Chaat is plate of savory snacks, typically served at road-side tracks from stalls or carts in India, Pakistan and the rest of South Asia. the name originates from the licking of fingers that ensues after the consumption of this mouth watering dish - as the word chaat in Hindi means "to lick". The chaat variants are all based on fried dough, with various other ingredients. The original chaat is a mixture of potato pieces, crispy fried bread, gram bean and spices, but other popular variants included Aloo Tikkis (garnished with onion, coriander, hot spices and a dash of curd), bhel puri, dahi puri, panipuri, dahi vada, papdi chaat, and sev puri. There are common elements among these variants including dahi, or yogurt; chopped onions and coriander; sev (small dried yellow noodles); and chaat masala. This is a masala, or spice mix, typically consisting of amchoor (dried mango powder), cumin, black salt, coriander, dried ginger, salt, black pepper, and red pepper. The ingredients are combined and served on a small metal plate or a banana leaf, dried and formed into a bowl.
One of the special kinds of Chaats is the very admired Papri Chaat/ Paapri Chaat / Papdi Chaat which is mostly popular with the north Indians. Papri refers to crispy fried dough wafers made from refined white flour and oil. In Papri Chaat, the papris are served with boiled potatoes, boiled chick peas, chilies, and yoghurt and tamarind chutney and topped with chaat masala and 'sev'. The popular dish is often eaten from travelling food vendor stalls.
The other more healthy homemade versions of the chaats also exist. Particularly the boiled potato chaat called the Aloo chaat or the Aloo kabli. But the popularity of the chaat remains due its position as a street food.
No comments:
Post a Comment