Dahi Samosa Chaat with Peach Ginger Chutney

When world travelers talk about Toronto they talk about hockey or catching a Jay’s game. They don’t mention an extremely overcrowded sweaty city with an undercurrent of social unrest building in the eves. There are not many things I miss from our adventures over two weeks in Toronto, Ontario. (I mean besides besides my boyfriend’s awesome family, that lives there) I don’t miss the hellacious traffic that makes it nearly impossible to drive twenty kilometers between Brampton and Mississauga in less than forty-five minutes. I don’t miss the overwhelming summertime heat and humidity (Or pouring rain from thunderstorms that build over Lake Ontario. It’s one or it’s the other in the GTA!) I like to be able to sit outside at our lush green campsite, read my book in the shade and relax on vacation. Toronto is ridiculous when ninety percent of the summertime days we spent there we couldn’t enjoy sitting outside until six p.m. at the very earliest. What I really truly enjoyed about Toronto was the Bengali food and especially Northern Indian street food like Dahi Samosa Chaat. Since we have been back home in Southern California, I have been craving Dahi Samosa Chaat something crazy!

Should I Chaat up about Toronto already?

This summer we were very blessed to spend ten days in Toronto visiting my boyfriend’s family. How did we get to Toronto? Well, we simply drove there through nine states and one Canadian province in our 34-foot motorhome. It was a spectacular trip of a lifetime full of the usual hijinks for this cast of characters. The east coast of the United States for these spoiled Southern Californians who come from an alpine mountain town was well, a challenge. That east coast humidity, man, was it something else! We did thoroughly enjoy the mid-summer thunderstorms and the fireflies were spectacular. But for myself personally, Toronto was not a city I would want to visit again, particularly in the summertime.

If you are a fan of hockey or the Toronto Blue Jays, hell maybe you will love Toronto. But for this nature wanderer, Toronto left very little wilderness to explore. The congestion of an uber-crowded big city was more of what Toronto left in my memories. Thank God every evening we had an urban oasis of a campsite to return to. Bronte Creek Provincial Park was a very pretty oasis that let us forget we were smack in the middle of a concrete jungle of three million people.

One thing every world traveler says about Toronto is it is a melting pot of delicious cuisines. At home in our rural mountain town of Big

Bear Lake California ethnic food is impossible to find. When we travel, we are all about finding a delicious ethnic meal. Whether it was Peruvian food or Punjabi Chaat, man did we enjoy some delicious foods while in Toronto. All over Toronto, it was just so easy to find Indian bakeries and chaat houses tucked away in strip malls. There are so many different types of chaat available in Toronto. On our travels through southern India, I tried just a few. Pan Puri, little crispy-filled dumplings that burst in your mouth, are the most popular.

Papdi Chaat is a mishmash of Indian flavors from Northern India. This popular Indian snack food is full of fried dough balls, chutneys and fried chickpeas and potatoes. And of course, like any good chaat, it’s topped with curd or yogurt. My favorite made-at-home Dahi Samosa Chaat is a mishmash of all the different chaats I have tried from Southern India to Artesia ( What is colloquially known as Little Indian in the Los Angeles area) and even our recent trip to Punjabi-influenced Toronto.

Chaat your face!

Okay, first of all, you should know that chaat is not a healthy food, especially Dahi Samosa Chaat. It’s not gluten-free. It’s definitely not keto. And sorry, hippies, but this version is not vegetarian. If I’m going to have a super easy chaat for a late afternoon snack, you better believe I will be using frozen samosas that I bring back to life in the air-fryer. I highly recommend this Dahi Samosa Chaat made with Lamb Samosas if you have the time to make them from scratch.

• Feel free to garnish with Himalayan black salt. This unique salt lends an authentic egg-like umami flavor.
• Bhel is the puffed rice trail mix you sprinkle on top at the end. Don’t forget these crunchy pieces of fried dough like puri.
• Feel free to make your own Lamb Samosas if you are so inclined.
• You can totally feel free to use plain curd or yogurt. Or you can whip up my easy Peach Raita.

To serve with this Dahi Samosa Chaat.

8 fried samosa pieces, chopped into fourths

1/4 cup tamarind chutney

1/4 cup homemade Plum Ginger Chutney

Or 1/4 cup homemade Peach and Ginger Indian Chutney

1/4 cup Mint Chutney

1/4 cup Peach Raita with Mint

1/4 cup bhel, Indian trail mix

Create your Samosas, whether you are baking the Lamb Samosas from scratch or just using frozen samosas reheated in the air fryer. Cut your samosas into about four bite-sized pieces and layer on the plate. Drizzle with Mint Chutney, the Plum Ginger Chutney and a final drizzle of Tamarind Chutney. Drizzle your curd over the top and then add the crunch, the bhel. You are now so ready to shove this Dahi Samosa Chaat at your face! Don’t even think about using a fork and knife! Eat this with just your fingers, India-style.