tamatar chaat trail in Banaras and recreating the recipe of tamatar chaat

I have made tamatar chaat earlier and have been wanting to make it again and again. Tamatar chaat or tamatari is a delicious chaat from Banaras that is said to be a secret recipe. The reality is that all the chaat walas of the city have their own versions and most of them taste great, although all of them are slightly different from each other. Isn't that interesting?

I had been planning to make my own version of tamatari for ages, it is after the tamatari trail in Banaras that I came back and made it at home too.

I have also been dreaming of a chaat party as we used to have in Banaras. A chaat party is an apt alternative to high tea in Banaras. Almost all chaat walas are into catering and most people have their own favourites too.

The chaat parties of Banaras would mean a couple of chaat walas doing the catering, cooking live chaats and serving gol gappas street style. There would be counters of tamatari, chiwda matar, dahi bade, tikki chaat and gol gappas and a few unique chaats the hosts would arrange for. Tokri chaat, chhole bhatoorey, samosa chaat, kachori subzi etc used to be the usual add ons. Mung ka halwa, gajar halwa, hot gulab jamuns and jalebis would be the standard 'live' desserts being churned out.

Oh now I am seriously craving for a chaat party.

The best alternative to a chaat party is to go on a chaat trail in banaras. And if you are like me you would go trailing one type of chaat in a day, cover as many destinations as possible, take notes and conclude the one you like the best. This is what we did last time we were in Banaras.

The first Tamatari joint we raided was the Banarasi Chat Bhandar at Sankatmochan turning. Incidentally this was the place where I had first tasted the Tamatari 2 decades ago. I know how he used to make the Tamatari in those days but he has adapted the recipe now to make it quicker to serve to the waiting customers.

Earlier he use to crush some ready alu tikkis with some red tomatoes lined up around the periphery of the huge tawa and mix a few more chutneys and spices to churn out a tangy hot and sweet tamatari. Now he brings a ready mix of tomatoes and potatoes with some peas and even cubes of paneer which he pours on the griddle and bhunoes it till the tomato mixture gets nicely caramelised.

Then he adds a rich rassa to the reduced tomato mix which has makhanas and nuts, a sprinkling of chopped onions, coriander leaves etc and it is ready to be relished. But mind you, this earthen kulhad of tangy sweet and hot concoction comes to you after a good deal of waiting as by the time he makes tamatari there is a sizable crowd around his cart.

This would be my favourite tamatar chaat for 2 reasons. One the tamatar chaat has a dominant taste of tomatoes and the tomatoes are so well caramelised. There are other places where the tamatari is tasty but the tomato drowns among the other ingredients used. The second reason for liking this tamatari is that you get to stand in open air and eat the chaat, the cart is in an open space and they have a shop just behind the cart where you can sit and eat too.

Waiting for tables and sitting in claustrophobic chaat shops can be tolerated ONLY when the chaat is superlative. The good thing is that there are superlative chaats in those chaat bhandars of Banaras of course.

The next Tamatari we tasted was at Kashi Chat Bhandar and it was a bit more spicy though quite delicious. A father and son sharing table with us had two serving of tamatari there along with a variety of other chaats. The chiwda matar and alu tikki at Kashi Chaat Bhandar is great but the tamatari needs a little more balance of flavours and a little more tomatoes in it.

We found Deena Chaat Bhandar's Tamatari quite nice. It was more tangy, the kind of tangy that comes from using desi tomatoes and the flavours were really well balanced. I am told Deena used to make better Tamatari a decade ago. I can understand that as even the Banarasi at Sankatmochan turning also used to make much better tamatari when I had eaten from his cart. Deena's tamatari is still one of the best.

All these places used to crush a few alu tikkis, then caramalise a few ripe tomatoes and mix a few more things on the go to make tamatari back then. Now they have just made it more convenient for themselves as a ready mix is easy and quick to serve.

Most of them have started adding small cubes of paneer, peas, more nuts and even dry yellow peas to the tamatari to make it more attractive. All of them have their signature versions of the tamatari chaat.

