Thoda teekha zyaada daalna (and some more spice)”, I told Raju bhaiya, as he made the dahi wale golgappe for me last evening. “Masala hi toh sab kuch hai madam (the masala is everything)!” he exclaimed, and continued to make my plate of chaat with an added sprinkling of his teekha (spicy) masala. Raju works at the chaat thela (cart) outside Noida’s sector-25 market, which is always bustling in the evenings. Everyone has a favourite chaat here and the vendors are more than happy to customise the dishes for their patrons.
When you visit these carts, you will notice the neatly stacked pile of semi-fried aloo-tikki right beside the iron kadhais (pans), a shelf full of sooji (semolina) and aate waale golgappe (a savoury snack made of flour), steel canisters with saunth-imli (sweet tamarind) ki chutney, hari (green) chutney, chilled sweetened curd, evenly-cut slivers of ginger, green chillies, finely-chopped coriander and julienned beetroot.
Some would even have hot chole (chickpeas) for those who prefer chole tikki and of course, the deep-fried cubes of potatoes that make for a fiery aloo chaat. Not to miss the secret masala that is (funnily) always kept in a masala box, which conceals its ingredients very well.
I asked Raju to take me through his day and he was amused that someone actually has an interest in his life as a chaat wala, beyond that plate of chaat. He smiled sheepishly, telling me, “Bhaiya aur main roz subah mandi jaate hain taazi subzi lene” (my brother and I go to the vegetable market every morning to pick up the freshest vegetables). The process involves waking up early at 4am and getting to the mandi (market) by 5:30am.
Once there, Raju and his partner select fresh coriander, green chillies, ginger, and potatoes, which are a staple. Then, depending on the season, they pick vegetables such as carrot, beetroot and sweet potatoes too, and create ‘season ki khaas peshkash’ (season’s specials). They make two types of golgappe and dahi bhalle every day. Then, by 4pm, the duo set up the stall outside the market. They are sold out mostly by 8pm, such is their popularity.
Delhi, one of the oldest cities in the world, has been the melting pot of culture. Chaat is an integral part of Delhi-NCR’s food history; it comes from the word chaatna, as in to lick clean. Shirin Mehrotra, a Delhi-based food writer who is a strong exponent of exploring a city through its food culture, tells me, “Delhi has certain pockets of migrants/immigrants and they are usually a surprise package when it comes to food.
For example, the mutton ghugni and pakoras you get in Chittaranjan Park Market, or the Afghan Burger in Lajpat Nagar, or Tibetan laphing in Humayunpur. This kind of diversity is rare in any other Indian city.”
When I asked my Instagram followers to pick their favourite Delhi chaat, it led to me learning about more chaat places in the city that I am yet to explore and honestly, I cannot wait to try them all.
Vernika Awal
is a food writer who is known for her research-based articles through her blog ‘Delectable Reveries’