Various varieties of Chaat are some of most popular Indian street food dishes and quite more than just snacks for people in India. Chaat is among the lightest, cheapest and most convenient meal to have when someone is in a hurry. Indian street food is incomplete without a mention of chaat. A confusing point that many people don’t get is that a lot of Indian street food items are called chaat. Some of more popular chaat dishes are papdi chaat, gol gappa also called paani puri,and bhalla chaat. Chaat is a street food dish, but some kind of it always served during most parties in India. Even posh, high-end restaurants have started serving chaat items, but they are often beaten by the street food vendors who have been doing it for generations A large number of chaat food items exist in India, many with completely different flavours, looks and ingredients from the rest. Many chaats are eaten cool and thus are enjoyable even in summer. Pani puris for example, are just water flavoured with digestive spices served in hollow balls made of crisp flour. Sometimes they are garnished with chick peas and boiled mashed potatoes. The flavoured water is usually salty made using pudina (mint), rock salt, pepper, and some other ingredients depending upon where you eat it. For people who like sweetness, bit of sweet and tangy tamarind chutney is added. A number of different flavours among pani puris are available catering to almost every type of fan. The flavoured water is considered to help with digestion and is useful in preventing dehydration during hot summers of India. Many people drink pani puri water by cups.
Puris are the most common ingredients for other types of chaats. They are small, crisp and crackle loudly when broken. Boiled or fried potatoes and two or more types of chutney ( a type of sauce) are also used. One chutney, made of imli (tamarind) is sweet and tangy . Second one is spicy and made of pudina (mint), ginger and green chillies.
Many street food items, including chaat may or may not have dahi (curd, yooghurt), another popular food item in India. It helps with digestion and makes tolerating excess spiciness easy for people who are not used to it. Dahi bhalla chaat is a very popular and tasty street food item, specially popular during summers. The yoghurt is thickened and sometimes sweetened, giving it a smooth creamy texture which gels really well with bhalla . It is sometimes sprinkled with chaat masala, onion garnishing and bits of fried potatoes. Chaat masala is another thing which helps with digestion but is used more in a wa, not just to increase the flavours. It may have different varieties and ingredients in different places. Most popular are powders of , dried raw mango (aam choor), ginger, pepper, rock salt and dried pomegranates ( anaar daana). Apart from their use as chaat masala, these ingredients are also used in combination with other different ingredients as churan to help with digestion.
Bhel puri, from Maharashtra is a very tasty light snack made of sev ( thin noodle like crisps made of besan) and puffed rice. They are sprinkled with chaat masala, chutney and garnished with tomatoes and onions. It’s a good snack to have, light on stomach and low on oil.
Aaloo tikki is another very popular chaat dish made of boiled and then crisply fried potato cakes. They are served as soon as they are cooked, garnished with chaat masala, chutney and sometimes yoghurt. It’s a heavy dish due to fried potatoes but it’s popular all the same. McDonalds in India even launched a McAaloo Tikki burger to cash in on its popularity. Even if the chaat may seem heavy or tough to digest, yoghurt and chat masala make sure that your digestive system stays fit and healthy. As with everything else, it’s not good to eat chaat in excess, especially if you don’t know about Indian food in details
How to eat chaat or any other food in India
While traveling in Delhi or any other Indian city, you will find a number of street food vendors selling different varities of food with chaat vendors being a significant majority. Some of them will be there just to make a quick buck and be done with the whole thing, while others serve their food with pride and care for customers. Important thing is to know how to distinguish between the two. Good street food vendors care for their clientele and serve only the best quality food. You can tell it from their loyal customers.
Make sure that the food vendors you visit obey basic hygiene rules. Confirm that the food ingredients are covered and protected from dust and flies. Most street food vendors use disposable plates, but if they are not, make sure that they are clean. Read this article to know more about how to keep safe from water and food related problems while traveling.
We hope that this article will help you enjoy Indian street food, specially chaat better. Happy munching. Contact us for feedback, queries or for booking an Indian street food tour.
