Chaats

A chaat is a snack that features the tastes of Indian cuisine—khatta (sour), meetha (sweet), teekha (spicy), and chatpata (tangy)—all on one plate. Embedded in Indian culture, chaat is a street food that is eaten at any time of the day. There are food carts, tea stalls, and mobile snack vendors on almost every street corner. The chaat vendor will mix up a treat for you—such as a dahi papdi chaat—and then sprinkle it with chiles for heat, or drizzle on some tamarind chutney for sourness, or dollop it with some yogurt for a cooling effect, or dust it with more chaat masala for flavor—all according to your specifications.