Savoring the Street Food of Mumbai – Part 1

by Sharukh Bamboat

I have already mentioned about some of the top street food destinations in Mumbai in my earlier blog post, but this time I am changing the topic slightly. Mumbai is not just about South Mumbai which remains the core part of the city, or about the suburbs where majority of the residents live these days. It is about the entire city that come together and make this city so uniquely beautiful. While I may not be completely happy with the kind of population growth that has made this city over-crowded, bringing people from all parts of the country. However, I also believe that the city would not have been what it is if these changes wouldn’t have happened. In my previous blog about street food, I mentioned some roadside stalls where you can find some great fast food or street food. This time, I am only focusing on the most popular street foods that you can find across the city, I mean literally any corner of the city. No matter wherever you are in Mumbai, all you need to do is walk down your neighborhood and you will find these food items right there. I dedicate this post to all the foodies who don’t care for comfort or restaurant decor, but who care about taste, freshness and are desperately hungry. Let’s get started with it.

Vada Pav

Vada Pav in Mumbai

Vada Pav in Mumbai

If you are in Mumbai you have to try this out. This native Maharashtrian fast food certainly tops the list when it comes to most popular street food in Mumbai. Basically, it is a potato fritter that is placed in a bread or a bun. I would like to call it as an Indian Burger, which offers lot of nutrients even while you are on the go. The fritter consists of finely chopped green chillies, ginger, mustard seeds, turmeric and salt added to boil potatoes.

Wadas

A Fresh Tray of Wadas

The patties are then dipped in the batter of gram flour and deep fried. When the fritters are done, they are placed between a bread and tamarind and garlic chutney is applied to the bread to add more spice. There are some stalls across Mumbai that add cheese and Schezwan sauce to it as well to make it taste different offering some variety to the consumers. Vada pav cost around Rs. 10 to Rs. 15, so it beats McDonald’s hand down for price factor and even for spicy taste factor.

Samosa

Kachori Samosas and Wada

Kachori Samosas and Wada

While samosa has its origins in North India in the state of Uttar Pradesh, it has become one of the popular street food items all over India and so in Mumbai. It is triangular in shape and has a filling of mashed boiled potatoes, onion, green peas, spices and chili. The mixture is then packed with thin layer of maida flour (refined wheat flour) and deep fried. In northern parts of India, the size of samosa is bigger compared to other states across India. Samosa is generally served hot with green chili chutney, chopped onions, and even tamarind chutney to give that sweet spicy flavor combination.

Samosas

Samosas

You will find a samosa at the nearby stall for Rs. 10 or so.

Pakoda

Onion Pakodas

Onion Pakodas

Usually, you will find vada pav, samosa and pakoda at the same food stall because all three items are fried items and street stall vendors would love to offer some variety to their consumers. Pakoda or pakora is another appetizing snack item that you will find on the streets of Mumbai, no matter wherever you are. There are different variations in pakodas, so you can pick the ones you like. You can choose potato pakoda, onion pakoda, cauliflower pakoda, spinach pakoda and even a green chili pakoda, if you can handle that amount of heat. In Mumbai, locals call it bajji and you can relish it with or without bread, the choice is yours. These fritters are dipped in gram flour or chickpea flour and deep fried. I will also tell you that the best time to enjoy pakoda is when its raining outside and you are either stuck near a roadside stall where you get these hot pakodas piping hot and you enjoy it with some hot tea alongside. You can also enjoy these at home while its pouring outside so you can sit by your home window, enjoying the cool breeze and pitter patter of the rain drops and eating hot pakoda with some tea. I think that’s how Indians make their hectic monsoon days into memorable ones. A pakoda plate that consists of 7-8 pakodas like in the picture above will cost around Rs. 15.

Masala Dosa

Masala Dosa in the Process

Masala Dosa in the Process

This Udupi (a town in South India) invention has surely become one of the popular street foods that you will find across Mumbai. You will come across millions of roadside dosa stalls across the city where locals love to relish this food. In simple words, dosa is pancake made from rice batter and black lentils and is a part of staple diet across all southern states in India. You will also find dosas being served in Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Singapore.

Adding Masala to Masala Dosa

Adding Masala to Masala Dosa

Although it is a street food, it is rich in carbohydrates, no sugar or saturated fats and gluten free. So, a masala dosa is generally a pancake that has a stuffing of potatoes, fried onions and spices. Some of the restaurants here in India serve more than 100 different variations of dosa, so there is no end to the imagination and creativity that chefs introduce while they make dosas. Masala Dosa is generally served with coconut chutney and sambhar (vegetable stew based on a broth made with tamarind and other spices). Masala Dosa is priced at around Rs. 60 and above, depending on which variation you order.

Pani Puri

Pani Puri

Pani Puri in Mumbai

Want a quick bite? Well, find a pani puri stall around and it will offer you the right satisfaction. Pani puri is not just popular in Mumbai, but across India and you can’t keep any Indian away from this one for sure. This dish has multiple names when you travel across India and the taste varies as well, but the basic ingredients remain same. In North India, pani puri is called Gol-Gappa (gol means round and it is named so after the round hollow puris), in eastern India it is more popularly known as Phuchka (the word phuchka is derived from literal sound of puri bursting in the mouth), while other parts of India usually know this as pani puri.

