Chat Masala

Ajnala foods approached us to make a packaging design for Chaat Masala Seasoning. The brief was to make something really colorful, bright, and something that emotionally also connects to the consumers. Chat masala is one of the most popular Indian spice mixes that is often used to sprinkle on salads, on chaats, or add to your dals and curries. It is spicy, salty, and tangy in taste and perks up the taste of any simple dish instantly. Fused with the flavors of cumin, whole coriander seed, black peppercorns, asafetida, dry mango powder, and black salt, this spice mix just jazzes up the palate like nothing else.

Chat Masala being such a funky seasoning mix we wanted to make it look vibrant and attractive like how the Indian truck drivers have fancy artwork on its backside to give the passing by vehicles a visual treat of art. We wanted the same visual appeal as it connects with the Indian consumer and the highlight of the design is the illustration of the traditional Pani Puri vendor. Pani puri is an immensely popular Indian street food of crispy, hollow, fried dough balls (puri) stuffed with boiled potatoes or steamed moong sprouts or boiled chickpeas or white peas curry (also known as ragda) together with spicy tangy water and sweet chutney. Pani puri is a favorite chaat snack of many folks and ours too. With so many bursts of tastes and flavors in your mouth when you have pani puri, you just cannot have one and the main ingredient that makes the pani puri so flavourful and loveable by everyone from elders to the younger ones is the Chat Masala powder, every vendor has their own secret ways to blend the spices to make the chat masala and the quality of pani puri or any Indian street food snacks depends on how good the Chat Masala blend is.  For this reason, we made the pani puri vendors illustration in the packaging design, as it connects with everyone and instantly brings out an emotion of flavours.

Chat Masala is made using a high-powered blender or spice grinder, or using a mortar and pestle, combining all toasted spices along with dried mint, kala namak, salt, green mango powder, tamarind powder, black peppercorns, chili powder, and ginger powder and ground to a fine powder.