Chaats are beloved savory snacks that originated in India and are usually available at roadside stalls or food carts. At the core, they are salty, sweet, spicy, crunchy snacks usually involving vegetables, lentils and herbs with drizzles of chutneys and yogurt. It’s the food from India most of us transplants miss the most. Over the years, I have tried dozens of variations from corn mint chaat to the quintessential pani poori and loved them all. Here is a salad loosely based on the idea of a chaat. The yogurt provides the creamy touch, mushroom the meaty, cherry the sweet and tarragon the herbaceous finish.
ingredients
1 cup thick plain whole-milk yogurt
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Juice from half a lime
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 portobello mushrooms, sliced thick
1 cup pitted cherries
Small handful of tarragon leaves
Serves 2 to 4
instructions
Combine the plain yogurt with a pinch of salt, pepper, cumin and lime juice. Spread it onto a plate before serving.
Pit and slice the cherries and set aside.
In a frying pan, heat the olive oil and pop the coriander seeds. Immediately lower the heat to medium.
Add the sliced portobello mushrooms. Sear them on both sides for 2 to 3 minutes each, sprinkling them with the remaining salt, pepper and cumin.
Place the mushrooms over the yogurt and top with cherries and tarragon. Serve warm or at room temperature.
notes & variations
Greek yogurt works best in this recipe.
Any mushrooms will work — button, oyster or trumpet.
Instead of cherries, try minced ripe mango or peaches and instead of tarragon, try mint, cilantro or mint leaves.
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