India’s Chaat House opened just this past November, right next door to Indian Spices and Groceries, a small market supplying the neighborhood with all manner of Indian, Pakistani, and Nepali staples. Owner Surinder Sroa is responsible for bringing us both, as well as a number of other restaurants in Marin County. I’d been looking forward to having a chaat house so near us since Dosa is long gone.
We ordered sev puri, gobi Manchurian (an Indo-Chinese dish, as the name would indicate), vegetable biryani, coconut chicken curry, and Nepalese chicken momos.
While the flavor of the biryani was perhaps more muted than the one we had at Tadka recently, everything else was exceptionally delicious, especially the puri. Unlike the puffy little orbs I remember having in the past, these were flat, cracker-like, but stuffed with potato and garbanzo, covered in tangy tamarind and mint chutneys, with crunchy onions, yogurt, and the crispy, Chex-Mix-like sev, and served cool and fresh, like a salad. Such a great panoply of flavors that popped and textures that zinged!
The lusciously chubby momos, intriguingly spiced and as tender as they should be, did not disappoint. As for the curry, while I think it’s not so common to have coconut in an Indian curry, I believe it’s more of a Southern Indian dish. Rich and creamy, I’d get it again. The Manchurian cauliflower was a bit tomato-y for my taste, less incendiary than it looks, but no cauliflower is bad cauliflower, in my book.
India’s Chaat House has so much more on its menu to explore, including several more chaats, puris, soups, Nepalese specials, a plethora of curries, tandoori meats, vegetarian dishes, biryani in multiple iterations, naan, and Indian sweets.
Odd to say, but while Indian food is not something I often crave, when I have it, I always inhale it. The flavor combinations are endless, and from region to region you’ll find as much variation as similarities. And it’s a good thing, because I believe the number of Mission Indian restaurants is now in contention with our taquerias! A welcome addition to the neighborhood.
India’s Chaat House
3275 22nd St.
