Channa Chaat (A Type of Indian Street Food)

A recipe via my mom, and other bits of this and that...

I’m back for my second newsletter ever—and given today’s date, I’ve stuck to my plan (so far) of making it monthly. I am leading with a recipe off the old blog again (though it’s a good one for summer), largely because this has been an intense month where I was distracted by the news cycle. And so, while I’ve been cooking, I haven’t exactly been experimenting. But just like last time, I have links to the recipes I did try out, including some pretty tasty Asian-style recipes and newly discovered cheap and easy tapas options, also well-suited for summer.

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RECIPE: Channa Chaat

I posted this recipe, which I learned from my mom (the chaat fanatic), on the blog three years ago. Chaat, as per a definition borrowed from Wikipedia, can be described as a variety of savory snacks typically served at food stalls or carts across the Indian subcontinent. There are many forms of chaat, and my mom taught me recipes for a couple of them.

I’m sharing this one over the other one I posted on the blog, understanding that we’re living in strange times and that finding some ingredients may be difficult for a lot of people right now. The toughest ingredient to find will likely be chaat masala, which can be purchased at Indian grocery stores, though there are a few different recipes out there to make your own. The rest really just involves a lot of fresh vegetables, chickpeas (the channas in this equation), and limes, so it’s relatively easy to put together.

Ingredients

Serves 8 to 10 as an appetizer (or you can just eat it as a giant summery main dish)

Two 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

3 to 4 potatoes (I like using Yukon Gold)

3/4 cup grape tomatoes, halved/quartered depending on their size

2 Persian cucumbers, diced

Small red onion, diced

1/4 to 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

Juice of 2 limes

2 teaspoons chaat masala (I buy the MDH brand from Indian stores)

Green chili (optional)*

Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Before you officially assemble the chaat, boil the potatoes until they're a bit soft (but not too mushy) and let them cool off before you peel and cube them.**

2. Once your potatoes have cooled down and been cut into bite-sized cubes, mix them in a large bowl with the chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumber, and onion. Squeeze the limes over the mixture, stir it all together, then add the chaat masala and mix everything together so that the ingredients are evenly distributed. (You may want to add slightly more or less masala depending on the strength of flavor you prefer).

3. Add the green chili if you're using it, followed by the cilantro, and mix everything evenly together. You can now add a bit of salt according to taste and mix again.

4. Serve as is—or with a little chaat masala, lime wedges, or Indian-style green chutney on the side.

Notes

* If you don’t have the Indian variety of green chilis available (I often keep a bunch in my freezer), jalapenos, seranno peppers, or Thai green chilis can come in handy.

** My lazy potato-boiling method for when I've got too much on my plate is to cover the potatoes with a wet paper towel and microwave them for 1.5 minutes per potato (the last time I made this amount, I use three potatoes and microwaved for six minutes).

A general note: the assembly of your chaat can be done with a little visual assist. If it looks like you have too much or too little of a certain ingredient, don't hesitate to adjust the quantities.

Adapted from Mama Rad.

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Food for Thought

The Fourth of July is coming up. We have no special plans because it’s not a good year for that, but I’m thinking of trying to make these Mini Key Lime Pies from Sally’s Baking Addiction. Sally hasn’t failed me yet and I like the idea of being able to freeze some for enjoying later. Perhaps you’d like to do that too.

Since restaurants and vacations couldn’t reasonably be in the picture this month, my husband and I recently marked our anniversary by planning out four nights of special meals at home. One of those nights, we decided to make our own tapas. This was made easy by plating sausage, cheese, and fruits. But I also made the Patatas Bravas from Parsnips + Pastries. (Note: The garlic aioli, which I actually made with regular old Hellmann’s mayo, was delightful.)

The other super-cheap, super easy item I made was this Tomato and Butter Bean Dip via Fresh Off the Grid. I just had a generic can of white beans in my pantry and added an extra half tablespoon of tomato paste. All I can say is never underestimate the power of combining some olive oil, tomato paste, and shallots… something so simple ended up being so delicious. I will make it again, and look forward to the day where I can even serve it at a party.

A couple of other dishes I made: this Sesame Ginger and Tofu Veggie Stir Fry, which turned out very flavorful in spite of the fact that I only had medium-firm tofu in my fridge, instead of the recommended extra firm (which would definitely result in crispier tofu). This easily modifiable 15 Minute Spicy Udon Stir Fry was also wonderful.

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Bites of Culture

What I’m Watching:

In the grand tradition of watching a lot of food shows amid this pandemic, we devoured Padma Lakshmi’s Taste the Nation on Hulu, with each episode looking into various U.S. immigrant cultures and their cuisines. This interview with her from Variety is pretty good and also addresses the Bon Appetit drama that played out online over the last few weeks.

On a more serious note, have you watched I May Destroy You on HBO? It’s not the easiest to watch, but it is so very good (Michaela Coel is also just an amazing show creator).

Our Marvel rewatch slowed down a little, but when we resume, we’ll be on Captain America: Civil War.

What I’m Reading:

My mind finally seems to have accepted the state of the world we live in, and whatever was blocking me from reading at my usual pace seems to have gone away (for now). I did wind up finishing The Stand. I enjoy much of Stephen King’s work, but honestly, as much as people consider this a classic… I wound up thinking it was just “okay.” Maybe reading it in a pandemic wasn’t the best idea. Maybe it was groundbreaking when it was written, but I’ve just read too much dystopian fiction by this point. But honestly, some characters were really dated stereotypes, and while I don’t think the Stephen King of today would write them that way, and I understand how writing can be a product of its time … that didn’t help me love it. (Also, the uncut version is too long.)

So what else have I read? I’ve gone through some Harley Quinn-centric graphic novels, Tommy Orange’s There There, an older Haruki Murakami title (A Wild Sheep Chase), and powered through Brit Bennet’s The Vanishing Half in two days as soon as the library e-loan was available to me. My physical to-read pile is the smallest it’s ever been, so I’m going to need to order some new books soon!

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That’s all I’ve got this month. Thanks for reading this edition of Rad Dishes! You can follow me on Instagram. I’m also on Twitter and Facebook. The original Rad Dishes still exists here.

Radhika