Salty, Sweet, Crunchy, Savory Chaats Are Chef Maneet Chauhan's Favorite
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Frankie Roll (paratha with Aloo Chaat (fried potatoes with yogurt, Sabudana Khichdi (tapioca pearls with egg, paneer, and chutneys) tamarind, and mint chutney) peanuts and pomegranate seeds) Gol Guppa/Pani Puri (semolina puffs stuffed with potato, garbanzo beans, and spicy mint-cilantro water) SNACKSNACK Muttar Kulcha (fermented Chai (black tea cooked flatbread with spicy pea curry) with spices and milk) Dahi Papdi Chaat (flour crisp topped with Aloo Puri (spiced potato curry yogurt, tamarind chutney, and spices) served with deep-fried bread) Salty, sweet, crunchy, savory chaats are chef Maneet CITYCITYChauhan’s favorite things about Mumbai. Kulfi Falooda (eggless cardamom- XIAO LINDA (OPPOSITE): PHOTOGRAPHY and-pistachio ice cream with rose-soaked falooda noodles) MAY 2020 85 WHEN I GO TO A MARKET IN MUMBAI, THE FIRST THING that hits me is the combination of smells and sounds. There’s always somebody making pav bhaji, a Mumbai specialty consisting of a soft, buttered roll served with spicy MANGO-CASHEW KULFI POPS mashed vegetables, clanking his metal spoons and calling “Come buy pav bhaji!” to attract customers. Other vendors might be Kulfi, a super-creamy, eggless Indian ice cream that making dosas, sending the smell of butter sizzling on the griddle often comes in ice pop form, is perfect for eating while through the air. You can taste the entire country of India in wandering around a bazaar. My kulfi recipe involves just one market—one stand might serve Mumbai-influenced soaking cashews overnight, draining them, and blend- mutton kebabs while the next one over has pakoras from Delhi. ing the nuts with condensed milk, mint, and cardamom There could be chow mein from Eastern India, chole bhature seeds. The liquid that’s extracted from this cashew mix- (spiced chickpeas with puffy fried bread) from the north, and ture gets whisked together with more condensed milk, dosas from the south. And there are newer creations, too, like mango pulp, heavy cream, saffron, and salt, and then veggie burgers with fries. Everywhere, there are people selling frozen into ice pop molds. The sprinkling of pistachios bangles and local artifacts. It’s absolutely the most beautiful adds a fun crackle and extra nuttiness. Recipe p. 116. chaos on the planet. To me, the markets are about indulgence. Last spring, when I was in Mumbai, I met up with my college friends at Mohammed Ali Road, a snacker’s paradise near the Chippi Chawl area. It’s one of Mumbai’s most famous khau gallis (“eat streets”) and is lined with food stalls. My friends and I went from one to another, tasting anything that came our way: baida roti (an egg-fried roti with mutton filling), mutton kheema pav (minced meat served with warm buttered buns), and, of course, chaats galore. Chaat is a category of Indian cuisine that roughly means “snacks.” The word “chaat” is Hindi for “to lick.” This is a literal translation: The flavor combinations of chaats are so amazing SPRING PEA CHAAT WITH LEMON RAITA MASALA PANEER KATHI ROLLS that you’re licking your plate, your bowl, your hand! I love that One of my favorite chaats is muttar chaat, a savory, When you buy a kathi roll—usually a kebab in a fresh there’s so much variety within chaats. crunchy pea salad with lots of different textures and flatbread—at a market in Mumbai, it’s wrapped in foil Chaats and the world of street food that you find at the mar- flavors. (“Muttar” means peas.) I put my own spin on and meant to be eaten on the go: a true street food. The kets throughout India (pictured on the previous spread) are the traditional muttar chaat with this three-pea version best part about a kathi roll is the contrast in inspiration for my newest restaurant, Chaatable, in Nashville, and for my forthcoming cookbook, Chaat: Recipes from the that includes sugar snap peas, snow peas, and shelled textures, which are highlighted in my vegetarian Kitchens, Markets, and Railways of India (Clarkson Potter, English peas, all cooked together until tender. The peas version. There’s soft, warmed cheese in a spiced yogurt October 2020). They can be sweet or savory, crunchy or creamy, are topped with a tangy lemon raita and a spicy, herba- marinade, charred bell peppers and onion, and a cool, spicy or salty ... though to tell you the truth, many of my favor- ceous mango-mint chutney. The tartness and sweetness crunchy, tangy cabbage salad. It’s all held together ites—as in the recipes that follow—are all of those things at once! of the toppings are what make this chaat really fun. by the wrap: a flaky, chewy, still-toasty-from-the-oven —AS TOLD TO NINA FRIEND Recipe p. 116. paratha flatbread. Recipe