Fruit Chaatફ્રૂટ ચાટ
Seasonal fruit cut up and tossed with lemon and a little spice. For a fasting day, a hot afternoon, or whenever something light is needed. Ten minutes, no cooking.
Ingredients
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- 3 cups seasonal fruit (banana, apple, pomegranate, papaya, chikoo, grapes)
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp roasted cumin powder
- Rock salt and a pinch of pepper
- 1 tsp honey or sugar (optional)
- Mint leaves
Method
- Wash and cut all the fruit into even pieces.
- Toss gently with the lemon juice, which stops banana and apple browning.
- Sprinkle over the roasted cumin, salt and pepper.
- Add honey now if you are using it.
- Scatter mint and serve immediately.
Tips
- Made in advance, the fruit weeps; assemble it just before serving.
- Use rock salt if it is for a fasting day.
Storing and reheating
Fruit chaat is not a make-ahead dish. The moment salt and lemon go in, the fruit starts weeping and within twenty minutes there is juice pooling at the bottom. If you must prep ahead, cut the fruit and keep it in an airtight box in the fridge for three or four hours, then add the seasoning only as you serve. Drain any leftover juice into a smoothie.
What you can swap
- No rock salt? Black salt works, though the flavour is sharper. Ordinary salt is fine too, as long as this is not for a fasting day.
- If you are leaving out banana, use chikoo or ripe mango instead. They give the same soft, creamy contrast.
- Date paste or a little jaggery can replace the honey. With jaggery you will want extra lemon to balance it.
- No mint? Finely chopped coriander leaves give a different aroma but the same freshness.
What to serve with it
On a fasting day this stands in as a whole meal. Otherwise it is what you make when you want something cold on a hot evening, or something sweet but light after dinner. Through Navratri and Shravan it appears daily in many homes.
Mistakes to avoid
- Do not mix very juicy fruit in with the firm fruit too early. Watermelon or orange juice runs out and soaks the banana and apple, so add those only at serving time.
- Cut everything to a similar size. The pieces should be small enough that one spoonful picks up two or three fruits. Large chunks mean each mouthful tastes of only one thing.
- Do not stir hard with a spoon. Fold gently from underneath with your hand or a wide spoon, or the banana and ripe mango get crushed.
- Never use raw cumin powder. Cumin dry-roasted on a tawa and crushed is what makes it taste like chaat; the raw powder tastes dusty.
Questions people ask
Why does my fruit chaat go brown?
Apple, banana and chikoo darken on contact with air. Toss them in lemon juice the moment they are cut, and chop those three last. Keeping the bowl covered in the fridge also makes a noticeable difference.
What should I leave out for a fasting-day fruit chaat?
Skip shop-bought chaat masala and ordinary salt. Chaat masala usually contains table salt and other ingredients not eaten during a fast. Rock salt, roasted cumin, pepper and lemon are all you need.
Which fruit combinations work best?
Pomegranate with banana is excellent, one crunchy and one soft. Papaya with lemon, and apple with grapes, also work well. As a rule, include one tart fruit, one sweet one and one with crunch and the bowl tastes balanced.
