Chaat cafes in the back of Indian grocers have been around for a while now, and they are a unique part of the fascinating Indian culture. According to Arijit Sen in “From Curry Mahals to Chaat Cafes,” these cafes are places where people of different ethnicities can mingle together, and where those from different countries can interact. The chaat café usually exists in the far back of an Indian grocery store, separate from the grocery shopping area, but still in the same building. In a way, the grocery store and chaat café rely on each other, as customers from each area wander into the other place, but they also exist on their own, separated by a wall.
On Tuesday night, I traveled to Taj Chaat House inside Taj Grocers in Plano to experience authentic Indian food. I had been looking forward to this field trip for a long time, since I love Indian cuisine. When we got there, I was surprised by the size and modernity of Taj Grocers, but the moment I walked in, I felt as if I was back in Asia again (I grew up overseas). I could smell all the fragrant spices and saw packages and names I recognized.
Taj Chaat House was located at the back of the grocery store, as I anticipated. The kitchen was an open area behind the counter, and I could see the cooks making different types of Indian food and pancakes of many layers and sizes. I immediately spotted the huge signboards on the walls near the kitchen, and began to look at all the delicious kinds of Indian food I could try. There were samosas, masala, dosas, naans, and so many other types of Indian cuisine. In the end, I decided to order Aloo Paratha, which is an Indian pancake with a thin layer of potato and spices in between. My paratha came with a creamy sauce, and I also served myself some chutney. The paratha itself didn’t have much flavor, but the chutney was delicious and added some strong flavors to my meal.
Additionally, I had some pani puri after hearing both Jasleen and Professor Ball-Phillips speak highly of it. I was skeptical at first, since the pani puri was green, rather big, and looked very wet, but I loved it! To make the pani puri, the lady behind the counter took a hollow, puffed up, crispy cracker, punched a hole in it, and filled the puri with flavored water, potato, and other things, like chutney or chili. I would definitely recommend pani puri to anyone who loves Indian cuisine!
After we had finished our food, our class wandered into the grocery store and had fun exploring all of the aisles. There were numerous bags of interesting snacks and spices, and I passed by countless jars of different chilies and cans of Indian desserts.
I thoroughly enjoyed the food at Taj Chaat House, and I would be glad to go back again!