p. 116. FOOD STYLING: TORIE COX; PROP STYLING: THOM DRIVER STYLING: PROP COX; TORIE STYLING: FOOD 86 MAY 2020 Food Photography by Victor Protasio MAY 2020 87 Strawberry-Rhubarb Chaat MANEET’S ACTIVE 35 MIN; TOTAL 1 HR 45 MIN STRAWBERRY-RHUBARB CHAAT MUMBAI SERVES 4 You do not get strawberry-rhubarb chaat in India—this Chaat is no single dish or recipe; it encom- is completely my take on it. This sweet and spicy salad passes a range of snacks with a riot of tex- adds several other flavors into the mix, like mint leaves, FLY tures and flavors. Here, tart rhubarb plays fresh ginger, and red chile powder. The rhubarb chutney off the sweetness of strawberries; puffed TRAVEL NONSTOP gives sweetness. The masala boondi, a puffed chickpea chickpea cereal (boondi) delivers that Delta Airlines recently Ghatkopar cereal, gives crunchiness. When possible, I like to use started offering daily non- essential crunch. half red strawberries and half white strawberries to pro- stop flights between New York and Mumbai, joining Chembur 1 lb. fresh rhubarb stalks vide another layer of sweetness (and an additional pop Khau Galli United Airlines and Air India 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil of color), but the key is to use the freshest ones avail- in serving Mumbai from New 11/2 tsp. panch phoron (Indian whole York City. able. Recipe at right. five-spice blend) (such as Swad Panch Puran) STAY 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar MUMBAI 2 Tbsp. grated peeled fresh ginger SOHO HOUSE Between a rooftop perfect 1 tsp. white vinegar for watching sunsets and 1/2 tsp. Kashmiri red chile powder or a prime location overlook- Hungarian hot paprika ing Juhu Beach, all housed 1/4 tsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste within a stunning 11-story townhouse, Soho House is 2 cups halved fresh strawberries a fun, chic place from which 1 Tbsp. roughly torn fresh mint, plus to explore Mumbai. (Rooms small mint leaves, for garnish from $90, sohohouse 11/2 tsp. fresh lime juice (optional) mumbai.com) Chowpatty Beach 1 /4 cup masala boondi (such as Anand) 1 Mohammed Ali Road or /4 cup crisp rice cereal (such as WHERE TO EAT Rice Krispies) Zaveri Bazaar 1/4 tsp. chaat masala (such as MDH THE BOMBAY CANTEEN SNDT to Chef Floyd Cardoz’s Bombay Cross Maidan Chunky Chat Masala) Canteen is a hybrid café and Khau Galli bar that serves local classics 1. Thinly slice about half of 1 rhubarb stalk and great cocktails. (Pro tip: MUMBAI into 1/8-inch-thick half-moons to yield 1 Check out Cardoz’s other cup. Set aside. Chop remaining rhubarb Mumbai restaurant, too, a stalks into 1/2-inch pieces. Goan and Portuguese spot called O Pedro.) 2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium. (thebombaycanteen.com) Add panch phoron; cook, stirring often, until sizzling and fragrant, about 2 min- MASQUE MOHAMMED ALI ROAD utes. Stir in chopped rhubarb, brown Masque, one of Food & This bustling avenue in a sugar, ginger, vinegar, and chile pow- Wine’s and Travel + Leisure’s Muslim community is the der. Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring 2019 World’s Best place to sample India’s meat- Restaurants, offers a occasionally, until mixture is jammy and heavy Mughlai cuisine. It 1 10-course chef’s tasting reduced to about 1 /3 cups, about 25 min- especially comes to life after menu. Chef Prateek Sadhu, utes. Stir in salt. Transfer chutney mixture sunset during the month of a Noma and Alinea alum, to a bowl. Let cool, then refrigerate until WHERE TO SNACK Ramadan (this year, April cooks food rooted in Indian Chef and Chopped judge Maneet Chauhan co-owns four 23–May 23). ready to use. flavors with a focus on restaurants in Nashville: Chaatable, Chauhan Ale & Masala CHEMBUR KHAU GALLI Kashmiri cuisine. 3. Toss together strawberries and torn House, Tànsuŏ, and The Mockingbird. Punjabi and Sindhi food are SNDT TO CROSS MAIDAN (masquerestaurant.com) mint in a medium bowl; if strawberries the draw at this khau galli KHAU GALLI are sweet, add lime juice. Season to taste (“eat street”) near Between Shreemati Nathibai SHREE THAKER with salt. Ghatkopar East. I go for Damodar Thackersey Wom- BHOJANALAY kulchas, or leavened flat- en’s University and Cross Shree Thaker Bhojanalay, 4. To serve, spread 1 tablespoon chutney breads, and dal pakwan, Maidan, a public park, is this PAV BHAJI another spot on our World’s in a 4-inch circle on each of 4 plates. which are chickpeas with street market with the best Best Restaurants list in Arrange strawberry mixture evenly on top Mumbai is known for its pav bhaji. “Pav” is the roll, fried bread. Bombay sandwiches (an 2019, has been serving Guja- of chutney; top with rhubarb half-moons epic grilled sandwich with and “bhaji” is the mixture of vegetables.