Chaat is an Indian snack that can be made with a variety of starchy bases that are sprinkled with a tangy spice mix (Chaat Masala), drizzled with both fruit and green chutneys, and topped with crunchy bits. Sometimes yogurt is involved. To me, this might be the world’s most perfect and adaptable food. I eat a lot of roasted vegetable chaat in the fall and winter. Please check out my recipe for Butternut Squash Chaat and Aloo Chaat Inspired Oven Fries. This version is lighter and features lots of crispy seasonal vegetables. This is a really fantastic packed lunch option, especially if you have a tiffin or bento box to keep the components separate until you want to mix them together and eat them!

We made this Chaat at last year’s Run a Luncheonette Cooking Camp- a week long cooking camp that I do with Brooklyn Apple Academy that culminates in a dinner that we serve to the families in the the Sunview Luncheonette. If you are interested in sending your child to our camp follow this link immediately!

We focus on a different theme each year and last year we explored Indian food. You can read about the entire menu in this post. By the time I posted about last year’s camp menu, cucumber season had passed, so I wanted to give this delightful dish it’s own post while the cukes abundant. I’ve been making it with the cucumbers from my farmshare, but it is even more excellent with those small persian cucumbers if you can get your hands on them.

When we served this Chaat at camp, the kids gave the parents a choice of …

• starchy base (pototoes, chickpeas or both)
• spicy tamarind or sweet and tangy mango chutney
• cilantro peanut or mint, date & coconut chutney
• any crunchy toppings of their choice (radishes, cucumbers, sev, puffed rice)

The secret ingredient, that is ALWAYS included is Chaat Masala, a spice mix so delicious that I cannot fathom why it has not taken over the entire globe.

The kids made their own chaat masala and learned about how Amchur (mango powder) gives it the special tangy flavour. An Indian friend told me that Chaat means “lick” or “salivate” and it is this sweet tangy mango powder that creates this effect. I do beleive that some regions use dried pomegranate in chaat masala to the same effect. You can also buy ready made chaat masala at an Indian grocery. I’ve included an easy recipe below.

Summertime Chaat

Please note:

• If you want all of these recipes with the spice level already adjusted for children see the cooking camp post!
• Make in advance: Chaat Masala, fruit chutney, green chutney, boiled & chilled potatoes and chickpeas. With these things made, chaat can come together very quickly for a lunch or snack on a hot day. You can also buy sore bought chaat Masala, fruit chutney and green chutney.
• Puffed rice, sev (crispy chick pea noodles) and other delicious crunchy snacks called numkeem are all available at Indian Grocery stores. They are all worth seeking out, but you can totally just use crunchy vegetables for the topping if a trip to a specialty store is not in your life plan.

Chaat Masala 

This makes enough for a small jar, which will keep for months and allow you to make chaat out of anything you like. 

• 4 teaspoons cayenne
• 1/4 cup ground cumin
• 1/4 cup ground coriander
• 1 teaspoons turmeric
• 3 Tablespoons mango powder (amchur)
• 2 tsp salt

Fruit Chutney (choose 1)

I’ve listed two recipe options for fruit chutney. It was fun for us to offer both at our luncheonette, but you only need to make one! Store bought chutney is also totally acceptable.

Tamarind Chutney

• 4 oz tamarind pulp
• 2 and 1/2 cups boiling water
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon dry ginger
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 2 teaspoon ground roasted cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup brown sugar (if you like sweet chutney you should double this)
• 1/4 cup pitted dates, chopped

1. Soak the tamarind in the hot water for half an hour.  Strain the liquid, squeezing and mashing the pulp to get as much out as possible.
2. Combine the tamarind liquid with the other ingredients and process in a blender until smooth.
3. Adjust the seasonings.
4. Store in a sealed container in the fridge.

Sweet Mango Chutney

• 1 pound fresh mango
• the juice and zest of lemons
• 1/2 cup pitted sliced dates
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved 
• 3 cups brown sugar 
• 1 pint white vinegar
• 4 dry arbol chili peppers
• 1/2 Tbs salt

1. Put everything in a big non-reactive pot and bring it to a boil.
2. Reduce the heat and simmer until the chutney is thick and brown.
3. Allow it to cool, and store it tightly sealing jars for a couple of months in your fridge.

Green Chutney (choose 1)

I’ve listed two recipe options for green chutney. You only need to make one! Store bought chutney is also totally acceptable.

Cilantro Peanut Chutney

(adapted from Made in India by Meera Sodha)

• 4 oz cilantro (2 bunches)
• 2 oz roasted, unsalted peanuts (scant 1/2 cup)
• The juice of 1 lemon (about 1/4 cup), seeds strained out
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 or 3 green chilis (I use 2 jalapenos, with the seeds in)

1.  Place the cilantro into a bowl of cold water and agitate to get any sand or dirt off.   Let the dirt settle and pull the clean cilantro out of the water.  Shake the cilantro to dry it a bit,  roughly chop the stems and leaves and drop them in a food processer or blender.
2. Add the peanuts, lemon juice, salt, brown sugar, turmeric and jalepenos.  Process until the chutney is smooth and creamy with some flecks of darker green.  Taste it and adjust the sugar, salt and sour until it tastes good to you!

Mint & Coconut Chutney

inspired by My New Roots

• 2 cups mint leaves
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 teaspoon minced or grated ginger
• 3 or 4 pitted medjool dates
• 1 hot green pepper with the seeds  (I use a jalapeno because they are readily available)
• the juice of 1 or 2 limes (about 1/4 cup)
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup shredded fresh or dry, unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2-4 Tablespoons water as needed

Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until their are no large clumps of date or garlic.  Taste it and adjust the sugar, salt and sour until it tastes good to you!

Assembling your Summertime Chaat

• Boiled potatoes and/ or cooked chickpeas, chilled
• Seasoning- A generous sprinkling of chaat masala (recipe above)
• Green Chutney- Mint, date, coconut chutney and/or peanut cilantro chutney (recipes above) 
• Fruit Chutney- Tamarind chutney and/or sweet mango chutney (recipes above) 
• chopped radishes
• chopped cucumbers
• puffed rice and/ or sev (crunchy chick pea noodles)
• Something else crunchy and delicious that you think of!