March 20, 2019March 20, 2019 4min readBy Zheel Patel
What is better than playing Holi with colors? Celebrating Holi with three colorful and delightful chaats! I have got delicious and colorful treats for your eyes and tummies this Holi! These little chat bites are just as delicious as they look. They are quick, easy and super fun to serve for any occasion. All the chaats come together in under 20 minutes! I hope you all will enjoy these chaats this festive season! Happy Holi!
Colorful Mung Canapes
The colorful mung canapes is a tasty bite-size chaat that can be easily served on your favorite cracker. I used saltine crackers because that’s what I had on hand, but it would also taste great on a Ritz cracker or even Wheat Thins.
Serving size: 10-12 Crackers
Ingredients
10-12 saltine crackers
1 large potato, boiled
½ cup sprouted mung
½ tomato, deseeded and diced
½ apple, diced
1 ½ tsp green chutney
½ tsp red chili powder
½ tsp chaat masala
½ lemon, juiced
Salt to taste
Fine sev (optional)
Directions
In a bowl, mash the boiled potato, add green chutney to it, ¼ tsp red chili powder, ¼ tsp chaat masala, salt to taste mix well and set aside until ready to use.
In a bowl add sprouted mung, diced tomatoes, apple, the reaming red chili powder, chaat masala, lemon juice, and salt mix well.
On the cracker spread the potato mixture, and then top it with sprouted mung, top it some sev (if using), and chaat masala.
Spicy fried crunchy gram flour puffs. Traditionally it’s eaten with yogurt (dahi boondi). This is a twist on the traditional recipe to make it more versatile. Boondi chaat is very a colorful dish, it’s one of those dishes you eat with your eyes first! I love how easy it is to make and the fact that it doesn’t require me to turn my stove on is just icing on the cake. Also, it’s FILLED with so many yummy veggies and fruits as well. Make this as an appetizer at your next party and impress your guests, be sure to tag me and share how you liked this. As always, stay happy and stay hungry!
Serving size: 6-8
Ingredients
Masala Boondi (store bought, bought mine at Patel brothers)
Fine sev (optional)
1 Carrot diced
1 Green pepper diced
1 Red bell pepper diced
1 Red apple diced
1 Green apple diced
4 Green grapes halved
4 Red grapes halved
1 Beets shredded
1 Tomato diced
4 Stalk Green onion chopped
1 tsp red chili powder
Salt to taste (optional)
1 tbs Chaat Masala
Half of a lemon
1 tsp Olive oil
Chopped cilantro for garnish
Directions
Mix all the veggies and fruit in a large bowl. Put everything in a cheesecloth and squeeze out all the access liquid.
Put the fruit and veggie mixture in a big bowl – add olive oil, chaat masala, red chili powder, and salt if using and mix.
Add the pack of the masala boondi when ready to serve. Squeeze the lemon juice, top with the fine sev (if desired), and add cilantro.
Give everything one last mix and serve, add extra sev and cilantro (if desired) on top and enjoy!
This chaat basket will satisfy all your taste buds, it’s spicy, tangy, and a little sweet. You get the tartness from the pomegranates and it’s crunchy from the chaana dal and the chaat basket. This is an easy appetizer that comes together in just 10 minutes. You can prep everything ahead of time, I would suggest mixing everything right before serving to prevent from getting soggy. Hope you enjoy this easy yet super fancy looking appetizer.
Serving size: 15 baskets
Ingredients
15 chaat baskets
1 cup pomegranate arils
1 cup chaana dal (Namkeen)
1 small potato, boiled and finely chopped
1 small tomato, deseeded and chopped finely
1 jalapeño, deseeded and chopped finely
2-3 sprigs of green onions, finely chopped
4-5 sprigs of cilantro, finely chopped
1 tbsp green chutney
1 tbsp red sweet chutney
½ tsp red chili powder
Salt to taste
Chaat masala
Lime (optional)
Fine sev (optinal)
Directions
In a bowl, mix pomegranate arils, chaana dal, potato, tomato, jalapeño, green onions, cilantro, red and green chutney, and all the spices. Squeeze a little lime on top (if using) and mix well.
Fill the chaat baskets with the chaat mixture, top it with the fine sev (if using).
