Chatpata Mix chat

I believe the little changes in your dietary habit can help you a lot. Now as someone who loves potatoes I advocate the use of potatoes. It is a complete misconception that this nutritious carbohydrate is fattening. It is your method of cooking which usually determines a dish's calorie etc. So deep fry it and you murder it of all its nutritional value but boiled or baked at 77 calorie for 100gm this is one of the healthiest snacks or food items ever.

Now healthy eating means you have to plan extra carefully to appease your taste buds. A wise man once told me that no diet would ever work if your taste buds remain unsatisfied. Having said that a little change helps a lot. For instance if you crave some mushy potato on any given afternoon or anytime that you want to have snacks replace the french fries or aloo tikkis (a famous spicy potato patty dish from Northern India) with some chaats made with boiled potatoes. The recipe I follow is nothing new. I add a little bit of extra virgin olive oil for extra health and to suit my taste. Try it for a quick snack session.

This mix chat takes me back to my school days as well. Those were the days when the street food hawkers would line up in front of every school luring children with lip smacking dishes. While most of my childhood was spent in longing for them since my parents never ever allowed me to have street food with logical fear for my health because tasty they are but lets be honest most of these items aren't that hygienic. Of course the moment I started getting my pocket money it was a different issue altogether. I would gorge on these delectable snacks throughout school, college and university. In those times it felt as if the chatwallahs had some magical potion. I later realized you can make the same stuff at home. The magic was the work of spices. So I hereby present by spicy chatpata meaning lip smacking snack. I have given it a healthy minty twist. You can even have this as a salad for a main course in which case you shall probably need to double or tripe your portion of salad.

Serves 4

You need

2  large potatoes
3 medium sized firm tomatoes
1 large onion
1 cucumber
2 tbsp finely chopped mint leaves
1 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
Juice from Half a medium sized Indian lemon
Rock salt as per taste
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp dried mango powder
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 green chili de-seeded and finely chopped

Boil the potatoes and if you are in a hurry simply drain them and place them in a bowl of ice water. It shall cool down in no time. Peel and cube them in bite sized cubes. Cube the tomatoes, onions , cucumber after peeling it. Mix the vegetables and potato with the extra virgin olive oil , spices , lemon juice , herbs and green chili. Enjoy your lip smacking snack.

P.S. You can always increase the number of chilies used.