In India, chaat refers to both a spice blend and a salad that uses the spice blend. Indian markets sell pre-mixed chaat masalas (the spice blend) that are quite good and ready to use. However freshly made masala is the best.
This recipe makes one version of chaat powder or chaat masala, but feel free to play with the ingredient amounts to reach the balance of sour, salt, and piquancy that suits your personal taste.
If you can't find black salt, leave it out. There is no substitute for this unusual, smoky tasting form of rock salt. Though it's called black salt, it actually is more reddish when pulverized. Amchoor, being a dry powdered form of mango, adds the tartness to chaat. It's a handy ingredient for any recipe when you want to add a bit of fruity tartness without additional liquid.
Sprinkle a touch of chaat masala on salads, fruit, potatoes, or any vegetable, to perk up the flavors instantly.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Cumin Seed (Jeera)
- 1/2 tblsp dried Mint Leaves (Pudina Leaves)
- 1/4th tsp Carom (Ajwain) seeds
- 1/4th tsp Asafetida (Hing) Powder
- 1 tbsp Rock Salt (Kala Namak)
- 21/2 tblsp dried Mango (Aam) Powder
- 5 Cloves (Lavang)
- 1 tsp Ginger (Adrak) Powder
- 1 tsp Cayenne
- 1/4 tsp Tartaric Acid
- 1 tblsp Black Pepper corns (Kalimirchi)
- 2 tsp Salt (Namak)
Method
- Put cumin seeds, black peppercorns, cloves, dried mint leaves, ajwain and asafetida powder in a pan and heat gently, shaking the pan from time to time till the spices begin to smell fragrant.
- Remove from heat add rock salt and grind while still warm.
- Mix in all other ingredients, cool and store tightly bottled.