Puffed rice chaat

I HAVE just embarked on an effort to eat a salad instead of a meal to offset the overeating that took place while on holiday recently.

Picture provided by SPH

But adventure can be found even during this period of restraint in an Indian street snack that a friend’s mother had served me one Deepavali.

It is chaat, the collective name for Indian savoury snacks that come with an array of sweet and spicy chutneys.

While there are many deep-fried items among the selection, I like best the one that uses puffed rice as a base and not only because it is less oily. The nutty aroma of roasted rice is irresistible.

Besides if you add more raw vegetables such as cucumber, tomato and onion and less of the puffed rice and boiled potato, it would fit the bill as a low-caloried salad.
Before I tasted it, I would not have believed how addictive it could be.

I could not forget my first taste and hankered after it especially when I realized that it would be ideal eating for this time.

To make it, you may need to first visit Serangoon Road where the puffed rice and the spices are easily obtainable.

To serve, lay out the components of the dish for diners to help themselves to. The idea is to have a base of puffed rice, topped with diced vegetables, tossed altogether with the sour chutneys and the spices.

Sweet, sour, fresh green and spicy in one mouthful, what more would one want from a dish really?

Ingredients:

Puffed rice chaat (for 4-6)

• 5-6 cups of puffed rice, available from Serangoon Road or else use Rice Krispies
• 1 cucumber – cored and diced
• 4 tomatoes – diced
• 1 onion – diced
• 1 potato – boiled, then diced
• Chilli powder
• Cumin powder
• Amchur powder (dried mango powder)

Tamarind chutney:

• (Makes slightly more than 1 cup)
• Half cup of tamarind paste
• 11/2 cups water
• Half cup of brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt or to taste

Green chilli chutney:

• (Makes 1/2 cup)
• 3 sprigs of fresh coriander
• 6 green chillies
• 1 garlic clove
• Juice from half a lemon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar

Method:

1. Add the water to the tamarind paste to obtain a thick puree. Strain into a pot and add chopped dates, if using, sugar and salt. Heat over a gentle flame, stirring all the time till everything melds together. Taste and adjust seasoning if desired. Leave aside.
2. Place fresh coriander, chilli, garlic, lemon juice, salt and sugar into a chopper and process till you get a paste. Add a little water if you prefer it less pasty. Taste and adjust seasoning. Leave aside. Both chutneys can be made beforehand.
3. Place a cup of puffed rice in a bowl. Top with 1 Tbs. of each diced vegetable. Add a sprinkling of chilli, cumin and amchur powders, then dress with a spoonful each of tamarind and green chilli chutneys or to taste. Toss and eat immediately.