The meaning of chickpea chaat
As of today morning I had an entirely different draft that I planned to send. It was on tomatoes. I was trying a new format as well. But tomatoes can wait; it'll still be summer two weeks later. Who knows how long the lockdown will last though? When will this major public health crisis get resolved? What is the future going to look like? When will the fucking uncertainty stop?
During times like these, it's seems difficult to live life normally. To eat, talk, take a walk like you've always done seems peculiar right now, but it is an immense privilege. The immediate future is a blur. I've been finding it especially hard to wake up and get into a normal routine every day. Sorry, but it just feels downright unnecessary, given that I don't have a regular job to keep myself occupied. But I think some structure is helpful, and currently, the only structure I have is this newsletter and testing out recipes for it, besides reading and watching a bit of Twin Peaks (each bloody episode is an hour long!!) every day.
Food is a good way to maintain structure in an otherwise prosaic day-to-day living situation. But the food you consume itself can also be used to disrupt. And a little disruption is very tempting right now. British anthropologist Mary Douglas in one of her finest structural works, Deciphering a Meal, breaks down the categories of meals in her home. It's a fascinating read as she analyses and discovers social boundaries through food, how patterns of meals on weekdays differ from those on weekends, how festive meals are a category of their own, and how all of this (and more) vary from family to family. She was, of course, looking at a middle class British family's eating patterns. On the other hand, my middle class Brahmin family places value on the purity of food and classifies it through a hierarchy. When I lived by myself, my eating pattern did not conform to either. If Douglas observed my eating pattern, she'd call it lawless. And then there is the whole subset of drinks to deal with. It's an interesting paper and makes you think about the eating pattern you've followed all your life.
I'm not going into more detail for now, but reading Douglas again made me think about the structure and meaning of meals during a lockdown. How is our wider social system informing what we eat and what meaning we anoint our meals? Academic thoughts aside, I thought a good answer to the 'eating pattern during lockdown' question can be answered with recipes for meals that don't necessarily have a rigid classification. Yes, they're snacks, but eat enough of it and it's a meal (sorry, not applicable to crisps out of a packet). What meaning does this have then? I'll let you answer that one.
Channa/chole/chickpea chaat
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked chickpeas
- 1 finely diced red onion
- 1 finely chopped tomato
- 1 shredded carrot
- 1/4 cup raw mango also chopped finely
- a small packet of salt crackers (Mini Cheddars work very well here; Indians look for Monaco)
- 2 tsp lemon/lime/orange juice/apple cider vinegar
- 1-2 tsp roasted cumin powder
- salt, pepper, paprika/chilli powder to taste
- finely chopped coriander leaves for garnishing
Assembly
Tbh, this started out as a recipe for papdi chaat, replacing the papdis with biscuits/crackers and adding chickpeas for protein. But I didn't have the ingredients to make two key chutneys necessary for the biscuit papdi chaat. My sister had a stroke of brilliance (but mostly hunger) and modified this recipe. It is dangerously easy and quite addictive. The best part is it takes no more than 10 minutes to make it all. Mix lemon juice, salt, pepper and chilli powder together (or pour into a jar and shake vigorously). Mix rest of the ingredients except coriander leaves and the crackers in a big bowl, add the lemon juice mixture and combine well. Add the coriander leaves and crush the crackers (not too finely but just to break it into pieces) on top and serve.
Notes
- I like the sharpness of a red onion here. If you want to use a white onion or a shallot, feel free to do so. Spring onion? Maybe not.
- In the tacos issue, I talk about how fruits are extremely welcome in a salsa. Good news! Fruits are extremely welcome in this chaat as well. I haven't tried bananas in this (and I don't think I will anytime soon) but strawberries, pomegranate, peach, pineapple, and mangoes are a great addition to this chaat.
- I'm not going to call this a salad, it's chaat. But if you want to add salad leaves and some nuts and skip the chickpeas for another protein, then yes, it may be a salad.
- Roasted cumin powder is kinda necessary; it adds this subtle earthy flavour to which I haven't found a substitute. If you have chaat masala or black salt, then yes please add those.
- If you don't have crackers, add salted crisps. Or mixture (or what the English call 'Bombay mix'). Ooh roasted peanuts!
- You could also saute the chickpeas in some spices before you add it to the vegetables. Be brave, experiment!
I mentioned two chutneys for the biscuit papdi chaat -- one is a sweet chutney, made with tamarind, dates and jaggery; the other is savoury, made with mint and water. Besides chaat, the mint chutney is a great addition to soups, meats, and even a cheese toast.
An all-purpose mint chutney
Ingredients
- 2 cups mint leaves
- 1-2 green chillies
- 2 cloves garlic
- a small piece of ginger
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp roasted cumin powder
- 1/4 tsp lemon juice
- water
Method
Blend all the ingredients above into a smooth consistency. Keep the addition of water to a minimum, you don't want a chutney that's too runny. That's all, it's that simple.
Notes
- Not enough mint? Use coriander, parsley, basil. Not spinach though. If you do want to use spinach, add nuts, some cheese and omit ginger, cumin powder and water, for a lovely pesto.
- For more of a dip, soak cashews in boiling water for 15-20 minutes. Add it towards the end to get a creamy consistency. Yogurt works as well.
- Green chillies are really nice here -- they have such a sharp heat, and along with salt and lemon juice complement the chutney really well.
- For a south Indian chutney (for dosai, idli etc), add fresh grated coconut and lose the cumin powder and lemon juice.
- One of my favourite uses for this chutney is in an open-faced cheese toast (pictured above) or on a flatbread pizza, topped with unabashedly Indian toppings/plain cheese and raw onions + green pepper, grilled till the cheese melts.
I would love to hear from you, whether it's an idea or just a chat about Shelf Offering. Reach me at seriouscheats@gmail.com.