(^26) LEISURE
Food & Drink
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“Chaats are the iconic snacks of Indian
cuisine,” but they are not just that, says
Maneet Chauhan in Chaat: The Best
Recipes From the Kitchens, Markets and
Railways of India (Clarkson Potter). A
chaat is typically an “explosively delicious”
combination of tastes, textures, and fresh
healthy ingredients, and with the many
hundreds of variations to be enjoyed, chaats
represent “the very best cuisine that India
has to offer.”
The first recipe below features sprouted
beans, and requires that the beans begin
soaking a day and a half ahead of time.
That lends them a slightly fermented flavor
and boosts their nutritional benefits. Across
northern India, it’s made with matki, or
moth beans, which are easily found in Indian
markets. But you can use any small bean.
The second chaat here “feels decadent with
its mosaic of colors and plucky flavors.”
Even so, it’s very easy to throw together.
Recipe of the week
Moth ki Chaat
1 cup moth beans (or any small beans, such
as black-eyed peas or pink beans)
1 large russet potato
1 large tomato, cored and coarsely chopped
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 cucumber, coarsely chopped
Chaat: The key to unlocking the true range of Indian cuisine
3 serrano chiles, seeded and finely chopped
½ cup lightly packed coarsely chopped fresh
cilantro, plus more for garnish
2 tsp chaat masala
½ tsp Kashmiri or other red chile powder
Fresh lemon juice
Salt
Rinse beans under cold running water.
Place in a medium bowl and fill to top with
water. Soak beans at room temperature
until tender throughout, about 12 hours.
Drain beans and place in the center of a
cotton kitchen towel that is slightly damp-
ened. Wrap towel around beans to form a
pouch and tie a knot at the top. Set pouch
aside in a warm place for 24 hours. Check
beans, and if they haven’t sprouted yet,
have patience—they will sprout eventually.
Room temperature affects the growth rate.
Once beans have sprouted, bring a medium
saucepan of water to a boil and add the
unpeeled potato. Boil potato until a paring
knife easily slips into the center, about 15
minutes. Drain and set potato aside to cool
slightly. When cool enough to handle, peel
and cut into 1-inch cubes.
In a large bowl, toss together beans, potato
cubes, tomato, onion, cucumber, serranos,
cilantro, chaat masala, and chile powder.
Season to taste with lemon juice and salt
and garnish with cilantro. Serves 6.
Pineapple chaat
1 pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into
bite-size pieces
Juice of 2 limes
½ tsp sugar
1 tsp chaat masala, plus more to taste
Kashmiri or other red chile powder
Pomegranate seeds
Finely chopped fresh mint
In a large bowl, toss together first four
ingredients. Transfer to a plate and sprinkle
with chile powder and pomegranate seeds.
Adjust chaat masala seasoning and finish
with mint. Serves 4.
Street-style moth ki chaat
Though it’s still great for sharing videos with
friends, “Instagram has become one of my favor-
ite takeout menus,” said Tejal Rao in The New
York Times. Across the country, chefs who were
thrown out of work by Covid have been dream-
ing up menu themes, cooking out of homes or
borrowed spaces, and spreading word via Insta-
gram to customers eager to try something new.
The operations generally are not regulated by
health departments, but the payoff is a more per-
sonal experience: plump Russian pelmeni made
in Jessica and Trina Quinn’s Brooklyn apartment,
perhaps, or Japanese yams braised in soy sauce from Jihee Kim’s makeshift space in
Los Angeles’ Koreatown. “The setup may be scrappy,” but Kim’s food is “delicious,
beautifully presented, and travels well, and it’s a thrill to have access to it every week.”
If you want to be part of the adventure, “embrace chaos,” said Soleil Ho in the San Fran-
cisco Chronicle. Fans of pop-up dining create complicated calendar notices and alarms
to help them remember brief ordering windows. They learn to order by texts and
Instagram or Facebook DMs and to remember that this week’s pickup location might be
different from last week’s. I’ve gotten used to dragging friends to sketchy addresses and
having to assure them we won’t be murdered—even though I’m unsure myself. “Maybe
we’re walking into a trap, and my tombstone will read, ‘I was told there would be focac-
cia.’” Still, “some of the most exciting and novel experiments in food are happening at
pop-ups,” and maybe it’s time we consumers worked as hard as the people serving us.
“Not everything has to be easy or even comfortable. Sometimes, that’s the fun part.”
Instagram pop-ups: Every takeout meal an adventure
Kim with her veggies
What French whisky distillers lack in size,
said Clay Risen in the online magazine
Punch, “they make up in excitement.”
While many countries in continental
European have recently begun dabbling
in whisky, France leads the way, with 86
distilleries and an output that’s grown 10-
fold since 2010. French whisky is diverse,
“with a national character at once
obvious and hard to place.” Not all are
distilled from barley, but these are.
Brenne Single Malt ($60). Aged in Co-
gnac barrels, Brenne’s single malt has
a fl oral nose and “a sweet, almost
bubblegum quality on the palate.”
G. Rozelieures Origin Single Malt
($40). This “lightly peated” whisky
from Alsace-Lorraine tastes young,
“with a grain-forward palate of
bread, smoke, and vanilla.”
Armorik Double Maturation ($79).
Warenghem, France’s oldest
whisky distillery, makes this ac-
claimed single malt. Aged in oak
and fi nished in sherry casks, “it is
fl oral and slightly grainy.”
Spirits: French whisky
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