[malvolio]

Taste a good chaat, and you understand why it is not soon forgotten.

Chaats are jumbles of flavor and texture: sweet, sour, salty, spicy, crunchy, soft, nutty, fried and flaky tidbits, doused with cool yogurt, fresh cilantro and tangy tamarind and sprinkled with chaat masala, a spice mixture that is itself wildly eventful. The contrasts are, as one fan said, "a steeplechase for your mouth," with different sensations galloping by faster than you can track them.

Some chaats are light and crunchy, like an ethereally flavored snack mix, and others are practically lunch, like samosa chaat: piping hot samosas split open and covered with spicy chick peas, minced onion and cilantro, yogurt and tamarind. Chaats are mixed to your specifications (spicier, not so much cilantro, extra chickpeas), handed over on a banana leaf and devoured instantly.

"Chaats are like every flavor of chips and every kind of pizza you have here," said Dave Sharma, an owner of Amma, a Midtown restaurant, who is from Mumbai. "We eat chaat whenever we have a small hunger, but we will travel miles to get a good one. And people are loyal to their favorites."

Snacks from India, sounds yummy!
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[JohnSmithXTREME]

It sounds rather delicious. However, I'm a bit worried that if I go down to the local kebab house / tandoori to order one, these "chaats" may suddenly seem less appealing.