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The James Beard Award–winning chef Vishwesh Bhatt moved from Gujarat, India, to Texas at age 18. Today, the Mississippi-based restaurateur makes food at Oxford’s Snackbar that celebrates the American South and the subcontinent with dishes that are produce-forward and bright with spices that feel both new and deeply comforting. Here you’ll find salty-sweet chaats, heaping salads of okra and corn, a tomato-coconut chutney you’ll put on everything, and a fricassee that seems to contain an entire farmers market in one skillet.
“Recently, someone important asked me if I consider myself a Southern chef,” Bhatt wrote in his 2022 cookbook, I am From Here. “The answer is absolutely yes.”
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Chana Daal with Squash
Inspired by the Gujarati dish doodhi chana, Bhatt builds texture and gentle sweetness by simmering chana daal until just tender, then folding in yellow summer squash so it stays intact. The addition of ras el hanout, preserved lemon, pomegranate molasses, and a fistful of fresh dill and parsley “elevated the previously boring gourd to new heights,” says Bhatt.
Tomato-Coconut Chutney
Christopher Testani / Food Styling by Victoria Granof / Prop Styling by Thom Driver
Bhatt suggests slathering this small-batch chutney on grilled cheese, roast chicken, or simple toast. Made with ripe tomatoes, coconut cream, and toasted spices, the recipe is quick and make-ahead friendly.
Boiled Peanut Chaat
A mix of boiled peanuts and fried dry-roasted peanuts take the place of the traditional chickpeas in this playful chaat that is all sweetness, tartness, heat, and crunch. Serve immediately.
The Best Cucumber Sandwich
“The only reason you think cucumber sandwiches are boring is because you haven’t had one that is made right,” says Bhatt. He layers a creamy cucumber-and-herb benedictine spread with a serrano-spiked peanut pesto, chaat masala, crisp cucumber slices, tomatoes, and chiles together in a sandwich that’s anything but demure. Remember to salt and drain the cucumber slices to preserve their snap.
Summer Squash and Shrimp Fricassee
“It’s really light, it’s really quick, and it’s really easy to cook a big batch of it,” says Bhatt of this Compere Lapin-inspired fricassee. It’s a quick-to-make meal that tosses shrimp with yellow squash, fresh corn, tomatoes, and herbs so the produce stays bright and the seafood just cooked. Serve with rice or crusty bread.
Peanut and Watermelon Chaat
“It’s a very Southern combination that I thought should work,” Bhatt says of this watermelon-peanut chaat. “And it did.” It’s got a heat from chaat masala, a serrano chile, and a hint of cayenne pepper. The sweetness comes from the summer fruit. And the salt-tart flavors are layered in with extra herbs, lime juice, chopped red onion, and of course the salted peanuts.
Sugared Melon with Cardamom and Mint
Bhatt sometimes calls this recipe Don’t Forget the Melon. With little more than sugar, ground cardamom, and fresh mint, he turns ripe melon into an aromatic, cooling dessert. It’s “something so special you’ll want to eat it over and over again,” he says.
Chilled Zucchini Soup
“This recipe came about as a happy accident, when my nephew mistook zucchini for cucumbers when we were making a cold cucumber soup,” says Bhatt. Small squash deliver the best texture; larger ones have harder seeds that don’t blend well.
Grilled Okra, Corn, and Tomato Salad
Charred okra and corn tumble with tomatoes under a punchy dressing of grilled jalapeño and herbs. It’s a cookout salad to end all cookout salads — smoky, flavorful, and built for sharing.
Molly McArdle
2025-11-05 14:48:00