Dips and Chutneys for Falafel, Shawarma and Samosas
Street food from the Middle East and South Asia is defined by its sauces. The falafel, kebab or samosa is only half of the story: a spoonful of the right dip or chutney is what brings it together. Here are the ones worth learning.
Each of these sauces plays a different role. Some are cooling, such as raita and tahini. Some are sharp, such as amba and tamarind chutney. Some are fiery, such as toum and the green chutney. Serving a combination of the three is the secret of a good street-food plate.
Hummus, the smooth chickpea and tahini dip, is the starting point. It goes with falafel, grilled meat, warm flatbread and almost everything else on a mezze table.
Tahini sauce is hummus's lighter cousin: tahini, lemon, garlic and cold water whisked into a pourable cream. Drizzle it over falafel, roast vegetables or shawarma.
Toum is the Lebanese garlic sauce, a fluffy white emulsion of garlic, oil and lemon. It is fierce and very good with grilled chicken and shawarma.
Amba is a tangy, golden pickled mango sauce, brought to Israel by Iraqi Jews and now a fixture of sabich and shawarma. Fenugreek and vinegar give it a sour, spiced bite that is unlike anything else.
In India, the cooling partner is raita, a yoghurt side with cucumber, mint and roasted cumin. It soothes the heat of a curry or biryani, and it is a five-minute job.
Samosas, meanwhile, want two chutneys: a fresh, fiery green one of mint and coriander, and a sweet and sour brown one of tamarind and jaggery. Serve both and let people mix as they like.
Most of these keep well, which makes them ideal for batch cooking. Hummus, tahini sauce and toum keep for several days in the fridge, and the two chutneys keep for a couple of weeks. Make them on a quiet afternoon and you have the makings of a quick meal all week.
A simple way to use them: warm some flatbread, add grilled chicken or roasted vegetables, then choose one creamy sauce, one sharp sauce, and a fresh salad of tomato, cucumber and parsley. That is a proper mezze or street-food plate in ten minutes.