Haryana is one of the wealthiest states in India with kindhearted people. The occupation of the majority of the people is agriculture and dairy. Predominantly, Haryanvi diet is a vegetarian one and they consume a lot of milk and ghee. Haryana is also referred to as ‘The Land of Rotis”. Alsi ki Pinni is prepared with alsi (flaxseed), whole wheat flour, sugar, ghee, nuts and cardamom powder. This sweet is not only delicious but also very healthy. Alsi is high in fiber, omega 3, iron and potassium among others. Bajra Aloo Roti is prepared with a mix of bajra flour, mashed potatoes, ginger garlic paste, coriander leaves, garam masala. It is served hot with white butter with raita as accompaniments. It tastes heavenly and just melts in the mouth. Hara Dhania Cholia is a mix of green chickpeas and variety of vegetables. It is prepared with onion, tomato, red chili powder, cumin seeds, coriander leaves and turmeric amongst others. It is a rare and unique combination that is popular in Haryana and is eaten with chapatis or paranthas. Meethe Chawal or sweet rice are prepared using basmati rice, ghee, and sugar along with some cardamom and saffron. Basmati rice grown in Haryana is the best. The dish is very famous and is served during Basant Panchami festival.Every individual must try it at least once.
Malcha Marg is a nice, quiet place for spending a lazy day doing nothing away from deafening traffic and crowd of New Delhi. The opening of Schengen- Deli, Bistro, Pub in the area has added one more place to relax and have some good food and drinks. The property commands a nice, green view of the area from it’s small but well designed outdoor seating. Upon entering, the place looks small, but there are 3 floors and one basement, each with a different decor and ambiance including one outdoor section. We were particularly impressed by the wall art and innovative use of furniture and space. Interiors are an amalgam of different styles and are tastefully done. The designers have done a great job of getting the best out of small area on each floor and it doesn’t feel cramped or congested even with a fairly large number of guests. According to management, the basement will have a European themed deli soon. Our time of visit was late afternoon with a weak sun and we decided to sit on the balcony outdoors. Both food and drinks menu are fairly detailed and have a number of generic as well as special items. We were hungry and wanted to taste as many dishes as possible. We requested Chef Piyush to suggest a few dishes of his choice and after asking us about our preferences, he suggested a few which went on perfectly well with our palettes. To begin with, we were served Roast Pumpkin and Scamorza Soup with cinnamon. It was thick, mildly flavoured and had great aroma. Addition of a small cinnamon stick was a nice touch. Bread basket had 4 different breads and bread sticks. Each one was soft and freshly baked. Next serving was that of Rocket, Apple and Walnut salad along with Mushroom and Haloumi Kebabs. Not everyone is a big fan of salads, but this one with glazed walnuts, green apple slices and fragrant rocket leaves was a pleasant surprise. The flavours were quite good with no extras like olive oil, vinegar etc to mask the taste. The kebabs were made of shiitake mushrooms, button mushrooms, haloumi cheese, tomatoes and bell peppers served on a wooden skewer. Cheese and mushrooms were cooked to perfection while tomatoes and bell peppers were fresh and juicy. While we were tasting these, Gaurav the bartender of place served Monk’s Habit, a white rum based cocktail with cardamom, hazel nut and pineapple. The drink was slightly on the sweeter side with a mild alcohol kick. Next item on the serving menu was pasta cooked in red Arrabiata sauce. Normally it’s supposed to be spicy, but the most dominating flavour was that of ripe tomatoes which was slightly disappointing. By this time, we had finished Monk’s Habit and asked Gaurav for his specialty drinks. He came back with Raz Matazz and Garoth. Former is a vodka and cointreau drink mixed with grape juice and lime leaves. It comes with a nice refreshing fruity flavour and is a great drink for warm days. Garoth on the other hand was served warm as a winter drink and it was our unanimous favourite. It was a blend of brandy, cognac served with ginger, lemon slices, star anise. This is one thing that one should absolutely try. We requested Piyush to suggest something again for main course and he brought a delicious looking Braised Lamb Shanks on Ratatouille. If there is a benchmark for it, we’ll have to give full marks for the way of presentation. The lamb shank was served along with mashed potatoes and a mix of different vegetables like pumpkin, tomatoes etc. The meat was well cooked, soft and came off easily from the bone. We had it with a small helping of tabasco sauce. The dessert was a mouth watering double chocolate mousse which tasted as good as it looked with a strawberry topping. It had a thick texture, multiple chocolate layers and felt great in mouth. SUMMARY & COMMENTS: Overall it’s a beautiful place with great interior, peaceful location, good drinks and food menu with well trained and attentive staff. Food is cooked according to western palettes and is great choice for expatriates who live nearby as well as locals who want to taste good European cuisine. During the time we were there, there were 4-5 tables occupied by foreigners including families. The food is very good and only thing that we didn’t like that much was the pasta. Everything else including the salad, kebabs and lamb were cooked well and worth checking out. Cocktails are excellent and you can trust the staff to bring you the best according to your preferences. Prices are reasonable considering the quality of service, location and ambiance of the place. The bar is a nice place for hanging out with friends after work. Other two floors including the terrace are perfect for almost everything including long, leisurely meals and quick business lunches.
