Chaat

Chaat
Alternative names Saat (Sylhet)
Type Snack
Place of origin India
Region or state Uttar Pradesh

Chaat (Hindi: चाट, Nepali: चाट, Odia: ଚାଟ୍, Bengali: চাট, Urdu: چاٹ‎) is a savory snack that originated in India, typically served as an hors d'oeuvre at roadside tracks from stalls or food carts across the Indian subcontinent in India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh.[1][2] With its origins in Uttar Pradesh, India,[3] chaat has become immensely popular in the rest of the Indian subcontinent. The word derives from Hindi cāṭ चाट (tasting, a delicacy), from cāṭnā चाटना (to lick), from Prakrit caṭṭei चट्टेइ (to devour with relish, eat noisily).[4]

Overview

Aloo tikki served with hari (mint and cilantro chutney), saunth chutneys, and dahi (yogurt)

The chaat variants are all based on fried dough, with various other ingredients. The original chaat is a mixture of potato pieces, crisp fried bread dahi vada or dahi bhalla, gram or chickpeas and tangy-salty spices, with sour Indian chili and saunth (dried ginger and tamarind sauce), fresh green coriander leaves and yogurt for garnish, but other popular variants included aloo tikkis or samosa (garnished with onion, coriander, hot spices and a dash of curd), bhel puri, dahi puri, panipuri, dahi vada, papri chaat, and sev puri.

There are common elements among these variants including dahi (yogurt); chopped onions and coriander; Sev (thin dried yellow salty noodles); and chaat masala, typically consisting of amchoor (dried mango powder), cumin, Kala Namak (rock 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.

History

Most chaats originated in some parts of Uttar Pradesh in India, but they are now eaten all across the Indian Sub-continent. Some are results of cultural syncretism - for instance, pav bhaji (Bread/bun with cooked and mashed vegetables) reflects a Portuguese influence, in the form of a bun, and bhel puri and Sevpuri, which originated in Mumbai.

Regions

In cities where chaat is popular, there are popular chaathouses or dhabas, such as Mumbai's Chowpatty Beach. The chaat specialities vary from city to city. Chaat from Delhi (from where it originated in its current form), Lucknow,[5] Azamgarh, Varanasi, Agra, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, and Mathura are famous throughout India. In Hyderabad, chaat is mostly prepared by vendors hailing from Bihar, and is different in taste.

Types of chaat

Aloo chaat
Delhi chaat with saunth chutney
Aloo chaat vendor, Connaught Place, New Delhi
A plate of Masala poori made by street vendors in the chaat stalls near Bangalore
  • Aloo chaat - Potatoes (aloo in Hindi) cut into small pieces, fried till crisp and served with chutney
  • Aloo tikki
  • Bedmi - Puri stuffed with dal and fried till crisp. Typically served with aloo sabji and eaten for breakfast
  • Bhalla/aloo tikki
  • Bhelpuri
  • Ragda Patties (Aloo Tikki Chaat)
  • Cheela- Besan pancakes served with chutney and Sooth_(chutney) (sweet chutney)
  • Chotpoti, mixture of boiled diced potatoes, boiled chickpeas and sliced onions and chillies with grated eggs on top. Many kinds of roasted spice powder are used in its preparation.
  • Dahi puri
  • Dahi vada
  • Kachori- or Kachauri, with variants such as Khasta Kachuari
  • Mangode - Similar to pakora, but besan paste is replaced with yellow moong paste
  • Pakora - Different things such as paneer, vegetable dipped in besan (chickpea/gram flour) paste and fried.
  • Panipuri/gol gappa
  • Masalapuri
  • Chana chaat
  • Papri chaat - This contains fried patty called papri as an extra ingredient.
  • Samosa chaat - samosa is broken into pieces with green and sweet chutney added to it.
  • Sevpuri
  • Pav bhaji
  • Pav vada
  • Dahi bhallay ki chaat (bhallay, potatoes, chickpeas, imli chutney, chaat masala, onions, tomatoes, curd (Dahi) etc.)
  • Beetroot & potato chaat[6]
  • Dhaka chaat[7]
  • Paneer chaat puri
  • Thattu Vadai Set[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Thumma, Sanjay. "Chaat Recipes". Hyderabad, India: Vahrehvah.com. Archived from the original on 2012-11-03. Retrieved 2012-11-27.
  2. ↑ "The Chaat Business". infokosh.bangladesh.gov.bd (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 2012-11-29.
  3. ↑ "10 Best Recipes From Uttar Pradesh (Varanasi/ Agra / Mathura )". NDTV. 25 October 2013. Retrieved 2013-10-26.
  4. ↑ Oxford English Dictionary. Chaat. Mar. 2005 Online edition. Retrieved 2008-02-18.
  5. ↑ Mehrotra, Akash (27 February 2015). "Lucknow Food Trail: 10 Lucknowi delicacies and best eateries to savour them". DNA.
  6. ↑ Moghul, Sobiya N. (25 October 2013). "Beetroot and potato chaat recipe". The Times of India. Retrieved 2013-11-15.
  7. ↑ D.Nath, Subha. "Dhaka chaat" (PDF).
  8. ↑ Saravanan, S.P. (28 October 2015). "Salem's own evening Snack". The Hindu. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
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