Pani Puri in Mumbai

Pani Puri Plate

So, the vendor gives you this small plate or leaf-made or paper-made or a regular bowl, takes one puri at a time, punches a big hole in the hollow puri with his thumb then starts to fill the puri with boiled chickpeas, boiled smashed potatoes then adds tamarind water in it followed by spicy water which is made from coriander leaves, mint leaves and black salt and green chili. The vendor puts that filled puri in your bowl and you pick it up and place it in your mouth and bite it. The moment you bite it, the puri will burst with all those spices and flavors instantly flooding all your taste buds and senses to give you gastronomical treat that you wanted. Pani puri rates in Mumbai are around Rs. 12 to Rs. 15 where you are served 6 puris. There are some popular stalls that charge more because they use mineral water for preparation, but I believe majority Indians don’t really go for that. The true fun of enjoying pani puri is right on the roadside rather than sitting in a restaurant relishing it.

Well, this is not the end…I will be coming up with Savoring the Street Food of Mumbai – Part 2 for all food lovers who want to dig deeper into the streets of Mumbai and want to have a bite of cuisines and food items that truly make Mumbai special, globally.

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12 comments

dweezer19 March 23, 2014 - 22:28

Okay, I am officially saying you should give up writing a travel blog and take up writing food articles. Your descriptions whcih include the experience of eating these delicacies, although simple and popular, are enough to drive one out of the house to find the nearest Indian restaurant. We only have one regaular Indian restauruant here which I have heard is authentic but never tried. Still, I can imagine the food would taste so much better made there and enjoying it among the sights and sounds of the city. Thank you again!

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pathbreakingwriter March 23, 2014 - 22:47

Thank you. I am just trying to be as real as I can be when I write. I am no match to you guys. I mean your poems are hauntingly beautiful and Peter and Paul are so good when they write. I know we are all individuals and I realize my strength lies in my simplicity. Well, do provide me with the name of that restaurant and if possible the menu as well. I can suggest few items in case you want to try it. Oh, like I mentioned, there are more street foods articles coming up not just from Mumbai, but from across India.You can keep giving me more ideas on what else you want to read, except that educational info, I already have that in my mind, so I will write it for you surely.

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Dan Antion March 24, 2014 - 00:02

I was doing ok until you got to the boiled chick peas. Not a fan. Nice post and great pictures.

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pathbreakingwriter March 24, 2014 - 01:08

Yeah, I understand not everybody likes everything. However, let me add here that the boiled chickpea food item is so loaded with spices that you won’t get that bland flavor of chickpea at all. In fact, if you dont like chickpea you can ask the vendor to put some boiled potatoes instead, it still taste delicious. Just FYI. 🙂

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Jaime Tong March 24, 2014 - 07:13

Great article! The photos make me hungry!

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pathbreakingwriter March 24, 2014 - 16:11

Thank you Jamie. You all wanted posts on food and shopping so here it is. Hope you will enjoy more food posts coming up soon.

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Peter Nena March 24, 2014 - 15:18

Certainly you intended to make me hungry and you have succeeded. Man, that’s some yummy stuff! Mmmm . . .

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pathbreakingwriter March 24, 2014 - 16:10

Well, my intentions were only to bring forth some information that you never came across before, but I am glad I managed to make you hungry, and will continue to do so in the next few posts coming up. 🙂 Thanks for reading.

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echoesofthepen March 31, 2014 - 15:16

First of all let me just say, ‘I’m glad I’m not on a diet’, as reading this would have put me back months! Many of the mouth watering dishes you describe are widely available in the UK, particularly Birmingham (a city with the best Indian food throughout Europe) – needless to say I’m already a great fan (and consumer) of Indian food, and am itching to again compare the difference between that available in the UK, and that of the streets of an Indian city. I wouldn’t go as far as Dweezer19 and say you should give up your travel blog writing, but you should certainly incorporate more of your culinary expertise into your blog.- a great post (as always!).

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pathbreakingwriter March 31, 2014 - 15:34

Hi Paul, I am so glad that you liked my food blog post. Although, I haven’t been to the UK, many of my friends have stayed there, so I always extract information through them. I am happy to hear that you like Indian food. I believe one major difference between the Indian food served here on the streets and in the UK is spiciness. Some of my friends did say that the food there is catered towards Indians and locals as well, so the amount of spice is low, whereas in India the spice factor is high. Of course, even in India if you want your meal less spicy you can order it that way, but you got to mention that while you order it. To be honest, I mould myself the way readers want me to be. I started off with poems and then with movie reviews, I am a big movie buff. My movie reviews were well received, but then someone said write about technology. So, I moved to writing technology reviews, smartphones, tablets, laptops and so on, got enough attention with that too. I finally met a friend who said you travel so write on travel, so I started this blog focusing on travel blog. Few months earlier my wife and then you all said you would love to read food blogs so I once again switched the gears. My happiness lies in what my readers love to read. Yes, I write for money, but I feel true happiness when you guys love my blog posts, provide feedback and appreciate or comment anything on it. It’s pure Nirvana for me. Have you read the second part of this blog post?

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echoesofthepen March 31, 2014 - 15:39

Not read pt2 yet but will do today. I had intended to catch up on posts over the weekend but I was attending a self-publishing conference and only got back to London Sunday evening.

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pathbreakingwriter March 31, 2014 - 15:42

Okay, not a problem. By the way, someday I would like you to write a post on how you come up with great humor in your posts. I would love to write short stories, but somewhere down the line I lose it all. I would love to understand the concept of story writing and how to incorporate thrill and humor factor in it.

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