5 Chefs Are Redefining Chaat in North Carolina

By: Jenn Rice

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The word “chaat” translates from Hindi as “to lick,” or as chef Preeti Waas of Cheeni in Durham puts it, “a highly craveable street snack that lives up to its name—finger-licking—and includes all five tastes in one bite.” Built on layers of contrasting textures and flavors, crunchy and creamy, sweet and sour, spicy and cool, chaat is less a single dish than a philosophy of eating. Across North Carolina, a new generation of chefs is weaving chaat’s traditions into menus that feel entirely, unmistakably their own.

Botiwalla at Optimist Hall

Karela Chaat Cheeni Durham Image courtesy of Julia Lynn — Cheeni in Durham, Image courtesy of Julia Lynn

Charlotte

The best introduction to Botiwalla’s chaat is a group of friends and an order of everything on the menu. Crispy fingerling masala smashed potatoes come tossed with chaat masala, lime, and cilantro, served with spicy Maggi ketchup. Gobi 65 brings Indo-Chinese cauliflower fired up with curry leaves, ginger, and red chile. The MG Road Wings arrive dry-rubbed, crispy, and seasoned with chilies, lime, and spices, served with a curry leaf ranch that will haunt you. And then there are the famous okra fries— julienned, tossed with chaat masala and lime—your latest okra obsessions. Chat and chaat. Repeat.

Cheeni

Durham

Preeti Waas wasn’t supposed to eat street food: Her mother had rules. But her older cousins in New Delhi had other ideas, and a sneaky plate of aloo chaat changed everything. “Crisp, creamy, hot, sweet, cold, spicy, and forbidden,” she says. At Cheeni, Waas channels that rule-breaking energy into a chaat that exists nowhere else. Built around bitter gourd, it’s entirely her own invention. “This isn’t a chaat I have ever had in India; this one is my own creation,” she says. “They all combine into a bite that surprises most people, even Indians.” The kitchen claims a 100-percent success rate converting bitter gourd skeptics into regulars.

Viceroy

Durham

“Chaat isn’t just food. It’s a flavor experience,” says owner BJ Patel, citing its ability to hit spicy, tangy, crunchy, and creamy all at once. “It’s the perfect chaos, and this is exactly why we keep going back for more.” Several chaat versions are always on the menu, but come summer, seek out the palak patta chaat: crispy fried spinach leaves piled high with flavorful toppings, including tangy pomegranate arils. It’s one of the more unexpected warm-weather bites in the city.

Chai Pani

Asheville

Meherwan Irani’s mother wouldn’t let him eat chaat growing up. “I’ll never forget my first bite of bhel puri because of the rush of eating something forbidden,” he says. “I’d never had anything like it before: sweet, tangy, and instantly addictive. I would skip classes three to four times a month just to eat chaat on the streets.” Chaat is, he says, “the most democratic, egalitarian, approachable, affordable, and pan-Indian cuisine of India.” Come summer, all three Chai Pani locations feature a Banarasi tamatar chaat, a tomato chaat from the ancient city of Varanasi, which he notes, is “peak summer.”

Chai Pani food dish Image courtesy of Tim Robinson resized — Chai Pani, Image courtesy of Tim Robinson

Tamasha Modern Indian

Raleigh

At street stalls across India, chaat is assembled right in front of you: tamarind, mint, chaat masala hitting the air all at once. It’s a sense of memory chef Bhavin Chhatwani of Tamasha Modern Indian has never lost, even as his cooking has evolved far beyond the stall. His purple sweet potato, kale, and shiso chaat swaps the usual suspects for sweet potatoes, shiso, aerated yogurt, tamarind, and a house spice blend—a vibrant, lighter take on street chaat that still delivers the full layered hit of sweet, sour, spice, and crunch. The street is still in there. It’s just been refined.