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Street Food

But Want To Be Healthy? Pick From This List Of Eight Options

Quick Summary

Indian street food has a reputation for being oily, fried, and indulgent, and plenty of it is, from samosas, pakoras and namkeen. But a large number of street snacks were never meant to be that way – they were designed for working people who needed fast, affordable energy from readily available ingredients. Many of those options still exist on street corners across India with a healthy nashta recipe or two, and are far better for you than their flashier counterparts, and this list covers some of them.

Deep Dive

When it comes to having conversations around healthy eating, in India, it does not extend to street food, treating it as something to avoid rather than something to choose wisely. So, getting down to specifics, as light, crispy and delightful as the deep-fried chaat recipe perfected by your local chacha down the street might smell and taste, it’s something that turns heavy in your belly and weighs you down. Keep a careful eye and pick foods that are either roasted, boiled, steamed, or fermented, use whole ingredients, and do not leave you feeling sluggish afterwards. None of them involves compromising on flavour.

Roasted Bhutta

Those bhuttawalas down the street with the wafting smell of roasted corn over coals are a great snack if you want to grab some street food on the healthier side. It is the most common monsoon and winter street sight across India, and the perfect nashta recipe if you want to prepare some at home. It is naturally rich in fibre, vitamins and antioxidants. The standard street version is rubbed with lemon dipped in a mix of salt, chilli powder, and chaat masala with no oil, no maida, no deep frying.

Shakarkandi Chaat 

This is a chaat recipe made with sweet potato tossed with chaat masala, black salt, lemon juice, and sometimes chutney, traditionally roasted over coals by street vendors in North India, particularly during winter. Sweet potatoes are loaded with dietary fibre, which aids digestion, promotes gut health, and keeps you feeling full for longer. They are also a powerhouse of vitamins and beta-carotene, which help boost immunity, support skin health, and reduce inflammation.

Fruit Chaat 

Fruit chaat is available throughout the year, and the shift in this healthy chaat recipe happens by using seasonal fruit – typically banana, apple, pomegranate, guava, and chikoo. The fruits are tossed with chaat masala, black salt, and lemon juice. It is one of the few street foods that is unambiguously good for you with zero hidden calories. Options like fruit chaat are low in calories but rich in vitamins, making them a healthier alternative to deep-fried snacks. It is also one of the most accessible and affordable options on the street.

Bhel Puri

This street food sits in slightly more ambiguous territory than the others on this list. It is made with puffed rice, boiled potatoes, onions, tomatoes, chutneys, and sev (perhaps the only unhealthy bit). A small serving of bhel puri is around 140-150 calories, and the puffed rice is not fried. The key to this nashta recipe is the portion size and how much sev goes on top, so do be mindful when consuming bhel puri. Order it with less sev, and you have a snack that is light, flavourful, and reasonably nutritious.

Roasted Chana (Jor Garam) 

Chana jor garam is made from cooked, flattened, and roasted or fried black chickpeas, tossed with a mix of spices, chopped onions, tomatoes, and fresh lemon juice. The street version is typically fried, but the roasted version, increasingly available, is the one to go for. The chickpea base contains resistant starch that feeds beneficial gut bacteria and helps regulate blood sugar. Per 100g, chana jor garam contains around 18g of protein and 14g of fibre. You can take your typical chaat recipe and add roasted chana into it for a whole snack packed with iron, calcium, potassium, and vitamins.

Dhokla

A popular Gujarati snack and a nashta recipe, it’s made from a fermented batter of chickpea flour (besan), flavoured with spices like mustard seeds and curry leaves. Dhokla is quite healthy. Its steamed nature makes it a healthier alternative to deep-fried snacks. Dhokla is low in calories and high in protein and fibre, and the batter being fermented also adds a probiotic element that supports gut health. A standard two-piece serving runs around 150-160 calories.

Plain Dosa 

Dosa is a popular South Indian breakfast made from a fermented batter of rice and urad dal, and many office goers stop by South Indian food stalls to relish a plate of dosa or steamed idlis. A plain dosa cooked with minimal oil provides energy while remaining easy to digest. One plain dosa is around 130-170 calories, depending on size, and contains a reasonable amount of carbohydrate and plant protein. Masala dosa with a heavy potato filling and a generous pour of oil is a different matter.

Dahi Bhalla

Dahi vada or urad dal dumplings might not be completely healthy, but are on the healthier end. The vadas are soaked in water to remove excess oil, then served in cold yoghurt and topped with tamarind chutney, mint chutney, and spices. One dahi vada serving provides around 106 calories, with carbohydrates, protein from the urad dal, and probiotics from the yoghurt. It is a good source of calcium, phosphorus, vitamins, and magnesium. The yoghurt base is what makes this dahi vada chaat recipe worth including here, for it is cooling, probiotic, and filling.

Indian Street Food Made Healthy

Healthy Indian street food is entirely possible if you make mindful choices. Opt for snacks that are roasted, steamed, boiled, or fermented, and focus on portion size rather than indulgence. From the fibre-rich roasted bhutta to probiotic-packed dhokla and dahi bhalla, these options prove that flavour doesn’t have to be compromised for health.