I do not and will never understand football. Every autumn, I ask one of my sports aficionado friends to explain how the game works. I sit there, nodding, taking mental notes—and yet, by kickoff time, my mind is blank and I end up quizzically staring at a bunch of helmeted men running around willy-nilly for the whole afternoon.
What I do understand is game day food. Snacks on snacks on snacks. Give me a pot full of party meatballs and I’m a happy camper.
First and foremost, the perfect game day spread needs to be bountiful with a capital B, with a little bit of everything. My ideal breakdown consists of four categories:
- Dips, preferably several of them. At least one should be paired with something crisp and crunchy from the vegetable kingdom (but raw broccoli is not invited).
- Something meaty and bite-sized, like wings, Spam musubi, meatballs, buffalo cauliflower bites, or stuffed mushrooms.
- Something fried (or air-fried), such as lumpia, mac ‘n’ cheese balls, or Parmesan-crusted zucchini coins. If you serve me jalapeño poppers, you will have my heart.
- Lastly, and most importantly, there should be something spicy-carby-cheesy. I’m talking about nachos doused in queso, soft pretzel bites dunked in pimento-flecked beer cheese, or the crème de la crème of spicy-carby-cheesiness: chili cheese fries.
This year, if you invite me to your game day party or tailgate, I’ll be bringing my Chana Masala Cheese Fries. A loving mashup of samosa chaat and chili cheese fries, this combination of crispy sweet potato fries, spicy chana masala chili, melty cheese, spicy green chutney, and cooling yogurt hits every note perfectly.
Be advised, this chana masala is not your nani’s chana masala—it’s closer to vegetarian chili, with a heavier dose of tomatoes and a fiery kick from both Kashmiri chili powder and a couple serrano chiles. For me, the best part of meat-based, Cincinnati-style chili—often used for chili cheese fries, chili dogs, and burgers—is how thick and homogenous it is (read: not chunky or watery). To achieve this texture in a plant-based chili, I mash some of the chickpeas halfway through cooking, which adds some heft and thickens the sauce.
When it comes to the fries, the recipe calls for you to make your own sweet potato wedges—the natural sweetness of the potatoes complement the warming spices and heat in this dish especially well—but, I won’t judge you if you grab a bag of frozen sweet potato fries. (I’ve used the crisscut frozen kind to great avail in this recipe.) When prepping a behemoth game day spread, it’s always acceptable to take a shortcut where you can.
If you’re serving these for actual football watching, set up a build-your-own bar to keep the fries from turning too soggy between plays. (Football games are long, y’all.) Keep the chana masala warm in a slow cooker or a pot on the stove set to low, and serve the toppings on the side. Layer it up to order: first fries, then cheese, then hot chili (which will melt the cheese beneath), followed by a sprinkle of cilantro and sliced red onion.
While they love a good sporting event, these chili cheese fries aren’t discerning. They’re just as comfortable keeping you company on a solo night in as they are being the star of a weeknight gathering in the backyard. Whether you’re a football fan or not, these chana masala fries deserve a place on your table—or your couch.
