If we were to ask you to name five greasy, deep-fried chaat items, you would perhaps not take more than five minutes to come up with the same, however, you may need more time to think about the slightly healthier counterparts. The monsoon-favourite Bhutta is one of the frontrunners, then there is Shakarkandi ki chaat, rustled up with boiled sweet potatoes, lemon juice and chaat masala. In the same thela, you may stumble upon Kamrakh ki chaat, the star fruit chaat, in which the fruit is peeled, sliced and served with a drizzle of lemon juice and chaat masala. Therefore, while there are options, they are too far and few in between. Joining this not-so-wide league of healthy Indian street food is this protein chaat cone, which is actually creating quite a sensation online.
Clocking in more than 1.2 million views in 3 days, the viral video of protein chaat cone entered the trending section of YouTube on Tuesday. The video was posted by YouTuber Foodie Ashish. In the video we see a humble street food van, where in a woman, mashes and mixes a handful of boiled chana or white chickpeas with mung sprouts, chopped onions, tomato ketchup, green chutney and fresh paneer cubes on a Tawa. Next in line are chopped tomatoes and masalas like amchur powder, chaat masala and coriander leaves. All these are mashed together like the bhaji or pav bhaji on low heat. The woman then proceeds to take a cone and wraps it with an aluminum foil, fills it with a layer of dahi and chutney, and then with a layer of the protein-packed masala she just cooked on the tawa. It is followed by another layer of dahi and chutney, and then another layer of the protein-mix until it reaches the brim of the cone. The cone is finally garnished with more dah, mint chutney, sonth ki chutney, sev, pomegranate seeds and coriander leaves.
The comments section is abuzz with the unique and unheard of chaat that is actually not just empty calories. “Finally bhai some nice food without excess butter and cheese”, wrote a user. “Ye to dekh ke hi tasty lag rahi, kuch naya aur tasty dikha (this looks so tempting and it is also something new)”, wrote another. One of the users also pointed out how the snack looks tempting but seemed impractical to eat, “vo to thik h lekin ab ise bina giraye khaye kaise? (Looks good, but how do we eat it without spilling?)”, the user commented.
What are your thoughts on the chaat, do let us know if you would like to grab a bite of it.