January 3, 2023January 10, 2023 3min readBy Subrina Singh
Curried Chicken with Roti Parata or Roti, popular Middle Eastern/Indian cuisine
It is officially that time of year—the holiday season. There’s nothing like Christmas and New Year’s in the West Indies. Between the pepperpot in Guyana and the palm trees decorated in lights in Trinidad, the home food, warm weather and laid-back ambiance makes us wish we could escape the cold and head back to the Caribbean. Most of us, however, cannot “take holiday” and find ourselves hungry for fresh dhal puri and doubles. But, thanks to these Indo-Caribbean food bloggers, we can bring the motherland to our kitchens.
From Diwali mithai specialties to curry chicken, Matthew is creating a name for himself as a young Guyanese food blogger. He makes a great effort to incorporate Hindu holidays and traditions on his Instagram account, in conjunction with the customary foods and sweets associated with these religious events. However, his expertise does not end there, with new and alternative recipes for classic dishes such as curry chicken and bhara, Matthew takes center stage sharing both traditional Guyanese dishes as well as specific religious dishes made for festivals. His most popular YouTube video, with 1.4 million views, features his grandmother and focuses on the best tips to make the softest Guyanese paratha roti. In addition, his YouTube account is home to many videos offering guidance to Indo Caribbean cooking. Find recipes at @mattews.guyanese.cooking
Natasha Laggan of Trini Cooking with Natasha is wildly popular throughout the Caribbean and the U.S. With humble beginnings, Natasha credits her love of food to her family’s business. She speaks of the nostalgia home food provides her as she reminisces memories of her grandmother’s cooking and helping her mother make sandwiches early in the morning. Featured by Forbes, Natasha grew her Facebook following quickly throughout the pandemic by posting old YouTube videos. Today, she has more than 1 million followers on Facebook and over 200K followers on YouTube. She uses her passion for cooking and Trinidadian culture to bring easy-to-follow recipes to viewers. Her following has now reached the West Indian diaspora globally as she has also become a brand ambassador to two well-known food companies. Follow the food expert @trinicookingwithnatasha.
With over 100K followers on YouTube, Ria is quite the expert when it comes to making roti. Her dhal puri, sada roti and paratha roti tutorials have over 1M views! However, her expertise does not stop there. Of the 180 YouTube tutorials, her recipes vary from curry to other Trinidadian favorites like macaroni pie and pigtail soup. Just scrolling through her YouTube page makes your mouth water. From doubles to classic Trinidad bakes like pound cake and sweet bread, she provides precision and anecdotal commentary while guiding you through the familiarity of home food. Check out Ria’s page at @cookingwithria.
Known as Chef Devan, Devan Rajkumar embraces his Guyanese Canadian heritage by creating recipes combining flavors of both the East and West Indies. His love of food has allowed him to expand his role to judge in a popular Canadian cooking show: Food Network Canada’s Fire Masters. His cooking often blends the flavors of multiple cultures but also creates the classic recipes of his motherland. With a multitude of interests, Chef Dev uses his social media platform to connect with followers by sharing various aspects of his life that go beyond cooking. His most recent YouTube video provides a trailer for an upcoming video “Tastes Guyana” which shows him exploring Guyana from the inside, specifically deep parts of the inner country. To learn more about Chef Devan follow @chefdevan.
Reshmi is the chef behind the growing blog, Taste of Trinbago. A Trinidadian native who now resides in Texas, she uses her love of food and Trinidadian culture to share hacks, tips and easy recipes with West Indians throughout the globe. She finds a way to simplify traditional West Indian meals, that we once watched our elders make with curiosity. From holiday specialties like black cake to Diwali delicacies, Reshmi has brought vegetarian and non-veg recipes to followers in an extremely accessible way. She even posts recipe cards on her IG highlights for followers who may need written instructions. Her IG profile is a mix of various West Indian foods while also sharing bits of her life and even her secrets to baby food. Follow her @tasteoftrinbago.
These are just five Indo Caribbean food bloggers sharing their secrets to easy cooking. The once very daunting recipes and food instructions our parents gave have been simplified by most of these bloggers through video, voice over and modernized recipes. We no longer have to estimate a “dash, pinch or tuk” of any masala. We are just days away from Christmas and this is the perfect time to find the best-suited recipe to make that paratha for Santa.