Indian Food Blog : Mizoram Mizoram food is mild in taste and is tinted with influences of Chinese cuisine. What makes Mizoram’s food special, is its traditional style of serving on the banana leaves. The food in Mizoram is prepared using mustard oil that gives a distinct flavour to the dishes, especially fish that is loved by the people in Mizoram. Bai is made of steamed vegetables along with pork, spinach and bamboo shoot, and spiced with local herbs. It’s mostly prepared with pork sauce (made out of pork and mustard). Bai is one of the most easily available dishes in Aizawl. Bamboo shoot fry is for all the vegetarian lovers. It has fried bamboo tossed with herbs along with shitake mushrooms and other vegetables .It is known as a light snack in Mizoram and generally enjoyed in the evening along with tea. Koat Pitha are deep fried fritters with rice flour and banana with the addition of fish. It has a crispy outer and a soft inner layer. It’s the best dish to pair with chai. Vawksa Rep is made with stir fried smoked pork with baby spinach and oyster mushrooms along with crushed garlic, ginger, green chilli and pepper. This dry dish is a popular dish in Mizoram that is eaten with steamed or sticky rice.
Gulab Jamun Recipe Gulab Jamun is a popular Indian sweet dish that can be served on ethnic festivals or events. In India, there are millions of people who love eating them. They can be best served with Ice-cream or simply served hot. Ingredients required:- 6 cups Water. 2.5 cups sugar. ¼ Cup Thickened milk. 1 tsp. semolina. Oil. 3 cups Milk Powder. Method:- In a medium sized container, mix semolina, flour, milk powder and then knead them with the thickened cream to make it soft. Make balls in the size that you want. Dry fry the balls on low heat. In other container, prepare sugar syrup and then add the cooked balls. Serve hot (plain) or top it up with vanilla ice-cream.
When it comes to food, Maharashtra will never disappoint you. From the world famous pav bhaji to the delicious bhelpuri, Maharashtra has a lot to offer to food lovers. It is food heaven for both vegetarians and non vegetarians alike. Basundi is a sweet dish made in Maharashtra. It is condensed by boiling the sweetened milk on low heat which gives it a nice flavour. Sugar, cardamom or saffron is added to augment the flavour and texture. Different types of basundi are custard apple basundi and angoor basundi. Bhelpuri is a savoury snack common in Maharashtra.It is a mixture of puffed rice, chopped onions,chopped tomatoes,tamarind chutney. Bhelpuri can be served in a lot of ways, but usually it is served on a paper which is folded in the form of a cone and is consumed using a paper spoon. Misal pav has a spicy and tangy lentil curry which is made with moth beans and is served with Pav bread. At times, it is eaten with yoghurt to lessen the spice.It is decorated with a slice of Lemon and Onion Coriander sprinkled on it. This street food is readily available at any street food joint and served hot. Modak is extensively eaten during the Ganesh Chaturthi Festival all around the state. The sweet filling is made up of fresh-grated coconut and jaggery, while the soft shell is made from rice flour, or wheat flour mixed with maida flour. The dumpling can be fried or steamed. Pav Bhaji is one of the spiciest, vegetarian dish. It is a mixture of boiled vegetables along with a lot of Spices and Onion Coriander mixture for garnish.Fresh and thick slices of bread, smothered in butter served with a delicious mix of moderately spiced vegetables. Vada Pav is the most favorite snack in Maharashtra.It is Potato Bhaji ball dipped in Besan Flour and fried in hot oil. It is stuffed in Pav with Garlic Chutney and fried Chilli. VadaPav is super delicious when served hot- hot spicy and slight crunchiness. It is also known as ‘INDIAN BURGER’.
