Join Maneet Chauhan’s Chaat Party – here’s the recipe!

 What can make the summer sizzle more than delicious chaat which cools you down while heating you up?

What can be more exciting than having a party where each one can create their own chaat fantasy, adding and subtracting spices and peppers – and feeling such satisfaction at your own creativity and spirit of adventure?

This recipe is the equivalent of writing a spicy novelette  stuffed with romance, drama, mystery, laughs and lots of sniffles – and it’s sooo satisfying to your mouth and your belly!

Here’s the recipe for the ultimate chaat party from Chef Maneet Chauhan’s book Chaat, devoted to chaats from all over India. 

Ingredients

• Coarsely chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, pineapple, mangoes, potatoes, roasted sweet potatoes, coriander, and mint
• Finely chopped onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, ginger, red and green chiles, scallions, and radishes
• Lemon and lime wedges
• Roasted corn kernels
• Star fruit slices
• Tamarind, cilantro-mint, and green chile chutneys*
• Raita (whole milk yogurt whisked together with water to make it thin enough to drizzle and then seasoned with salt and freshly squeezed lemon juice)
• Roasted peanuts and cashews
• Puchkas
• Puffed rice
• Sev
• Chakri (chickpea flour crackers)
• Chekkalu (rice flour crackers)
• Thattai (spiced rice flour and sesame crackers)
• Namak para (spiced whole wheat flour crackers)
• Murruku (wheat flour crackers)
• Chaat masala
• Red chile powder

 

Method

 Put each item in an individual bowl alongside a stack of larger bowls to enable your guests to mix up their chaat with a spoon or, more traditionally, their hands. If you are able to source banana leaves, I would spread them out over the table before arranging everything else for a bright pop of color.

*Creativity should be the driving force when deciding what ingredients to bring to the table.There is no limit except your imagination when it comes to ingredients, but some suggestions are above

Tamarind Chutney

 Ingredients

 

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 teaspoon red chile flakes

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger

¼ cup golden raisins

¼ cup pitted dates, coarsely chopped

1 (16-ounce) block seedless tamarind pulp, coarsely chopped

1 cup jaggery or dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon chaat masala

½ teaspoon black salt (kala namak)

1 teaspoon ground ginger Kosher salt

 

Method

 

In a sauté pan, heat the oil over medium heat until it glistens, about 2 minutes.

Add the cumin, coriander, fennel, and chile flakes and sauté until aromatic, about 2 minutes. Add the fresh ginger, raisins, dates, tamarind, and jaggery, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the sauce is thick and coats the back of a spoon, about 10 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon occasionally to prevent scorching and to encourage the flavors to mingle.Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chaat masala, black salt, and ground ginger. Transfer the chutney to a food processor or blender and blend on high speed until smooth. Taste and season with salt. The chutney will keep in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

 Cilantro-Mint Chutney

 Ingredients

 1 cup tightly packed fresh cilantro leaves

1 cup tightly packed fresh mint leaves

Pulp from 1 small mango (about ¼ cup)

5 serrano chiles, seeded

¼ cup fresh lime juice, plus more to taste

Kosher salt

 Method

In a food processor or blender, combine the cilantro, mint, mango, chiles, lime juice, and salt to taste and blend at high speed until smooth.

Add water as needed to achieve a thick and slightly chunky consistency.

Adjust the seasoning with lime juice and salt as needed.

 Green Chile Chutney

 Ingredients

 2 tablespoons chana dal

½ teaspoon ground cumin, roasted

½ teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

1 teaspoon chaat masala

Pinch of hing (asafetida)

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste

½ cup tightly packed fresh mint leaves

1 cup tightly packed fresh cilantro leaves

3 garlic cloves

3 serrano chiles, seeded

3-inch knob fresh ginger, peeled with a spoon and coarsely chopped

 Method

Heat a cast-iron pan over high heat until nearly smoking. Add the dal and toast, swirling the pan the entire time, until it takes on a light golden-brown color. Immediately transfer the dal to a bowl or onto a plate to prevent it from over toasting. In a food processor, combine the toasted dal and the rest of the ingredients and blend until quite smooth (it will still be a little chunky). Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, to achieve a thick consistency that holds together on a spoon and is not runny. Taste and season with additional salt and lemon juice according to taste.

(Recipe reprinted with permission from Chaat by Maneet Chauhan and Jody Eddy copyright © 2020. Photographs by Linda Xiao. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC.)