I miss the version we used to get earlier and guess what? I had a leisurely chat with the original owner of the Banarasi Chaat Bhandar at Sankatmochan turning and he told he can make the original version on order. You just tell him a day in advance and the next day he will make it for you. Now that is something I am going to do next time.

But then, after having all these tamatari versions I had to make it at home too. The recipe of tamatari has been shared earlier but here it is once again. Use desi tomatoes for best taste I recommend. Or mix a few varieties of tomatoes to get the best of of them.

Ingredients, recipe and instructions of tamatari or tamatar chaat can be seen here.

The final outcome is always delicious. At home I make it less oily but the taste is great anyways.

Have it hot.

And have it for a meal. All the nuts, ghee and khoya in the tamatari chaat makes it quite heavy and when you are cooking it at home you must enjoy a large portion. So keep the Tamatar chaat for dinner menus or smaller portions for chaat parties where you serve more chaats.

tamatar ki chaat | the famous tamatari chaat of Banaras and some pictures from dilli haat..

I know I know many of you are waiting for the tamatar ki chaat as I promised. A stupid dengue (the simple kind thankfully) was keeping me from making this wonderful chaat. After a week of khichri, soup and sandwich kinda food I am back to my pleasures of cooking.

Red luscious tomatoes were waiting to be pulped, mashed and thrashed into a flavorful chaat which reminds me of my just married days. Yes it was during our dating days and after the wedding that Arvind introduced me to the varied chaats of Banaras otherwise I would have been deprived of this heaven.

On one of the occasions when we ate this tamatar ki chaat at the Sankat mochan mod (the turn towards sankat mochan mandir in banaras) I watched the chaat wala pulping the tomatoes and mixing ingredients to make a yummy dona (a serving dish made out of leaves) of this tamatari (it's also called tamatari or just tamatar), came back home and made an exact version of home made tamatari. This time I guess I made it after years, although I have been planning to make it for a long time. Not only because I had a few people requesting for it, also because whenever I ate this tamatari in the past couple of years in banaras, I found to my utter disgust that it has transformed a lot, read deteriorated.

It has got commercialized I guess. Yes, believe me the tamatar ki chaat in those days (12 years ago) was much simpler and more tasteful. The thelawala would mash a couple of already roasting tikkis with a couple of tomatoes on the giant tawa, mix some chutneys, sprinkle some tidbits and serve you the most simple looking yet uniquely flavored chaat, with a rich flavor of tomatoes, you would inevitably end up asking for one more helping.

Whenever I find this chaat here in Delhi, being showcased in those street food festivals, the tamatar ki chaat is displayed separately on a smaller tawa, giving an impression like pav bhaji, a separate pot of gravy waiting to be ladled into the tomato pulp, some dalda (hydrogenated vegetable fat) is ladled into the mix to make it tastier as they claim (I actually asked them), resulting into a thick layer of 'ghee' floating over the chaat and to top it all, now a days it is served in plastic or styrofoam bowls. Enough reasons for me to feel disgusted ...

The Dilli Haat experience of this tamatar chaat was better this time, taste wise (we could ignore the fat layer of dalda floating )...see how it is labeled as tamatar...

The pulped up tomatoes and other ingredients (they had some peas too) are cooking on the tawa and the gravy as they call it (made with khoya, dry fruits and spices  with a thick layer of dalda as you can see...

 And here is the plate of tamatari for us to dig into...

 On the display (as you see here) it looks like the bhaji of the pav bhaji combo, as it is a mashed chaat and is cooked on a tawa. But the similarity ends here as this a completely different flavor, rich tomato, some dry fruits and some khoya and and lot more subtle flavours.

And it is a standalone chaat, no bread or pav or papdi is added, just some miniature namak paare, we like some finely chopped onions and you are set. This is my home made plate of tamatar ki chaat...

I had to make the miniature namak paare first, store bought namak paare can be used but I did not have any and as I did not have any maida too, I made them with whole wheat flour.