Idlis Recipe Idli is a very famous dish in India. It is originally from South India but is made everywhere and relished by everyone. It’s a breakfast recipe edible for old age to children as it is very soft. Diet conscious people have idlis as a first on their list. Ingredients: 1 cup – split black gram 1 cup –rice 1 tsp – fenugreek seeds (optional ) Salt to taste Methodology: Soak rice, split black gram, and fenugreek seeds in lots of water. Leave it overnight. Grind the mixture and leave it to ferment for a day. It should have the consistency of a batter after grinding. Grease the idli molds and set the batter into them. Heat water in the idli cooker till it starts boiling. Steam cook for about 12-15 minutes on a high flame. Turn off the gas and leave it for 15-20 minutes as it’s difficult to remove the idlis when extremely hot. Serve it with hot sambhar.
Paneer Curry Recipe Paneer is nothing but Cottage Cheese. A Paneer curry is just another curry where curry means sauce in Tamil, a language in South India. Combination of masalas with other ingredients is a curry. Paneer curry is very popular in North India. Ingredients: Paneer – 200 gms. Tomato puree – 2 nos. Cumin Seeds – ½ tsp. Garlic- Ginger paste -1 tsp. Turmeric powder – ½ tsp. Chilli powder- ½ tsp. Cumin Powder- ½ tsp. Garam masala powder – ½ tsp. Coriander powder – ½ tsp. Cashew nuts: 10-12 nos (ground to a paste). Salt as required. Methodology: Cut paneer into small cubes and keep aside. Add oil in a heavy bottomed pot, when hot enough add cumin seeds. Once they splutter add the ginger garlic paste. Do not let it stick to the bottom of the vessel. Keep adding little water. Now take little water add all the masalas in it and mix well. Add this to the pot and fry the masalas well till oil separates. Add tomato puree and sauté till oil separate. Add the cashew nut paste and then the cubed pieces of Paneer. In case the gravy is too dry add little water accordingly. Let the gravy boil a little and then serve hot.
Being a state which produces staple food in abundance, a great part of the foods of Chhattisgarh consists of the staple crops such as Rice, Bajra, Jawar. The food of Chattisgarh is mostly inspired from its neighboring states. Aamat is considered as the Sambhar of Bastar region . This delectable delicacy is prepared with mixed vegetables which is cooked along with the ginger garlic paste and various spices to enhance the flavor of the dish. Traditionally, the dish has been prepared in the bamboo shoots. Bara is a unique variant of the Vada. Bara is basically a light snack which is made from fermented Urad Dal . Various vegetables and spices are added along with the fermented lentils to add perfection to this famous dish of the state. The minimum oil usage makes Bara super light and super healthy to eat. Chilla is also known as Chhattisgarhi dosa.It is made up of rice flour and Urad dal. An official dish of morning or evening served with different types of chutney with no filling inside the chilla. Fara is a dish made up of rice flour, cooked in steam and then shallow fried. This dish has to be served with complimentary green chutney or even sauce can work. Fara are made in the form of dumpling . Sabudana ki Khichdi is one of the most healthy and delicious dishes of Chhattisgarh. Sabudana Ki Khichdi is prepared with the soaked Sabudana balls. To add the flavor to the dish, vegetables and spices are added that provides a delicious taste to the plate.
