The Chaat Kade

Colombo’s Insta-Famous Indian street food joint!

​The Chaat Kade has actually been around for quite some time, but had its social media debut rather recently. News spread the streets of Colombo and people flocked to try out their Chaats and Parotas. We were quite excited too, silently observing the blow up caused on social media rather suddenly.

As the name suggests, it’s a (small, dingy) street food joint. I’d throw hygiene out of the window because that’s not what a street food place is. They also let their customers right down their comments on their walls, pretty cool indeed. Apart from the one rat that went over my foot because we had to sit out on the streets, everything else about that night was pretty great. The food definitely impressed! Here’s a breakdown.

Chaat

​Sev Puri – Rs. 180

Sev Puri is a type of chaat that we were told, originates from Mumbai. This Sev Puri was stuffed with Sev and a strong chutney and a thick garnishing on top. Wasn’t our favorite, but we were eager to try out some more!

Dahi Puri – Rs. 200

The DahiPuri rests in a bed of tamarind sauce. The Puri is stuffed with Sev and is topped with some creamy yogurt on top. The waiters warned us that if we took too long to eat the puri, it would go completely soggy in seconds!

Pav Bhaji- Rs. 200

The Pav Bhaji was my personal favorite. It was a dish with two buttery toasted soft bread rolls topped with a thick vegetable curry on top. They have really taken their time to grease up the buns and toast them just right, because they were a treat to have. The vegetable curry was super thick and was infused with all sorts of local flavours.

Gravy

​Chicken Curry – Rs. 150

We’ve heard great things about their Chicken Curry, so we were pretty eager to try it out. It wasn’t the best, but we were told that the Kerala Chicken Curry was comparatively, a better hit (next time then). It was a yellow chicken curry that was accompanied with two parota rottis. The meat was slightly hard but it’s street food so we’re going to let that pass.

Street Delicacies

​5 pc Chicken Lollipop – Rs. 200

Our 5 Chicken Lollipops disappeared at the bat of an eyelid. It was all hands on deck for the lollipops! They were super crispy and the oil had subsided into the tissue lining so that the skin of the chicken didn’t feel too greasy. They sprinkled some onions and curry leaves on top (that really didn’t add anything to the presentation of the dish) but it’s safe to say that the lollipops did steal our hearts.

Kheema Pav- Rs. 240

The Kheema Pav was the best meat dish of the night. It was a thick minced mutton curry that was placed over two buttery and lightly toasted bread rolls. The Kheema Pav was spicier and filled with flavour compared to the Chicken Curry. The fact that the meat was minced and the gravy was thick, made for a great alternative for it to be eaten as a sandwich too!

Dessert

​Gulab Jamun – Rs. 120

We couldn’t walk out without some dessert! There were some carefully stacked transparent cups of Gulab Jamun sitting on the top shelf eager to get into our tummies. I think the statement, “Best Gulab Jamun I’ve found in Colombo” sums it up!

Have you tried The Chaat Kade out yet? Let us know what you think of it in the comments below! Is there anything we’ve missed?

Tip: You’ve got to try out the Kheema Pav! The Minced mutton gravy and the buttery toasted bread rolls are a match made in street food heaven! Not a great place to dine-in because of the scarcity of space, we’d recommend a take-away order.