Street Food - Chaat anardana hari mirch (Chaat with green chili and pomegranate)

Serves 6
a little vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ tsp crushed red chilies
1 small onion, finely chopped
8oz (225g) mixed mung bean sprouts and
alfalfa sprouts, rinsed and drained
1 orange
1 apple, cored
1 pomegranate
3 scallions (green onions), finely sliced
2 fresh green jalapeño or serrano chilies,
seeded and finely chopped
½ bunch of fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
naan or pita bread, cut into triangular pieces
and toasted, to serve
Fresh mango chutney
1 ripe mango, peeled and finely diced
2 fresh red chilies, seeded and
finely diced
½ tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp tamarind pulp (see p30)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1Heat a little oil in a heavy frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook the garlic
and dried chilies until aromatic. Add the onion and cook quickly until the
onion is soft and just starting to color. Add the sprouts. Continue cooking quickly,
stirring, for 2–3 minutes. Remove from the heat and turn into a bowl. Peel the
orange and cut into segments, removing any pith. Cut the orange flesh into a small
dice, then finely dice the apple. Add the orange and apple to the sprout mixture.
2To remove the seeds from the pomegranate, take the fruit in your left hand
and tap firmly all over with a wooden spoon. Cut the pomegranate in half,
hold each half over the bowl containing the sprout mixture, and continue to firmly
tap the outside of the fruit. The seeds will fall out, leaving the bitter white pith
behind. Next add the scallions, chilies, and cilantro. Toss gently to mix.
3Put all the chutney ingredients in a small saucepan. Add ½ cup water and
bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer for 12–15 minutes or until the
excess water has evaporated. Remove from the heat, and cool. Spoon about
3 tbsp of the chutney onto the sprout mixture. The mixture is then spooned onto
the naan bread and eaten at once. If serving as canapés, add the topping just
before serving.
In Mumbai, a slang word
for street food snacks is
“chaat.” Snacks such as
this are eaten all over
India at any time of
the day, and there are
hundreds of varieties. They
often have a very noticeable
contrast in tastes between
hot, sweet, salty, and sour.
This particular chaat is
served on toasted naan or
pita bread. Alternatively,
you could use pieces of fried
samosa dough, which can
be bought at any Indian
grocery store. You could even
serve it on popadums broken
into small triangles. It
makes a striking canapé
to impress your guests.

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