Search
Login
Foodies Only in your inbox
By clicking "Subscribe", you agree to ourPrivacy Policy and to receive marketing emails from Foodies Only
SearchLoginSearchLoginCopyright © 2025 Foodies Only
5 min
07/01/2026
The heat, spices, moisture, and contrast of shakarkandi chaat provide warmth, whereas the heat, saltiness, and repetitive nature of roasted peanuts offer comfort. Shakarkandi chaat is flavourful and expressive—put together attractively—whereas roasted peanuts feel automatic, yet create an enduring connection to the earth.
An iconic winter snack is successful not due to the sheer number of ingredients used, but rather how the food products (shakarkandi chaat and roasted peanuts) coincide with people's behaviour and how they react to changes in temperature. Shakarkandi chaat coincides with a pause in life, with the heat of the dish and the flavour to engage people's senses. Roasted peanuts coincide with activity, conversation, and providing physical warmth to the body; hence, satisfying a person's need for warmth at that time.
The types of food items eaten in India during winter are relatively simple in preparation, but represent the rhythm and rituals of life. As the weather gets colder, the carts selling shakarkandi chaat and roasted peanuts will begin, with an unconcerned and inevitable—both food items being very familiar to everyone; but in terms of comfort, they provide comfort in very different ways. Shakarkandi chaat is layered, tangy and eaten with a spoon, while roasted peanuts are basic in nature and eaten automatically, without thought of taste. The comparison between these two types of food is not to decide a winner; it is to understand what the winter comfort food means to an individual when they purchase food from street vendors.
Shakarkandi Chaat is a layered street snack made from boiled or roasted sweet potatoes. The sweetness of the tuber provides a base for the dish, and all the spices, citrus, and optional chutneys give it a sharp and delicious flavour that deepens it. It is warm, soft, and moist, making it perfect for a cold winter evening, when your body needs something substantial that is not too heavy. Eating shakarkandi chaat is an intentional act; you stop to eat it, you stand to eat it, and you really pay attention to eating it.
Roasted peanuts in the shell provide a different kind of satisfaction for the winter months. When you buy them, they are still hot from the drum roaster, sprinkled with salt, and in their shells, so they have no embellishments whatsoever. The deliciousness doesn’t come from any process of assembly or garnish. The enjoyment of roasted peanuts is in the cycle: crack them, eat them, repeat. Roasted peanuts also provide warmth for your hands, extend the time spent together conversing with others, and are more about physical comfort than taste complexity.
The textural differences of shakarkandi chaat and roasted peanuts are what define the experience for each type of snack. Shakarkandi chaat has a soft, yielding feel and can have occasional crunch from onions or peanuts added, but warms the body from the inside. On the other hand, roasted peanuts have resistance to the touch; you must crack open the shell, bite through it with a firm bite, and then continue to consume them in a consistent, rhythmic manner. One snack comforts you by melting away while you are eating, and the other comforts you physically, activating both your hands and your mouth as you eat them.
The main source of the flavour profile for shakarkandi chaat is the use of spices, which provide the heat. The combination of cumin, chilli, and citrus develops a gradual heat from the flavour, so that after finishing, the heat is still there. Peanuts, on the other hand, use only salt and heat to create instant satisfaction without any gradual build-up. Therefore, both snacks have different timings when they are appropriate. Shakarkandi chaat, for example, has a nostalgic feel when you want to take a break, and peanut is more suited for on-the-go movement.
Shakarkandi chaat is usually sold on stationary carts at street fairs; therefore, many people either wait in line until they get their turn to eat or find a place around the vending cart and eat there. On the other hand, peanuts are sold either at street locations such as bus stops, parks, or markets; therefore, when you buy peanuts, you normally take them with you. With street cart locations not moving, both snacks reflect this behaviour; one keeps you anchored down, while the other allows you to travel at your own pace.
While shakarkandi chaat has longer-lasting filling qualities and moistness and starchiness (due to the inclusion of the potatoes), it can even substitute for a light meal during cooler months. However, roasted peanuts are not meant to fill you up, as they will only help ease hunger for a short time. The ability to eat roasted peanuts at a slower pace without being aware of how much time is elapsing helps to establish that roasted peanuts are both casual and timeless.
Peanuts and shakarkandi chaat are sold every winter, while shakarkandi chaat is a little bit more exciting to eat during the colder months (due to its shorter time frame from harvest to purchasing), they have both the same flavour profile, and both snacks reflect the seasons of when they are sold. They each feel inevitable in their own right.
Peanuts and shakarkandi chaat are not opposing elements. They work together to represent the winter street food culture. Peanuts suggest that we can eat on the go and stay warm, while shakarkandi chaat allows us to take time to enjoy our food and time together with friends. How much we prefer one snack over the other really depends on our activities during the evening. The winter allows us enough time to enjoy both types of snacks, but it will also provide us with a greater experience than just consuming each snack independently.
