A Quick Chat about Chaat
The evening of Wednesday March 8th, 2017, I came to appreciate what my classmates and I have spent the last two months studying in our Civilization of India through the act of indulging in authentic Indian cuisine. Situated inside Taj Grocers located in Plano, Texas, Taj Chaat House is a vegetarian restaurant that has been churning out an assortment of Indian and South Asian regional delicacies and dishes for years. Upon entering the grocery store, I smiled to myself after being met with an intensity of smells and immediately noticing a seemingly endless aisle of rice piled 10-15 stacks high, comparable to what I am accustomed to when visiting Korean and other East Asian supermarkets with my mother.
As we continued down this wall of rice on our way to the entrance of Taj Chaat House near the back of the market, a variety of ingredients and produce I was previously unfamiliar with caught my attention, springing the idea to use these ingredients when cooking in the future. Our group arrived just around 7:30 to Taj Chaat House, narrowly beating the dinner rush of people that had accumulated behind us while waiting in line. While scanning the 5 or 6 different menus displayed, I was somewhat overwhelmed trying to decide what I would order. I asked my professor about the menus and she mentioned that these different menus were categorized by dishes and delicacies specific to certain regions of India and South Asia. After careful deliberation, I decided to go with the Aloo Gobi as my dish of choice, which is potato and cauliflower mixed and semi-mashed together with some delicious seasoning and spice and accompanied with two garlic naans. The dish came with the option of three spice levels, mild, medium, or spicy and I opted for the mild spice level to get a good taste of the food itself without the potential of scorching my mouth and tongue with the more intense Indian spice.
Several South Asian families filled the restaurant, transforming what was a nearly empty eating establishment when we were waiting in line into a bustling social gathering by the time our group had begun ordering. The article we read before this class excursion included the analysis of the significance ethnic grocery markets/in-market restaurants have for the typical shopper, such as those newly immigrated or first generation immigrants. As mentioned, “the Indian grocery store has a long history and is one of the most distinct place types within south Asian cultural landscapes across the world.”[1] Not limited to just South Asian, ethnic markets sell products, spices, and ingredients not commonly found outside of the country of origin. During this whole experience, I was reminded of the significance that these markets have for its customers, in terms of not only providing authentic food but also authentic experiences. I thought this was a memorable and tasty excursion to further immerse myself in the Indian culture and would certainly go back for seconds.
[1] Arijit Sen, “From Curry Mahals to Chaat Cafes” Spacialities of the South Asian Culinary Landscape University of Califronia Press, 2012. 203-204.