Chaat: The Street Food Sensation at the Wedding of India’s Billionaire Heiress
When exploring Indian cuisine, chaat—a beloved street food—serves as the perfect gateway.
The wedding of the youngest son of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani was the talk of the nation, spanning four days from July 12 to 15 in Mumbai. With numerous politicians, business magnates, and celebrities in attendance, the event captured the attention of the entire country. Social media buzzed with details about the extravagant wedding, with many curious about the menu. According to the business daily Mint, Nita Ambani, wife of Mukesh Ambani, entrusted the renowned Kashi Chaat Bhandaar to serve its signature street food delicacies at the wedding.
Kashi Chaat Bhandaar, a 70-year-old eatery specializing in chaat, is a treasure trove of India’s diverse and flavorful street food culture. Chaat is a delightful blend of fried dough, mixed with an array of ingredients, spices, and sauces.
Experts at Taste of Home, a culinary website, recommend chaat as “the perfect starting point” for anyone wanting to dive into Indian cuisine. Chaat is a category of street food that combines sweet, spicy, tangy, and savory flavors, making it an all-day delight. While the ingredients vary across different types of chaat, the staple component is starch, often in the form of crispy samosas or fried bread. Vegetables, either boiled or raw, are the next key element, often enhanced with raw onions, tomatoes, and boiled potatoes.
Chutneys play a vital role in these street food delicacies, with three main types commonly used: Tamarind chutney (a classic sweet, sour, and spicy blend made from aromatic spices, jaggery, or dates), red garlic chutney, and mint chutney.
Almost every chaat dish is topped with chaat masala, a unique spice mix including kala namak (Himalayan black salt). Once all the primary ingredients are mixed, chefs sprinkle crispy toppings such as potatoes, noodles, and green beans over the chaat.
While each component of chaat is relatively simple, when combined, they create what many travelers describe as “pure magic.” Chaat is often referred to as “the perfect gateway to India’s rich culinary world.”
The wedding menu likely featured dishes such as tomato chaat, spinach chaat, potato tikki, stuffed kachori, and traditional kulfi. Guests could also indulge in popular variations like aloo chaat, aloo tikki, bhelpuri, dahi vada, and golgappa.
Aloo Chaat is a North Indian favorite, consisting of crispy, spiced potato chunks topped with raw onions, chutneys, lemon juice, and chaat masala. Aloo Tikki is made from mashed or boiled potatoes mixed with peas, onions, and spices, then formed into small patties and fried. These patties are typically served with various chutneys and yogurt.
Bhelpuri has a base of puffed rice, called bhel, and crunchy puri, topped with green chutney, coriander, lemon juice, and peanuts. Dahi Vada is crafted from soaked and ground lentils shaped into balls and fried. Once cooked, the vada is soaked in thick yogurt sauce and garnished with chaat masala. Golgappa, another beloved chaat, consists of crispy puri filled with a mixture of potatoes, chutneys, onions, chili, and chaat masala.
