Spice Up Your Life

Enjoy a taste of South India at Marple’s wonderfully colourful Chaat Cart, writes JANET REEDER

- Janet Reeder

THE first time I tried Chaat was in a shopping centre in Chennai. Two ladies were enjoying the snack and offered some for us to try. It was a delicious concoction of slightly sweet as well as spicy mix of vegetables and fruit and I was addicted. Our newly-acquired friends warned us that it was bad for the waistline but, you know, something that good has to be well worth the calories.

That was probably a decade ago. Now since the street food explosion in the UK, Chaat, which I have since learned is a word used for small plate snacks from Asia, is readily available in the UK.

Indeed it is this street food explosion which has led to the rise of an alternative Indian food scene over here. Now those of us who adore Indian food can discover a world beyond old school favourites such as chicken tikka masala, rogan josh and sag paneer and venture to restaurants offering something a little different and dare I say, more authentic.