We here at Gora Chaat are nothing if not dreamers.  Let’s face it, we are two lily-white (or as we prefer, idli-white) gora trying to recreate the complex cuisine of India.  We may be way out of our league, but blind ambition and love of all things seasoned with chaat masala drive us forward.

So when we first heard about Coconut & Lime‘s blogiversary contest, it seemed like a natural fit for our (humble baby of a) blog.  Both coconuts and limes are abundant in India. Most chaats come finished with a healthy squeeze of lime, and if coconut is not usually featured in chaat, it certainly is not a discordant flavor. It couldn’t be that hard to combine coconut, lime, and chaat…

famous. last. words.

Choosing what type of recipe to prepare proved difficult in and of itself.  As stated above, coconut doesn’t feature in all that many chaat.  Sweets, yes; curries, yes; chaat, no.  It was tempting to abandon chaat altogether and make ice cream or something, but what kind of blog abandons its one core mission four posts in?!   In any case, several ideas were tossed about:

  • coconut lime rice (probably still a good idea)
  • dosa with coconut-lime chutney (yummy, but dosa aren’t happening without superior crushing technology and dosa cooking techniques)
  • coconut uttapam with lime…something? (see dosa)

But then, I had a vision.  Hot off the heels of my chaat masala obsession, I recalled the various spiced nuts and snacks sold in little foil bags which would hang like long silvery streamers in every corner store and kiosk .  These form a class unto themselves, more premade munchie than mixed to order snack. Greasy, crunchy, salty, spicy– who can resist something as forthright and descriptive as Tasty Nuts?  Inspired, here is what I saw:

  1. chickpea
  2. lime
  3. coconut
  4. chaat masala

Mind you, this is not the most traditional of chaats.  I doubt you could find something like this on any street or train platform, but the flavors are familiar, and I just knew they would compliment each other, creating a tangy, crunchy, and addictive snack.  Damn it, it was a good idea!  The challenge came in putting the parts together.

Believe me I tried.  Five batches later, I have a wealth of tasty roasted chickpeas, two pages of notes, and some advice on technique, but nothing that I can say completely embodies what was in my head.

clockwise from bottom left: no oil, ground to a coarse paste; oil, ground to a fine paste; oil, not ground, with lime zest

clockwise from bottom left: no oil, ground to a coarse paste; oil, ground to a fine paste; conrol; oil, not ground, with lime zest

Here is what I have learned:

  1. Go with powdered coconut.  I cannot stress this enough.  I used flaked, and it gave me no end of trouble because it just wouldn’t stick to the chickpeas no matter what I did.
  2. Go easy on the chaat masala.  Shocking, but the salt in that stuff can easily overwhelm, plus its inherent tartness can become overpowering with the addition of lime.
  3. For an extra lime kick, do two things: soak the chickpeas in lime juice before the initial roasting, and add some lime zest to the final flavor coating.
  4. Roast the chickpeas and season them in two different steps, at two different temperatures.  High heat makes the chickpeas nice and crunchy, but turns coconut into ash.  Low heat doesn’t do much for the chickpea, but keeps the other flavors nice and vibrant.
  5. To oil, or not to oil?  Honestly, adding oil to the roasting process did not show a marked improvement.  In fact, the crunchiest group was the control which  I roasted completely plain.  Oil did help the coconut cling marginally better, but the use of powdered coconut would probably even out this benefit.
The winners out of all the test batches.

The winners out of all the test batches.

Coconut & Lime Masala Chana

As you may have guessed, this is less a recipe and more an invitation to experiment.  The amounts I give are just my best estimate based on past results.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup cooked chickpeas (canned or cooked from dried beans)
  • 1 lime, juiced (and zested if you wish)
  • 1 tablespoon powdered(!) coconut
  • 1/2 teaspoon chaat masala
  1. If desired, soak chickpeas in lime juice for at least 20 minutes.  Drain, making sure to reserve remaining lime juice.
  2. Roast chickpeas at 400 degrees for 25 minutes on a foil-lined baking sheet, shaking the pan every 10 minutes to prevent sticking.
  3. Combine lime juice and seasonings into a fine paste.  Toss roasted chickpeas with the paste, making sure that they are evenly coated.
  4. Return chickpeas to a 250 degree oven,  and continue to roast until golden brown and crunchy, about 25 minutes.