Chai, Chaat & Chutney: a street food journey through India

As a fan of Chetna's bakes on GBBO, I was excited to find this book, and at .99 cents for the Kindle edition, it's a no-brainer. But, unless you already have a well-stocked spice cabinet from making other Indian cuisine, your investment won't stop there if you want to actually make these dishes. I have a lot of Asian spices as well as the more typical "American" staples that include things for making Mexican food, BBQ and seafood, but this book (and the other Chetna book I bought, The Cardamom Trail) launched me on a quest to acquire and learn about the spices these recipes require. As it was quite an educational experience for me, and one that I unfortunately went about in a disorganized, recipe-by-recipe way at first, I thought some of you considering the book might benefit from my research. In fact, my one gripe about this book is that I wish there was a list, either at the beginning or the back, of the many spices, dals, etc. that you will need.Since there isn't, though, below is my attempt at laying out the spices and other less familiar ingredients you will need to make every recipe in this book. Some of these are available in your local chain supermarket, others you may have to buy at a specialty store (if you're lucky enough to have one nearby) or online -- I bought many of these spices right here on Amazon. A couple of other disclaimers so you don't spend a ton of money and then blame me that you overbought or missed something:1. I'm not including every common ingredient. Take for granted you're going to need lots and lots of butter, eggs, salt, pepper, plain flour, baking powder, lemon and lime juices, garlic cloves, yogurt, ketchup, sunflower oil, coconut, various nuts, etc., plus whatever the main ingredient is, such as chicken, eggplant, fish, etc.2. You don't need every ingredient unless you're going to make every recipe. Some, like mace or saffron or black salt, you might only need in a couple of recipes, so you may not want to bother (especially as saffron is expensive). Others, like chili powder, tamarind, fresh root ginger, turmeric, garam masala, green chilis, and many others, you are going to need constantly. I will try my best to put things into a sort of priority order within a category, but shop at your own risk, I'm not perfect at this. It might also be worth looking on the internet for substitutes for some of the more expensive, less used, and/or harder to find ingredients. An incentive for buying as many as you can, however, is that the items on this list will let you make almost everything in The Cardamom Trail as well, and in fact are staples in pretty much any Indian cookbook you may decide to try.3. I'm including seed and ground versions as they appeared in the book. Keep in mind, if you get a spice grinder or -- my preference -- a mortar and pestle -- then the seeds will suffice as you can grind your own.On to the list, and happy baking/cooking!SPICES - THE STAPLESchili Powderfresh small green chilis and dried red chilistamarind pastecarom (ajwain) seedssea salt flakescoriander (cilantro) leavesmustard seeds and black mustard seedscurry leavesground turmericfresh root gingergaram masalafennel seedsmango powder (amchur)asafoetidacumin seeds/ground cuminjaggery powderfenugreek seedscardamom seeds/ground cardamomcinnamon stickSPICES - LESS FREQUENTmustard oilnigella seeds (kalonji)panch phoron (Indian 5-spice)chilli-garlic sauceBombay mixfive-spice powdertoasted sesame seedssweet basil seeds (sabja)rose syruprose waterwhite poppy seedsmint leavesdillgreen cardamom podsblack cardamom pods (you'll use the green ones more)cloveskasuri methi (fenugreek leaves)saffrontamarind pulpground gingerblack saltmace (whole)LENTILS & PEASsplit chickpeas (chana dal)split black lentils (urad dal)yellow split lentils (moong dal)split pigeon peas (toor dal)red lentils (masoor dal)mung beans (moong sabut)FLOURSchickpea floursemolinachapati flourrice flourMISCELLANEOUSghee (clarified butter)paneer (Indian cottage cheese)flour noodles (sev)glass noodles (falooda sev)puffed rice (kurmura)So there you have it, and I truly hope it's helpful to people. To summarize, I'm enjoying this book and The Cardamom Trail. It might sound like an overstatement to call them "life changing" but as my family can testify, I have gone on an Indian cooking/baking craze since I got them, and I have devoted an entire previously unused closet to my spice/ingredient collection. Of the two books, I think I prefer The Cardamom Trail, as it is more about baking cakes, tarts, savory parcels, etc., where this book is more about street food. But what I do really enjoy about this book is the set of recipes for homemaking your own chutneys and spice blends, which you can then use in the other recipes.

