Trav-EL to India's North! - The Fiery Side of Meerut Chaat!

Hey from EL The Cook! 

Our new section, Trav-EL! begins with our trip to the town of Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India.

This quaint town is located east of India's capital, New Delhi.

Well known for its sports goods and its educational centres, Meerut is fascinating!

We took the opportunity to showcase our experience in the city, by starting a new series, Trav-EL. This will encompass highlights of the city and its native cuisine! 

Walking along its streets, Meerut is bought to life by its magical gallis (narrow streets), choc-a-bloc with shops interlaced with colorful garments and tiny food stalls called thelas.

Famous in Meerut is its chaat bhandaar or chaat market, where spicy snacks are freshly made on a steaming hot tava.

Chaat encompasses several snacks such as paani-puri, kachori, fiery paneer masala and dahi wada. The chaat experience is meant to be fiery at the start and sweet towards the end. This type of food will typically give your stomach a severe work-out, so arm yourself and try this food cautiously.

Deliciousness comes at a price with chaat!

Heres what we tried.

The heart of Meerut is on its streets. Her culture is reflected in her food. We stumble upon a small hand-cart titled "Sundar Chaat" or beautiful street food! An apt title for starting our food quest.

The 2 square foot cart leads up to a tiny shop in which about 6 tables are squeezed. A contraption which stands at the entrance caught our eye!

The "Sundar Chaat" cart boasts a novel way of making tandoori paneer (cottage cheese). A large rectangular pit is fitted with a make-shift stand, upon which balances skewers of marinated paneer. The pit, stuffed with hot coals, precariously balances a table fan, a top its surface!

The moment an order is yelled out, the noisy fan whizzes, heats the coal (along with blowing ash on our tables!) and gets the paneer nice and toasty! 

The result is some mind-blowing paneer chaat served up with fresh mint chutney, garnished with marinated onion rings. The paneer has a toasty crust and moist spicy centre. One bite leaves your palette experiencing a spicy hit of flavour, toned and refreshed by complimentary umami of tomato.

The overwhelming fresh, spiciness of the mint chutney just ties the dish together with such ease!

Lapping up the last piece of paneer, the next plate of food arrives hurriedly at our table! A plate of super hot, crunchy potatoes, with dollops of a cilantro chutney is placed before us.

The heat of the paneer carries forward with this dish, the spicy hit turns into a scorch with the delicious hot potatoes on the tongue! The heaps of cumin, amchur (dried mango), chilli and hing (asafoetida) turn up the heat! The cilantro chutney calms the senses, only temporarily!

On a super large flat pan, the distinct sizzle of hot oil, draws us close to the Chaat Cart's main attraction! Spicy Aloo Tikki!

Aloo Tikki or Potato Cutlets are freshly hand-made and deep fried in front of you! It is surely an art form! The street vendor shapes the marinated potato into puck shaped discs and then flings them into sizzling hot oil. The result is some super crisp, crunchy tikki's! 

But the fun doesn't stop there, Sundar Chaat, put some skilled hands to work and creates a work of art in plate!

Those crisp, hot Aloo Tikkis are covered in a dollop of fresh curds, sweet tamarind sauce, and that refreshing mint chutney. The resulting dish looks like Picasso on a plate!

The swirl of colour is just as spectacular as its decadent taste!

Exploring the plate, the chill of the fresh yogurt and the sweet tamarind chutney gives much needed relief to your flaming tastebuds! Hidden layers reveal themselves as the distinct *crack* of the tikki unveils a steamy soft centre! The cold yogurt engulfs the steaming centre..You need a bite of the steaming yet chilled yet crisp potato snacks, leaving your mouth watering for more!

Temptation takes a hard tug at you, when your in a street food mood! A simple stack of crunchy puris drew our attention next! Served as a base for the delicious paani-puri, we were so tempted!

Paani-Puri or Paani ke Batashe or Gol Gappe is legendary dish in any chaat menu. Crunchy bite sized puris are filled with spicy, tangy, herbed water and eaten in one bite! The puris are filled in front of you and the next won't be served until the previous one is finished! About 5-6 puris are served per round..

A plate of pani-puri, photographed just in time, above, before its gobbled down! The crispy puri is filled with a spicy water usually containing mint, cilantro, chilli, ginger, tamarind, black salt and cumin (yes, all that!) Gulped down the water, and the crunchy puri make a killer combination, leaving you gasping for another!

Follow our cool off chaat post here if you liked reading the fiery side of Meerut Chaat!

Meerut offers multi dimensional street food experiences on the savory side of your palette. Breaching the spice barrier on your palette a number of times, the Meerut chaat, is totally worth the heartburn!