
Chaats
are packed with fruits, vegetables, spices, herbs,
beans or lentils, and often chicken, meat or seafood, all seasoned with
a tart, zippy, slightly sweet dressing made using chaat powder. The best
chats reflect the Indians' love of the six Ayurvedic tastes: sweet,
salty, sour, salty, bitter, pungent and stringent. The chaat powder, or
chaat masala, blends multiple seasonings, including cumin, coriander,
black salt, ginger, and the tart and tangy mango powder (amchoor), which
is made from sun-dried, unripe mangoes. |