Delhiwale: Potatoes, a la Chawri

Ram Babu Kushwaha claims he invented the kulle chaat and named it after kulhar, an earthen vessel

He picks up a whole boiled potato, scoops out most of its flesh with a knife and fills the void with delicious stuffing.

This is the famous kulle chaat at the humble Heera Lal Chat Corner in Old Delhi’s Chawri Bazar. (Mayank Austen Soofi / HT Photo)

Depending on your taste, he can substitute the potato with melon/cucumber/shakarkandi/mango/apple/banana.

This is the famous kulle chaat at the humble Heera Lal Chat Corner in Old Delhi’s Chawri Bazar.

Sitting next to a framed picture of the aforementioned delicacy, Ram Babu Kushwaha says that he invented it at the turn of the century. “One day I was experimenting by hollowing out the potato and filling it with spices and lemon juice,” he says. “It tasted nice and I started selling it along with our other items. We named it after kulhar, the earthen vessel we traditionally use to drink tea in. Our customers appreciated the new recipe. Later, I added boiled chickpeas. That made it more popular. To make the chaat colourful and tasty, I later also introduced pomegranate seeds into the filling.”

Although the stall serves classics such as golgappas and paav bhaji, you need to focus only on these scooped eye-catchers — they stand out thanks to the juicy pomegranate seeds glistening like pink diamonds. As you pop a kuliya in your mouth, it explodes, leaving you reeling under a multitude of flavours. And then you pop in another one, and another.