(Image source from: Chaat Masala Recipe)

Rain or shine, no day passes by with us Indians lusting for a 'chatpata' snack, and some of us even indulging in mouthful of roadside chaats and pani puris. We Indians love our spices and spicy snacks. One of the prime reasons why most of us tend to indulge in roadside fares rather than recreating the dishes at home is because we often fail to replicate the taste and zest that the roadside stalls offer. But then, these indulgences often come at the cost of acidity, flatulence and at times food poisoning. To prevent that, we bring you the secret recipe of how to make chaat masala at home. Make your own masala and add your own zest and 'zaika' to your chaats, tikkis, bhalles, fruit salads, and puris. Read on for the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 cup coriander seeds

1 1/4 cups cumin seeds

1/2 cup thymol seeds/ ajwain

1/2 cup mango powder

2 1/2 tsp garam masala

1 1/4 cups powdered black rock salt

4 tsp powdered black pepper

2 tsp (approx) citric acid

1/2 cup dried and powdered mint leaves

Instructions:

Roast the coriander, cumin and ajwain in a heavy-based pan till dark brown.

Remove from pan and leave to cool.

Put all the ingredients together and powder fine, in a processor.

Store in an airtight jar.

AW: Suchorita Choudhury