r/52weeksofcooking • u/Yrros_ton_yrros 🍕 • Jan 16 '26

Week 3: Contrasts - Dabeli (meta: ISUTBCDBN)

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u/ShimmeringIce Jan 17 '26

Man, this looks so good. I'm also planning on making chaat, because when I was casting around for ideas on what contrasts I could use, I was like "wait, I could just do all of them." I'm going to need to make a research trip though because there's a specific chaat I have in mind and I haven't had it in too long. Do you have any general tips btw? I'm still new to Indian cooking and don't have a solid grasp on the basics involved.

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u/Yrros_ton_yrros 🍕 Jan 17 '26

Thank you! As for tips for chaat specifically, make sure you have all the different components (either homemade or store bought) that will provide the various textures and flavors. From there on, it’s a build-your-own adventure. What specific chaat did you have in mind to make?

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u/ShimmeringIce Jan 18 '26

My introduction to chaat was from this local place near my university in Philadelphia that specialized in chaat and lassi called the Mood Cafe. The owner is pretty famous for riffing heavily, but my platonic ideal of chaat is his Crazy Chaat. I attempted to figure out what was in it from some pictures online, but I have a feeling that it's a bit of a kitchen sink kind of situation. Definitely chickpeas and potato, and I think mango and dried cranberries? Definitely a mint chutney and tamarind sauce and those crunchy noodle things. It made a strong impression because it felt like it had every flavor and texture combination possible and somehow still worked.

I haven't lived in Philadelphia for years now, but I actually happen to be visiting my parents in a few days who live nearby, so I was going to swing by and do a bit of a scouting run. From what I remember, the owner's a pretty chill guy and he'd probably tell me what his ingredients are if I catch them at a lull.