I was subjected to all the tang, the masalas, the magical ingredients and the miraculous hands of chaat-wallahs on the streets of Mumbai and to no one, mind you, NO ONE’¦
During my last visit to Mumbai, I decided to give a break to all the work assignments I was carrying on my mind and explore the most talked about street-food scene of the tinsel town!
And who could stop me from doing so? I had all the time, I had all the moollah in my pocket and most importantly, I had the strong craving to taste what is supposed to be sinfully tasteful from times those seems like immemorial!
To add to all the devilish fun planning going on in my mind, one of my work-mate who is a Mumbai dweller since ancient ages, told me that I don’t need to have a fortune in my pockets to roam around Mumbai streets and to have a tummy-full of most yummilicious chaats available on the planet! Well really? Show me how and I am the cow! Is all I said!
What followed is the history! Worth writing about!
I was subjected to all the tang, the masalas, the magical ingredients and the miraculous hands of chaat-wallahs on the streets of Mumbai and to no one, mind you, NO ONE… I paid more than 50 bucks from my pocket! It was a day spent in ABSOLUTE HEAVEN my dears. And I am reliving the heaven while I share all that experience with you today.
Below is engraved my Chaat Spree of the Day “In Golden Words”! Have a Taste!
Mirchi Kachori Chaat With Only Mirchis available for a Neat Rs. 50/- ONLY!
Venue: Kailash Parbat, Luis Belle Building, Corner of 16th Road and 30th Road, Opposite Shiv Sagar, Pali Naka, Bandra (West)
What I tasted in my mouth was a kachori along with six spiciest green chilli pakoras stuffed with more masala to make it the “Tikhi Most” chaat on the planet! The comforting ingredients on the platter were yoghurt, three amazingly delicious chutneys (chilli, imli and kothmir-mint), which made the Kachori Chaat a treat to remember for a lifetime. But, this account of Mirchi Kachori Chaat comes with a warning that this treat is not for the faint-hearted! For little braver ones, the free tip is: Keep a chilled cup of sweetened yoghurt handy with you!
Channa Jor Bhel and Fried Dal Bhel at meager Rs. 20/- Love it Already!
Venue: Gupta Bhel Wala, on the pavement outside Khyber and Fabindia in Kala Ghoda.
Now this is like some family business because the person who handed me the bhel belongs to the third generation of bhel and pani-puri vendor family! Imagine the conviction, the faith and the PROFIT in chaat business people have these days. Anyways, coming to the bhel, I would say that If you manage to resist his regular bhel and half-hot-half-cold ragda pani puri, try his bhel variation of fried channa chor (chana jor) bhel or fried dal bhel. Chanar jor and fried dal become the main ingredients in the regular bhel and replace kurmura or puffed rice. Hot and spicy, yet too much fun for a foody!
Manchurian Locho at sweet Rs. 40/- How sweet is that J
Venue: Jani Khaman And Locho House, Shop No.11, Star Trade Centre, Sodawala Lane, Opposite Chamunda Circle, Borivali (West)
Talk about bad mistakes going good! That’s what the origin of Locho is. A rather over-worked cook in Surat added too much water to his Khaman batter and VOILA… Locho was born! A Chindian (Chinese-Indian, if you don’t know what that means) delicacy which seems like a Chinese version of Indian Dosa or Indian version of Chinese Manchurian…. Eh?? What am I saying? Forget it! Whatever it is, it is worth a sinful trip! Lip smacking! Undoubtedly!! Available at Jani which opened in Mumbai after years of success in Surat, it comes with a topping of Manchurian or Szechuan sauce along with butter, and to add the typical Mumbaiya touch, the chaat masala, sev, and onions too! If you are cheese lover, you get it for an additional Rs.10/-
Aloo Bomb (now hold your breath) at an Eye Popping Rs. 2 per piece! That’s It?
Venue: Street stall behind SIES College lane, in front of National Kannada Education Society High School, Wadala.
Baby potatoes are boiled in turmeric water, scooped out until they are hollow (like pani puri shells) and then filled with three chutneys; a liquid but potent imli chutney, a green chutney, and a red chutney, along with chopped onions, lime and sev to make an Aloo Bomb or “bum” as it is often pronounced by Mumbaikars. Just because it substitutes deep-fried puris with boiled potatoes, the Aloo Bomb is a healthier version of both sev and pani puri. Just three pieces (total damage Rs. 6/-) of this ridiculously addictive drool-worthy snack make for a tummy-full of meal! And that’s what makes it a popular treat for all. Miracles are all over the planet! Thank God for Food!
Toast Sev Puri again at a marginal Rs. 40/- This seems like an exorbitantly higher price considering the last treat!
Venue: Gupta Chaat Corner, Near Chheda Dry Fruit Stores, Bhanu Jyoti Building, Lakhamsi Napoo Road, Matunga (East).
Now let us have a tour through a mouth-watering preparation! A fresh slice of bread is buttered, smeared with green chutney, topped with usual Mumbai style six sev puris, all with the scrumptious the fixings of chutney, boiled potato, onions, and of course sev, and then covered with another richly buttered slice of bread. This awesome creation is then grilled and buttered some more, before being garnished with another magical sprinkling of sev, and then served to the tongues already behaving like water reservoirs! Some tour that was, right? Well, Gupta Chaat Corner’s bestsellers are bhel, sev puri, dahi puri, and pani puri but the toast sev puri is the “Hall of Fame” material that made the vendor a Star Chaat Waala.
Dayaram’s Chhappan Bhog Chaat, trust me for the taste of Chappan Bhog at JUST Rs. 15/- per plate! WHOA!
Venue: Dayaram’s, Shop No.2, 191 Kapadiya Building, 2nd Agiary Lane, Zaveri Bazaar.
At Dayaram’s, neatly dressed busy staff members can be seen efficiently tossing up chhappan bhog chaat, while a horde of customers either wait to be served, or pay for their grab-n-go pouch of chaat and their… ssshhh…secret masala ! Yes that is the secret behind this culinary creation. The chaat, which may not be prepared with 56 ingredients necessarily, but is heavenly nonetheless! Prepared with fried channa dal, channa chor, two kinds of chiwda, nylon sev, Kabuli channa, peanut bhajiya, and moong dal, it seems like the most unique sort of bhel you ever could taste. The secret masala (as they dotingly call it) contains dhaniya powder, jeera powder, black pepper, cloves, and elaichi, along with some other spices.
So folks, this was my party all day under Rs. 50/- at the streets of Mumbai. A guilt free trip, which completely satiated my foodie senses to the brim!
Go, try it, it’s worth it!