3 tbsp of whole wheat flour 2 tsp of lemon juice , 1 tsp of oil and salt to taste  ...
a stiff dough was made using a little water , rolled out on the chakla ( rolling board ) cut in miniature squares and deep fried on medium heat ....

other ingredients to start with...
( serves two hungry souls )
potatoes medium sized 2 nos. ( boiled and peeled )
fully ripe large juicy tomatoes 4 nos.( the best quality you can lay your hands on )
cashew chopped 2 tbsp
raisins 20 nos.
makhane( lotus seeds ) 10-12 nos.
green chillies finely chopped 1 tbsp
ginger finely chopped 1.5 tbsp
red chilly powder 1 tsp
black pepper powder 1 tsp
garam masala powder 1 tsp ( i used my homemade one which is a mix of black n green cardamom , cinnamon, kababchini , shahjeera , cloves , star anise and nutmeg )
milk powder 2 tbsp ( use khoya if available , same quantity )
ghee 2 tbsp ( i used less , you can feel free to be like the chaat walas )
Imli ki sonth wali chutny 2 tbsp ( if you don't have this chutny , use a tbsp of thick tamarind pulp , 1/2 tsp of dry ginger powder and 2 tsp of sugar at the indicated time )
lemon juice 2 tsp
finely chopped onions for garnish ( optional )
finely chopped green coriander leaves ( i did not have and am not using them raw in this season either)

procedure...

I used an iron kadai for that taste of chaatwalas (otherwise too I prefer cooking in iron or cast iron kadais)..

Chop the tomatoes in small cubes and keep aside.

Mix the milk powder , garam masala powder and red chilly powder with a tbsp or two of water to make a pasteand keep aside. This step is not required if using khoya.

Mash the potatoes, add salt to taste and 1 tsp of black pepper powder, 1/2 tsp of green chillies and 1/2 tsp of chopped ginger. Mix well and shape a large tikki with the mash. Keep aside.

Heat a tbsp of ghee in the kadai and throw in 1/2 tbsp of green chillies, 1 tbsp of chopped ginger and the dry fruits, fry for a minute ....and then add the milk powder mix to the frying mixture... If using khoya, add the khoya, garam masala n red chilly powder now...

Fry till the mixture changes color and is almost dry , add 1/2 cup of water and boil to get a brownish gravy...reserve the gravy into a bowl....

Now in the same kadai , add another tbsp of ghee and place the largish potao tikki to let it brown on one side, flip when browned .... this step I have incorporated because i saw the chaat wala make it this way when I first ate it . And the browning of the alu tikki this way ensures a very unique earthy, smoky chaat flavor to the tamatari....

Now cover the frying tikki with chopped tomatoes and cover to cook for a while, slide the flat ladle under the tikki beneath and flip so that the tikki comes on top and the tomatoes are getting roasted in direct contact with the iron kadai... the potato tikki is nicely browned on both sides and you will get it's flavor in the finished chaat....

Mix and smash the tikki now and fry the mixture thrashing the tomatoes to make a smooth yet textured chaat ....Takes about 2-3 minutes ..

Now is the time to add the gravy , and the imli ki chutny (or use the substitutes instead) and lemon juice (optional)... mix it again and fry for another minute mixing it like a pro....this is the time you will start getting that tamatar ki chaat aroma........

Empty the contents into a steel dish (for that desi feel) , garnish with the miniature namak paare, green coriander if using and as we like it here , some chopped onions .........

As I told you the chaat will be a different flavor from any of the chaats you have ever tried, the nuts stand out, the raisins are just too good when they come in a mouthful. It is a hot-sweet-sour and savory chaat where a rich taste of tomatoes is accentuated by tamarind chutny with a very mild hint of khoya (if you know it's added , otherwise it just adds richness) We added some more of those namak paare while eating and got transported to the good old days.........

Last but not the least, a picture of the folk dancers performing at the Dilli Haat entrace ...

Enjoy the chaat and the Dilli haat as we saw it.....

I did not click any more pictures as we had decided to visit the haat just to try out the new metro line on that route ... ooh it's so convenient now to get there and I loved the underground exit leading towards the INA market. They have displayed beautiful traditional textile crafts of different states.. worth watching .....