Chaat masala, also spelled chat masala, is a powder

spice mix Spice mixes are blended spices or herbs. When a certain combination of herbs or spices is called for in a recipe, it is convenient to blend these ingredients beforehand. Blends such as chili powder, curry powder, herbes de Provence, garlic salt ...

, or

masala Masala, Massala or MASALA may refer to: Spice * Masala (spice), any of the many spice mixes used in South Asian cuisine ** Masala chai, a flavoured tea beverage ** Masala incense, Indian incense using a spice mix ** Masala dosa, an Indian dish Pl ...

, originating from

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...

, typically used to add flavor to chaat. It typically consists of amchoor (dried

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in Sout ...

powder),

cumin Cumin ( or , or Article title
) (''Cuminum cyminum'') is a

coriander Coriander (;

, dried

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is a herbaceous perennial which grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of ...

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

(often

black salt Black salt may refer to: *Kala namak Kala namak is a kiln-fired rock salt with a sulphurous, pungent smell used in the South Asian Subcontinent. It is also known as "Himalayan black salt", ''Sulemani namak'', ''bire noon'', ''bit loona'', ''bit ...

black pepper Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in dia ...

asafoetida Asafoetida (; also spelled asafetida) is the dried latex ( gum oleoresin) exuded from the rhizome or tap root of several species of ''Ferula'', perennial herbs growing tall. They are part of the celery family, Umbelliferae. Asafoetida is th ...

, and

chili powder Chili powder (also spelled chile, chilli, or, alternatively, powdered chili) is the dried, pulverized fruit of one or more varieties of chili pepper, sometimes with the addition of other spices (in which case it is also sometimes known as chili ...

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is optional.

Uses

Beyond its use in preparing chaat, chaat masala finds uses in Indian fruit salads made with

papaya The papaya (, ), papaw, () or pawpaw () is the plant species ''Carica papaya'', one of the 21 accepted species in the genus '' Carica'' of the family Caricaceae. It was first domesticated in Mesoamerica, within modern-day southern Mexico and ...

sapodilla ''Manilkara zapota'', commonly known as sapodilla (), sapote, naseberry, nispero or chicle, is a long-lived, evergreen tree native to southern Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. An example natural occurrence is in coastal Yucatán in the ...

, apples and bananas. Chaat masala is also sprinkled on potatoes, fruit, egg toasts and regular salads in India. Spice brands market an alternate spice mix called fruit chaat masala, which contains less cumin, coriander, and ginger, but more of chili pepper, black salt, amchoor and asafoetida. Street vendors usually mix their own chaat masala, which is sprinkled on chopped-up fruit or fresh vegetables (such as raw white

radish The radish (''Raphanus raphanistrum'' subsp. ''sativus'') is an edible root vegetable of the family Brassicaceae that was domesticated in Asia prior to Roman times. Radishes are grown and consumed throughout the world, being mostly eaten raw ...

in the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent). Sometimes black salt with chili powder alone is used.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaat Masala Indian cuisine Bengali cuisine Bangladeshi cuisine Pakistani cuisine Indo-Caribbean cuisine Masalas