Sadak Chaap was quite a surprise!

And the star of the show was the humble chaap…

I had to look it up – simply, it is soya beans that are ground, then boiled and re-constituted into bitesize morsels. Nothing magical, nothing exciting; except when you then use them in cooking tasty dishes!

The magic of the chaap is that it absorbs marinade, sauces, and flavors from herbs and spices; and chaap can be grilled on open fire, steamed, pan-fried, baked, as well as any other culinary technique as your recipe calls for – and besides being 100% vegetarian, the consistency on the palate is exceptional.

In brief, the old adage of “it tastes like chicken” is now transformed into “it tastes better than chicken!”

And the good people at Sadak Chaap restaurant are the masters of the chaap!

Here is a chaap:

An exceptionally tasty morsel of goodness!

Here is another happy chaap:

It literally blew my mind!

Within a vegetarian diet, or simply to eat healthy, and also to minimize our harmful eating habits on our planet Earth, let alone to avoid hurting sentient animals in horrible ways, the chaap is a fantastic meat substitute.

At Sadak Chaap restaurant, they offer dozens of famous Indian dishes utilizing chaap as the main ingredient, replacing chicken, mutton, fish, or beef – and you really are not missing out in any discernible way.

It’s the perfect win-win of vegetarian eating combining with delicious non-meat!

Sadak Chaap’s mixed platter presents the opportunity to taste a variety of Indian regional favorites and a few creative fusion adaptations:

Amritsari Chaap – with ginger and garlic
Haryanvi Chaap – with spinach
Lahori Chaap – with pickle masala and turmeric
Lucknowi Chaap – with chaat masala
Rajasthani Chaap – with chili and cumin
Gujarati Chaap – with yoghurt and cashew nuts
Nepali Chaap – steamed, pan-fried, or tandoori momos
Italian Chaap – with cheese and oregano

Yes, Sadak Chaap restaurant is the chaap capital of Dubai!

But not only – Sadak Chaap also surprised with other signature dishes, all of them pure vegetarian.

For instance, forwards to the biggest samosa I have ever had the pleasure of seeing and eating!

Welcome the Mount Everest of samosas!

The biryani rice was also delicious, and not even one bite did we miss the chicken – the chaap does a fantastic job.

And the easy-to-eat chaap wraps were tasty.

Basically, the chaap is versatile, and it adapts to any dish where meat would be used – you could really hold blind taste-tests and have difficulty distinguishing the chaap from chicken.

But Sadak Chaap offers even more than that – yes, the chaap is their speciality and namesake, but do take the time to explore their extensive menu, as you will find other very interesting and tasty vegetarian fare, chosen from the many regional varieties in India.

Dessert also was surprising to us!

Perhaps not so for diners of Indian origin, but how often have you had lentils for dessert – and loved it!

And so, for the non-Indian in Dubai, Sadak Chaap becomes a must-try.

A small but proud restaurant, spotlessly clean and representing the world-famous Indian kindness in hospitality, Sadak Chaap surprised in so many pleasant ways that we now understand “pure vegetarian” in a totally new dimension – thanks to the humble chaap.