Water Chestnut Wonton Cups — with a chatpata water chestnut (panifal/singhada) filling, vibrant mint yogurt, and colorful pomegranate seed, this is a dish that truly captures the warmth of entertaining and hosting during the festive season! Make it ahead of your party for a hassle-free serving experience and your Diwali parties are going to be a hit!
WATCH HOW TO MAKE WATER CHESTNUT WONTON CUPS:
For the wonton cups, we’ll grease a muffin tray with some oil and gently press in our wonton recipes. To ensure that the cups hold their shape, I like filling them with some dried chickpeas as a weight.
For our filing we’ll start with a simple tadka of jeera, hing, and aromatics. Once this is aromatic, we’ll add in our water chestnuts and saute for just a few minutes until they get a little color. Sprinkle a little water to make sure the mixture doesn’t get too dry but also at the same time we want it to remain crisp.

Toss in your chatpata spices with a splash of water to help everything stick together and switch off the gas. Finish this off with a squeeze of lemon, fresh coconut, and cilantro—you can even add raisins and cashews.
When we’re ready to assemble, we’ll fill our wonton cups with the chestnut mixture. To prevent our cups from getting soggy during a party, we’ll serve our dip on the side. I’ve paired this with a fresh mint yogurt, tamarind chutney, and bhujiya.
If you like this, please try my other recipes:
- Bread Nachos Chaat
- Thai Lollipops with Mango Chili Coulis
- Lasooni Chili Peanuts
- Kolkata Masala Crostini – Aloo Chaat Crostini

Water Chestnut Wonton Cups — with a chatpata water chestnut (panifal / singhada) filling, vibrant mint yogurt, and colorful pomegranate seed, this is a dish that truly captures the warmth of entertaining and hosting during the festive season! Make it ahead of your party for a hassle-free serving experience and your Diwali parties are going to be a hit!
- 24 wonton wrappers
- 1 tbsp oil , for brushing
- 2 1/2 cup water chestnuts (panifal / singhada) , sliced
- 1 1/2 tbsp ghee
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida powder (hing)
- 1 tsp ginger green chili paste
- 3 tbsp water
- 1 1/2 tsp red chili powder
- 1 tsp roasted cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp mango powder (amchur)
- 1/2 tsp black salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp shredded coconut
- 1 tbsp cilantro , finely chopped
- 7-8 raisins , finely chopped
- 6-7 cashews , roughly chopped
- mint yogurt
- tamarind chutney
- pomegranate seeds
- sev (bhujiya)
- 1 cup yogurt
- 1/4 cup cilantro with tender stems
- 1/4 cup mint leaves
- 2 small Thai green chilies
- 1/2 inch ginger
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida powder (hing)
- 1/2 tsp mustard sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp black salt
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp cold water , as needed for grinding
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Preheat your oven to 375℉/190℃. Grease your cupcake tray with some oil. Gently press your wonton sheets into the cupcake molds to form a cup shape. Brush with some more oil for even browning and place 1 tbsp of dried beans inside each cup to act as a weight so it’ll hold its shape while baking.
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Bake for 5-10 minutes until golden brown and crisp. Since they’re so thin, they have the tendency to burn fast so be sure to keep an eye on it. Once done, remove from the mold, remove the beans, and let cool on a wire rack.
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For the water chestnut filling, in a pan, heat your ghee on medium flame. Add in your cumins seeds, hing, and ginger and green chili paste. Sauté for a few minutes.
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Then, add in your water chestnuts and sauté it for 2-3 minutes. Add in half of your water 1 tsp to 2 tsp at a time and cover the lid to help cook the water chestnuts. The water chestnuts cook very quickly so make sure not to make them too dry, leave them a little moist.
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Once your water chestnuts are soft and tender yet crispy, add in your spices and the rest of your water and mix everything together. Top of the filling with some lemon juice, shredded coconut, cilantro, raisins and cashews.
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Fill the cups with the filling and garnish with pomegranate seeds and bhujiya. Serve alongside mint yogurt dip and tamarind chutney. Enjoy!
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To make the mint yogurt dip, blend together all dip ingredients except yogurt into a thick smooth paste. Then mix it with yogurt and adjust the seasonings.
Recipe Video
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anazing ❤️
Thanks!
Hello Nidhi
This looks so tempting 😋😍
Thanks for sharing
I just want to know from where to get water chestnuts?
Is it canned or fresh?
Thanks once again
Thank you so much! ❤️ I used vadilal’s frozen water chestnuts, they work well with this recipe
That’s great👍
I will try soon
Thank you for the quick reply ☺️
Is there a way to make Wonton cups ahead of time
To avoid last min rush during Diwali party.
Hi Margi, yes they can be made 2-3 days in advance. Just make sure it’s baked perfectly. Cools them completely and store in airtight container!!