixed Sprouts
- Chopped onions
- Chopped tomatoes
- Green chilies
- Fresh coriander
- Chaat masala
- Lemon juice
Instructions:
- Mix the sprouts with chopped onions, tomatoes, and green chilies.
- Add chaat masala and lemon juice to taste.
- Garnish with fresh coriander.
Cucumber Sandwich
The cucumber Sandwich is a simple and refreshing snack, perfect for a light bite or tea-time treat.
Ingredients
- Bread Slices
- Cucumber (thinly sliced)
- Butter
- Salt
- Black pepper
Instructions:
- Spread butter on the bread slices.
- Layer cucumber slices on top and sprinkle with salt and black pepper.
- Close the sandwich and cut into triangle.
Rava Dosa
If you’re craving a dosa but don’t have time for traditional fermentation, Rava Dosa is the perfect solution. It’s crispy, thin dosa that can be made instantly.
Ingredients:
- Semolina (rava)
- Rice flour
- All-purpose flour
- Cumin seeds
- Green chilies (finely chopped)
- Water
- Salt
- Oil
Instructions:
- Mix Semolina, rice flour, and all-purpose flour with water to make a thin batter.
- Add cumin seeds, chopped green chilies and salt.
- Pour the batter on a hot, greased tawa in a circular motion and cook until crispy.