Food & Drink

Chef Maneet Chauhan Brings the Colorful Festival of Holi to Nashville

Plus, her recipe for Aloo Chaat, one of her favorite childhood dishes to celebrate

Photo: Linda Xiao

Aloo chaat, chef Maneet Chauhan's favorite snack during Holi.

Although Nashville is a far cry from Punjab, India, where Maneet Chauhan grew up, that doesn’t mean that the acclaimed chef and Chopped judge doesn’t carry her traditions with her, including a jubilant celebration of Holi, the Hindu Festival of Colors that rings in springtime each year. The ancient holiday falls on the day after the last full moon of the Hindu month of Phalguna (this year, it’s on Friday, March 18), and the end of winter symbolizes the triumph of good over evil. “It is one of the most boisterous festivals of all time,” Chauhan says. “We visit friends, throw powdered colors on each other, and, of course, there is so much delicious food embedded in how we celebrate.” 

Growing up, Chauhan recalls that her mother would start frying and baking days in advance, and the night before Holi was always marked with a bonfire. The morning of, friends would show up at the house to share sweets and throw colored powder at one another. “It’s the whole community coming together,” she says. Nowadays, she plays hostess herself at her family’s home in Nashville, inviting a small group of friends and family over for a night-before bonfire at their backyard firepit and mixing up dish after dish to share the following day, including colorful rasgullas, a sweet Indian dessert involving cheese in sugar syrup. And of course, there will be powdered colors to throw. “It won’t be quite as boisterous as what we would do in India, but we try to recreate it here.”

photo: Courtesy of Maneet Chauhan
Chauhan and her family celebrating Holi at their home in Nashville.

One of her favorite dishes served during the festival is a popular chaat, or Indian street food: aloo chaat, made of fried potatoes, chickpea noodles called sev, and spiced yogurt. “This was always my favorite chaat to eat during Holi growing up,” Chauhan remembers. “It is crunchy with a smooth interior, and it’s sweet, spicy, and creamy.” She recommends serving it immediately after it’s prepared, before the sev has a chance to get soggy. 

At Chauhan’s home celebration of Holi this weekend (she’s traveling on Friday) aloo chaat will feature in a colorful line-up of chaats that guests can mix up themselves. “Aloo chaat is simple to make, and you’ll never go back to eating fries after you’ve had it,” she promises. “It’s like a party in your mouth.”


Ingredients

  • Aloo Chaat (Yield: 4 Servings)

    • 3 tbsp. ghee, store-bought or homemade

    • 2 large russet potatoes, boiled whole, peeled while warm, and cut into ½ inch cubes

    • ½ tsp. Kashmiri or other red chile powder

    • ½ tsp. ground toasted cumin

    • ½ tsp. chaat masala, plus more to taste

    • 1 small red onion, finely chopped

    • ¼ cup whole-milk yogurt

    • Kosher salt

    • 2 tbsp. green chutney

    • 2 tbsp. tamarind chutney, store-bought or homemade

    • ¼ cup sev, plus more if desired

    • Pomegranate seeds, for serving

    • Cilantro leaves, for serving


Preparation

  1. In a sauté pan, heat the ghee over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add the potatoes and fry until golden brown and just starting to crisp up, 6 to 8 minutes, turning frequently to ensure even coloring. Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl and add the chile powder, cumin, chaat masala, and onion. Stir gently until the potatoes are evenly coated with the spices.

  2. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 teaspoon of water, and salt to taste.

  3. Gently stir the green chutney and tamarind chutney into the potatoes, season with salt, and transfer to a serving platter.

  4. Sprinkle the potatoes with sev, drizzle with the seasoned yogurt, and garnish with pomegranate seeds and cilantro. If desired, season with additional chaat masala and add more sev.

Reprinted with permission from Chaat by Maneet Chauhan and Jody Eddy copyright © 2020. Photographs by Linda Xiao. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. 


Lindsey Liles joined Garden & Gun in 2020 after completing a master’s in literature in Scotland and a Fulbright grant in Brazil. The Arkansas native is G&G’s digital reporter, covering all aspects of the South, and she especially enjoys putting her biology background to use by writing about wildlife and conservation. She lives on Johns Island, South Carolina, with her husband, Giedrius, and their cat, Oyster.