Papdi Chaat: A Food Snob's Take on the Popular Indian Street Food
Papdi Chaat: A Food Snob's Take on the Popular Indian Street In Lucknow, in the late 1980s-1990s, where I grew up, there was nothing like Papdi Chaat . There was Aloo ki Tikiya, served with more refinement, than the " tikki " everywhere else; and matara , an exquisite chaat of white peas, mashed, formed into little patties, and then fried crisp. They were topped with just lemon and ginger and chaat masala without the indiscriminate lashings of dahi and saunth that most people in India associate with chaat . There was Dahi ki Gujiya, better than Dahi Bade, but predominantly home-made, stuffed with chironjee , dry coconut and raisins to offer a delicious contrast of flavours and textures. And then there was the Pani ke Batashe. Not gol gappe , not puchka , not pani puri . But "batashe", served with Lucknowi elan, with either the tart ...
