Bidkar - Chai Street: Indian Street Food Recipes for Vegans and Vegetarians

Copyright 2016 by Pragati Bidkar All rights reserved. No part of thispublication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in anyform or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or otherelectronic or mechanical methods, without the prior writtenpermission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotationsembodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial usespermitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to thepublisher, addressed Attention: Permissions Coordinator, at theaddress below. www.kamalkitchen.com First Published August 21, 2016

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Hello, Helloand Namaste!! The most common greeting in India, Namaste literallymeans I bow to you and welcome you. Thank you for choosing my bookout of the many available. I started the Dinner Ideas cookbookseries with my first book, 30 Days of Daal, which featuresIndian lentil recipes made simple for foodies across the world.Rice Bowl came next with Indian and global rice recipes.Both of these books have received wide acclaim across the world,and have topped the charts several times. The time is perfect for Chai Streetwhich is all about street food in India. Bold, spicy, tangy, sweet, sour, salty, hot every recipe in Chai Street celebrates Indian Street Foodand is an explosion for your taste buds.

All recipes are explained in detail step bystep, and come with striking, mouth watering photos. As always, we will start off with anintroduction for those who are unfamiliar with Indian food, orIndian street food. If you are Indian or you frequently cookIndian food, you may be familiar with the information given in thefirst few chapters. Please feel free to skip ahead to the recipesand start cooking.

Can anything be as exciting as street food?Hot dog carts in New York City, pretzels in Berlin, Pad Thainoodles in Bangkok street food is popular all around the world.But I think Indian Street food has a charm of its own. Walking downa random street, a whiff of hot frying pakoras comes yourway, and your feet have a mind of their own as they take you tosome small handcart or kiosk, where a big wok of oil is frying upall kinds of crispy, crunchy, piping hot treats.

After that, anythought of calories or hygiene is forgotten as you wrap your moutharound everything the vendor has to offer. When it comes to Indian street food, thereare two types of consumers. There are the recreational street foodeaters who are very particular about what they eat, and where theyeat it. With increasing pollution and lack of clean surroundings inurban areas, more and more people choose to cook street food athome. They may venture out and actually buy food from small localjoints once in a while, or order the same items in fancyrestaurants. And then there are the masses, people on themove, who regularly eat street food from street carts or streetvendors, probably because they need it, and it is the only foodthey can afford.

Street food is part of their two square meals aday. These are regular hard working people who walk miles to get towork, ride the local trains, stand for 8 hours to do their job orengage in sheer, hard labor. We can safely say that these are thereal consumers of street food in India. Considering their time and cost constraints,street food needs to be ready quickly, be filling and sumptuous,provide some ready energy and above all, provide a variety oftastes and textures in a single dish. A tall order, you may think,but most of the street food in India manages to satisfy theserequirements. different types of fritters form a large part of the street food repertoire. different types of fritters form a large part of the street food repertoire.

Sev and Farsan areused as toppings to provide both flavor and crunch. Condiments likechopped onions and fried chilies are piled on for added flavor andspice. And the chutneys! Sweet, salty, sour and hot chutneys are amust when it comes to Indian street food. Most street food dishes are served with avariety of chutneys, providing a unique taste in every bite. Every region of India offers somethingdifferent when it comes to street food. Local tastes and dietarypreferences play a big part.

Some items have become universallypopular and are found across the country. But the RagdaPatties you eat in Mumbai will be totally different from theAloo Chaat of Delhi. This book highlights some of the most popularstreet food recipes, and I have tried to feature something fromevery region, keeping the recipes as authentic as possible. Heatand spice levels are moderate, and you can add more based on yourtolerance. I have stayed away from providing lower calorie or lowercarb options. Once you are familiar with the actual dish, you cantry substitutions like baking instead of frying, for example.

To me, street food equals fun theunadulterated joy you feel when you bite into something that makesyour taste buds sing something slightly forbidden which doublesthe pleasure of indulging in it. Indian restaurants abroad provide a greatsampling of some popular street food items. Chai Streetbrings you 30 lip smacking recipes from the heartland of India. Allrecipes are vegetarian, 20 are vegan. The remaining recipes can betried with nondairy alternatives. I want you to experience the same joy I dowhen you hear about these recipes, get a feel for them through thefood photos, and then taste them for yourself.

So I have gonecreative with the names, choosing something playful or funky thatrefers to some aspect of the dish. The ethnic name of every dish isincluded in the title, and a description follows. The step by steprecipe will also leave you in no doubt of what you are eating. Andthe colorful, illustrative food photos are also a ready guide toshow you what you are about to create.

You can serve up some of these yummy recipesas the main meal, or as a side dish as part of a larger meal. Oryou can serve a few selected recipes from here as a street foodthemed meal.

Every recipe mentions the approximate yield. You canuse it based on your needs.

Street food, by definition, is salty andgenerously spiced. The recipes have a moderate spice level. Startwith these maybe halve the cayenne pepper given taste, and thenadd more if needed. Next page