Back in Delhi, when I was a little girl, there used to be a tikki, chaat and golgappa vendor who would pass by our street every evening. The distinct sounds of ‘tun-tun’ that the steel ladle made as it hit the cast iron tawa and the sizzling and sputtering of the golden fried crispy potato patties were nothing less than a musical melody. For me, it was truly a sound of pure joy. The real flavours of the Delhi street food lie in the tempting chaats. The display of mouth-watering street food during Dusshera and Diwali, is simply irresistible. Street vendors serve a variety of freshly-cooked aloo-tikkis, samosas, kachoris, paapdi chaats, dahi bhallas, golgappas etc to hungry passers-by at all times of the day.
The famous aloo-tikki chaat is a golden, crispy fried potato patty, often stuffed with peas and dal masala and topped with an assortment of tangy,spicy sweet and sour chutneys, a creamy spiced yoghurt or both. It is assembled in a little, dried leaf plate known as dona and is possibly the mother of all the street food experiences.
Recipe: Serves 4
ingredients
For serving
Green chutney 1/4 cup
Sweet tamarind chutney 1/2 cup
Beaten curd 1/2 cup
method