Chetna’s recipe books are so informative! Information that I needed and now use… actually!

After becoming a huge fan of Chetna Makan since she was a finalist on "The Great British Bake-Off," and subsequently following her blog and cooking videos on her YouTube channel, I had hoped she would treat us to a book featuring Indian cooking, and she didn't disappoint me!Filled with tons of gorgeous photographs of delicious regional Indian street food recipes, this book is a treasure. There are beautiful photos of each recipe, and the instructions are well-written and clear. There are some specialty Indian ingredients to purchase, but all are readily available online, if one does not have an Indian grocery store nearby.I've been cooking Indian food for over 30 years and have more than my fair share of Indian cookbooks, but this one is unique in that it focuses on Indian street foods and snacks. Now, the only problem I'm faced with is... which recipe to make first!If you love Indian food like I do, buy this book. You will not be disappointed!

I love Chetna'S video's and recipes! I hate to give her book less than 5 starsbut the final section of recipes is riddled with blank pages!A photo then a blank page then half the directions and another blank page - so no ingredient list?This is Amazon fault, yes? I uploaded it to my kindle and discovered that half the pages in the back of the book are missing.

I believe that this was Chetna's first book after the GBB Show, and it's as much a return to India for her as it is a recipe book. Full of stories and recipes, I found it a very enjoyable book, but then I enjoy a cookbook that is more than just a compendium of recipes.

Love the quality of the book, the publication colors, great stories and recipes, and Amazon got it here quickly. I do Indian cooking classes and this is a book I'm proud to promote!

Awesome book!. The condition was noted that it would have possible marks in book or bent pages....wrong! This is the most pristine book I ever bought including a book store copy!!! The recipes are delicious & easy to repeat.

Very superficial presentation with recipes that are presented without any real feel or insight. Has, perhaps, some value as a glossary or compendium of street food with a special emphasis on the Kolkata and Mumbai but as a useful manual with a practical application and utility for those seeking to replicate the authentic street food flavour at home it is a complete failure. It also does not work as a travelogue or as a travel narrative of any sort. Does give a very strong impression of someone trying to hastily milk a fleeting celebrity.

As an Indian person I am quite skeptical about Indian cookery books, but this book is bang on. Really authentic. The spice levels are just right.

I prefer cookery books in paper format, but couldn’t resist this as a 99p deal. It works very well as an ebook with hyperlinks and index making it easy to navigate.I love Indian food but I’m not experienced at cooking Indian meals at home. I can make some basic curries, but what I really enjoy about Indian meals are the chutneys and side dishes. This covers that base! Wow, it’s packed with information about the origin of dishes from different regions, so as well as recipes, it’s full of info and a delight to browse. The recipes are varied, with many suitable for vegetarian and other diets. The book is well laid out and there are no weird or difficult to obtain ingredients. It’s full of tips and I’ve made a number of meals with a selection of side dishes from this book with great success. Colourful and tempting.

Great recipes and easy to follow instructions. Yes you do have to have quite a lot of spices etc but the effort of getting them (and if you don't have a local shop selling them there's always the Internet!) Following the recipes is rewarded by great results! I was bought this book for Christmas and have since given it as a present to a couple of people. Unlike several other books describing curry recipes, Chetna Makan has managed to make the sequence of cooking fairly simple and not at all intimidating. Several things I have cooked out of this book have been rapturously received by friends and family - which always gives a bit of a warm glow!

This has now become one of my favourite cookery books, Its on the coffee table and picked up each morning by myself to chose menu's for the day, it's then picked up by friend and family and recipes copied down, Two friends have bought it for themselves and I have ordered it for my daughter for her christmas present.There are so many recipes to chose from, So many lovely photos of life in India and recipe photos. It makes you want to journey to India for yourself.The spice jar mixes recipes are great, I have a jar of Chaat Masala Mix on my worktop and it is used in nearly every one of my recipes.

Really really great authentic street food recipes, matching our experience of the foods we had in Mumbai, Kerala, Chennai and moreChetna recipes are easy to follow and very easy to makeHighly recommended