The lane in which I shop for vegetables is chock-a-block with temptations. At the start of the lane is a fellow who stocks exotic vegetables and always tries to lure me into buying some. And am I seriously tempted! Then comes this gentleman who make some of the nicest and butteriest dabeli in town. Yup, one has to skip around him and resolutely resist temptation. At the other end of the lane is this most delightful fellow who has some of the best Pani Puri, Dahi Puri, and Samosa Chaat in the world. Here I stop religiously once a week for my teekha Pani Puri.

Between all these temptations is this old Kaaka who makes some divine Chatpata Chana Chaat. He has been around for more years that I can count and is the strong-and-silent type who is constantly mixing his boiling chana in a large kadhai. What I love about his chaat is that he makes it just right without overpowering it with too many masalas. All he adds to it is tomato, onion, chaat masala, red chilli powder, and some coriander. In summers he may toss in a bit of raw mango, but that is about it. Whether you get green or black chana depends on his mood, but either way it is simply delicious.

I love Chatpata Chana Chaat because it is filling, healthy, spicy, and tangy. I could in fact eat bowls of it all day long.  I made some at home yesterday as an evening snack and here is the recipe for this wonderful snack.