Crispy Kale Chaat

Author Notes

There is one restaurant for which my family would make the trek from the suburbs of Northern Virginia through the sea of cars on I-66 to get to “the city”. It is the restaurant for which my mom could actually convince my dad to not wear sneakers with his slacks. It is the restaurant at which folks in the Indian community would brag proudly about dining. It is the restaurant where you were fully convinced that there was a powerful politician at the neighboring table after eavesdropping on snippets of their conversations.

This restaurant that makes hip Indian aunties and Washington elites swoon is none other than the iconic Rasika. As you are guided to your seat, you can’t but help but feel the energy of the city as you eye the proper politicians negotiating or the chilled-out cliques of cool city folks having a drink. Though the vibe at each table varies, you can’t help but notice that everyone is deep in conversation around a vibrant green tempura-ed mound of spinach. The palak (spinach) chaat is one of the signature appetizers you can’t leave Rasika without trying. Each spinach leaf is coated in a thin chickpea batter and flash fried to perfection, drizzled with tangy tamarind date chutney and sweet yogurt sauce, and garnished with fresh finely chopped red onions and tomatoes.

I wanted to recreate this recipe but make it more accessible to those who may not want to deal with the fuss of frying with hot oil! So I present to you my crispy kale chaat which is very much inspired by Rasika’s palak chaat. The kale is massaged with oil and spices and baked low and slow in the oven until it curls and crisps. This kale can be eaten on its own as a healthy chip alternative, but what I like to do is transform it into a chaat by layering in fresh veggies, a combo of a zesty yogurt and tangy tamarind sauce, and store-bought fried Indian chickpea snacks like boondi or sev to add extra crunch!

I deeply miss the fanfare of getting dolled up to eat at a restaurant “in the city”. But for now, I live in “the other Washington”, and the speed of take out has still not advanced to be able to deliver across the country. However, I find comfort in flipping through the pages of the Rasika cookbook and ear marking the next recipe to recreate that brings back memories from this restaurant. —Shri Repp