India’s Chaat House opened just this past November, right next door to Indian Spices and Groceries, a small market supplying the neighborhood with all manner of Indian, Pakistani, and Nepali staples.

If heaven had an aroma, it might be fenugreek: Warm, almost buttery, but also a little smoky and definitely sweet, a lot like maple syrup. It's found in culinary regions from southern Europe across ...